Lit Bits & A Bit about Counterbalance

• The Special Topics in Calamity Physics Roundtable will kick off next week.  Go re-read those chapter titles, re-consider those illustrations and re-take that Final Exam. You will be expected to participate fully and completely in this discussion via vigorous, frequent and insightful commenting (at least, that's what I promised the participants so please don't make an ass of me.)
• Darby articulates the difference between lit crit and lit reviewing. I would have said it like that if I'd have said what he said was said.
• John points out a new approach to publishing a novel - give it away for free online and cross your fingers that it sells.  Andrew Keen would lose his mind over this.
• Scott draws some interesting parallels between Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian and Matthew Sharpe's Jamestown.
• Which reminds me that I've not yet given you the blow-by-blow on several readings. Here's what I owe you:
  • Matthew Sharpe & Maggie Nelson reading
  • Wrap-up of A.M. Homes reading (the mean woman in the audience bit)
  • Kiran Desai reading (for which I have eleven - yes! - pages of notes)
  • Jane Smiley - so long ago and so far away that my memory fails me, but I've got some cryptic notes (she's very tall, okay? i was distracted)
• Many of you have been kind enough to ask me if I've ever considered getting a proper url for counterbalance (what? the typepad address is too annoying?) and I feel I must at least say this: I am no slouch when it comes to the interwebs, having designed and programmed several of them. I own calliemiller.com but had not intended to have that be this (hoping one day to have my name url actually go to a site that contains my non-blog work such as published novels and fiction...one can dream) but the crux of the matter is clear -- I've been trying to get the damn counterbalance.com url for years now and it's not happening. It doesn't even go anywhere. Go on. Try it. www.counterbalance.com  It's just a re-direct. I should get the NBCC on this and see if I can get a petition together.
• If the NBCC petition to get my counterbalance url fails, should calliemiller.com bring visitors here?
• There's a new search thingy up in the right corner. Not only have I received several emails about this capability, but I myself couldn't find an old post the other day and realized you were right: the site needs a search function. Ask and you shall receive.
• Since I've already begun the boring housekeeping thought thread, anything else I can do for you? Anything else you'd like to see? Not like to see?  (Other than more timely posts of reading recaps?) Tell me now or forever hold your peace. Or piece. Or email it to me.