- New York Magazine weighs in on some summer reading: Roxana Robinson's Cost, which I dipped into this weekend during my crazed haircut variations gets a strong "Buy It', while David Wroblewski's The Story of Edgar Sawtelle gets a "Wait for the Paperback", leaving one Sawtelle devotee gobsmacked.
- All the hullabaloo at the LAT makes me queasy.
- The week in bookish LA is up and it's packed to the gills with goodness. Denise Hamilton is on my must-see list.
- I've never seen her read before so it was lovely to catch up on podcasts and listen to Lorrie Moore read a new short story at The Guardian. I did, however, find the introduction...odd: "Lorrie Moore is one of the U.S.'s leading proponents of the short story." Really? How so?
- In a climate where writers are boldly lying, pretending to be something entirely other than they are, and just plain making stuff up for profit, I could care less if Banksy is white or rich or what. As long as he created the art he's credited with, I'm good.
- This may be no big deal for you country-dwellers and those who actually have a backyard (or a patio, or a balcony or some outside contingent that is your own) but I am proud to say that making (and then devouring) pesto made from your own garden-plucked basil is so...satisfying. It is the stuff of many novels...even if said basil inspires summer-fare reading like a Peter Mayle caper or similar. And you know how I feel about summer reading nonsense. But - I could write a few novellas about it all...the basil is that good. I can hardly wait for it to grow back. See? City-dwellers can make it happen: Aerogardens unite!
Photo of basil from my aerogarden
