Ron Rash
Our man from New England talks to one of the Carolinas' favorite sons about the strengths of southern writers, the benefits of teaching welders, and the crushing reality that awaits MFA grads.
Robert Birnbaum
Chip Kidd: Book One: Work: 1986-2006
Comic book collector, superhero aficionado, and novelist Chip Kidd, who pays his rent designing book covers, mostly for the House of Knopf, is the subject of the new mid-career retrospective Chip Kidd: Book One: Work: 1986-2006. In addition to a remarkable assemblage of book covers of bestsellers and
Jonathan Lethem
A reactionary shudder is sweeping through the book world as the status quo realizes it's terrified of literature. Our man in the mountains speaks with author Jonathan Lethem, who tears into the idea of "realist" vs. "anti-realist" fiction.
Stuart Dybek
Our man in Boston gets nostalgic for his Chicago roots in this wonderful conversation with short story master Stuart Dybek about the city of Daley, Bellow's turf, and the difficulty of writing in a sentimental, nevermind linear fashion.
An Unfinished Life
I don't remember Mark Spragg's 2004 bittersweet novel An Unfinished Life garnering much review attention, but the new film based on it is sure to have a paperback edition with Robert Redford, Jennifer Lopez, and Morgan Freeman on its cover. That's probably worth more
Kiehl's Original Musk Oil
Besides appreciating certain olfactory delights on their own merits, I am a normal neurotic American, bombarded with commercial messages about personal malodorousness: breath, body, foot, hair, and clothing, not to mention my indulgence in what is to some the anti-social habit of smoking cigars. Thus, I approve of Kiehl&
George Saunders
Do fiction writers put their best face forward in their work or in their private lives? Will the next story always be the one that maybe gets it right? A conversation with the extraordinary author about the craft.
The Power of the Dog
Don Winslow's third novel, The Power of the Dog, is a white-hot, high-velocity narrative through the narco-trafficking of the '70s, '80s and '90s, credibly implicating the various drug- and law-enforcement agencies in Mexico and the U.S., the mob (Irish and
James Howard Kunstler
A simple statement but a nightmarish one: we can no longer expect to have more energy, only remorselessly less energy. An intense chat with author James Howard Kunstler about the chaos that will rattle our society once the energy disaster takes hold.
Zatarain's Rice
No doubt in the future all our food will come out of pouches and packets, obviating the need for Cuisinart, All-Clad, and Wusthof doo-dads. My trusty rice cooker has been shelved since I discovered Zatarain's microwaveable rice pouches, 10 flavors ready in 60 seconds. Straight from