Dailies

Bostonist reports that November is National Novel Writing Month.  Get those pens out.

Bill Clinton is keynoting the Texas Book Festival.  Irony noted.

Sports Illustrated online has started a monthly book club.  The selection for October is All the Stars Came Out That Night, by Kevin King.

Alan Alda on his new book: “Letting somebody else tell me what to think is a way of stuffing the dog," he says with a laugh. "My telling somebody else what to think is the same thing."

Kate Holden on Mom, Missing: “This novel, though accomplished and moving, runs too long. Given Oates' undoubted powers of imagination and her gift for fluent representations of quotidian suburban life under stress, it contains some poignant episodes. I wanted to like this book, and there was in fact a kind of soothing attraction in its stately pace through the grey waters of sorrow. But stately becomes indulgent; in the end, as I waded through Nikki's flappings and wailings in search of peace, I, too, missed Gwen.”  - (agreed.  This book seemed rushed.  I read it quickly on two flights across the country because I felt sorry for JCO.  This novel lacked character development which was desperately needed due to the comprehensive plot.)

Nelson Mandela has launched a comic book series to get kids in South Africa to read.  

UPI: “Northwestern University's library has turned down an offer of two books on Africa from Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber, serving a life sentence in Colorado.”

Fernanda Ezabella on the forthcoming Jose Saramago novel:  “The story depicts Death as a woman who goes on strike because she is fed up with being hated by people.  Chaos follows. Hospitals fill up, people keep growing old without dying, and the pension system overloads. Soon the church campaigns for Death to return.”  Yet again, I’ll have to wait impatiently for the translation.

Is the solution to teens’ short attention spans not reading entire books?