RIASS stuff:
A review of'Bella's Run'by Margareta Osborn'(is rural lit the next big thing?
A review ofThe Wizard of Oz'by L Frank Baum(far creepier than I remembered!)
Coming up: a review of Games'by Robin Klein and an interview with Margareta Osborn.
Just a note that I'll be tango dancing my way through Argentina in April, and would love to receive some guest posts to feature during that time. Feel free to drop me a line at readinasinglesitting@gmail.com.
Other bookish stuff:
The new stats are in, and there remains an unconscious bias against books by women. But why? asks Tara Moss.
What makes us so consistently undervalue womens writing?'Though women and men are published in roughly equal numbers, is there something substantially different about'what'novels they publish?'Or perhaps, because male authors win major literary prizes more often and are more frequently reviewed, this affects our perception of the value of certain literary works and voices in the fiction we read? Perhaps it is something else that makes us, as a culture, choose the male voice as the one we hold in most esteem? If we didnt know the gender of the author, would it make a difference?
Great writers, terrible book blurbs:
A list that contains such hilarious brilliance as this: 'Jess Walter's The Zero is a tense and compulsively readable roller-coaster ride fraught with psychological thrills, unanticipated dips and lurches, and existential truths. The novel frightened and fascinated me in equal measures. Walter has written a neo-noirish masterpiece.'
Conrad Mason on writing goblins:
Read a book with goblins in it, and the odds are youll find them squabbling, farting and nicking stuff. They dont fly. Dont drink blood. Dont turn into wolves or lure handsome sailors to watery graves. Theyve got absolutely nothing going for them. Which is why I decided that the hero of my book,'The Demons Watch, would be a goblin.
Odd Questions Authors Getand their silly responses by Arthur Slade:
Q: Will an agent steal all of my money?
A: No. In fact an agent will make you more money. But you have to get the right agent. Theres an easy formula for figuring out whether an agent is the right one. E=MC2 x .15% x worldwidesales x your talent quotient / the chance of a Hollywood movie your personality quotient + your agents personality quotient x luck. Easy to figure out, eh? Oh, but make sure you dont get the wrong agent. A small percentage of agents will take 15% of your life force and use it to feed their gerbils. Good luck!
Tim Parks on the writers job:
[In the mid Twentieth Century] it became clear that the task of the writer was not just to deliver a book, but to promote himself in every possible way. He launches a website, a Facebook page (I'm no exception), perhaps hires his own publicist. He attends literary festivals all over the world, for no payment. He sits on the jury for literary prizes for very little money, writes articles in return for a one-line mention of his recent publication, completes dozens of internet interviews, offers endorsements for the books of fellow writers in the hope that the compliment will be returned. It would not be hard to add to this list.
Leap year quiz: literary proposals
Recently found Charlotte Bronte short story published online
What Type of Romance Novel Are You?
Today is World Book Day. What are you reading?
Books!
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