James McBride's in town tonight

Most writers are very good interviewees. A few, like James McBride, are outstanding. Throw him an ordinary question and he just riffs on it like the jazz musician he is.

I had so much good material, but alas, space in the newspaper is limited.

Here's my story on Mr. McBride and his wonderful -- actually it's great -- novel, The Good Lord Bird.

http://triblive.com/aande/books/6736144-74/mcbride-brown-henrietta#axzz3E40ySeli

Annette Dashofy ....

Here's the link to my recent interview with Annette Dashofy, from Washington County, a mystery writer of great promise:

http://triblive.com/aande/books/6681353-74/dashofy-mystery-book#axzz3DldF78dl

And more good news for indie booksellers ...

Slate has a good article about how indie booksellers have outlasted Borders and other large retailers:

More good news for indie booksellerfs

In Pittsburgh, we have Amazing Books in Squirrel Hill and Downtown, the East End Book Exchange in Bloomfield, Caliban Books in Oakland, and Penguin Books in Sewickley. If love books, please support these folks. They work hard and are book lovers.

East End Book Exchange story

I've not yet been to the East End Book Exchange, but have heard a lot of good things.

USA Today featured the store in an article today. It's worth reading.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/columnist/edmunds/2014/09/09/bookseller-gladys-edmunds-small-business/15343915/

James McBride's "The Good Lord Bird"

Over the weekend I finally finished James McBride's "The Good Lord Bird," which won a National Book Award for fiction in 2013. It's the closest book I've ever read to "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," which might be my favorite novel. The story -- about a young male slave who takes up with abolitionist John Brown by posing as a girl -- might superficially seem absurd. But the voice of the character -- Henry/Henrietta, or Onion as Brown calls him -- is alternately sage, knowing, silly, humorous, immature, stubborn and frightened. All the things young people are between the ages of 12-14.
I interviewed Mr. McBride today for a story that will be published later this month in the Tribune-Review. Look for it before his appearance on Sept. 22 as a guest of Pittsburgh Arts &  Lectures.

James Lee Burke compares audiobooks to the oral tradition

I never considered this connection. It's hard to argue with one of America's great writers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmxcBCUWXmY&feature=youtu.be

Chuck Kinder's poetry event

Chuck Kinder is releasing two books of poetry in October. Yes, the famed author of Honeymooners and Last Mountain Dancer is writing poetry these days, and from what I've read it's quite good.
The collections, All That Yellow and Imagination Hotel will be given their due at a reading October 10 at Modern Formations Gallery. If you have never heard Chuck read, I strongly encourage you to attend this affair, as he and his lovely wife Diane are heading to Key Largo soon.

Here's a link with more information.

https://www.facebook.com/events/367826426706549/

Also, here's a link to a story I wrote about Chuck's retirement from the University of Pittsburgh:

http://triblive.com/aande/books/6141233-74/kinder-chuck-says#axzz3CMf72SX9

Speaking of Murakami ...

He's releasing a new book at the end of the year. I love the title -- The Strange Library -- and the concept is interesting, especially given that it's an illustrated short work (96 pages). Here's the catalog description from Knopf:

An illustrated short novel about a lonely boy, a mysterious girl, and a tormented sheep man and their plot to escape from a nightmarish library.

The Strange Library is due out December 3.

A friend's review of the new Murakami

Here's a link to a good friend's review of Haruki Murakami's new novel, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage (Knopf). I agree with Ms. Murphy that this isn't the great Japanese writer's best work, but it's still better than 95 percent of what passes for fiction these days.


http://insomniacwithbooks.blogspot.com/

The Noble Hustle/Colson Whitehead

The Noble Hustle: Poker, Beef Jerky and Death (Doubleday), Colson Whitehead

Borne from an assignment to cover the World Series of Poker's Main Event for Grantland magazine in 2011, Colson Whitehead's "The Noble Hustle" is not quite an epic tale. Whitehead is best known for his novels  (The Intuitionist, Sag Harbor, Zone One) and his fans will enjoy his ruminations on poker, from tales of  cheap home games to Atlantic City's card rooms to the larger-than-life WSOP. (Whitehead accepted the $10,000 entry fee to the tournament as payment for his work).

Whitehead's prose, as usual, is malleable, at times graceful, at other points rough-hewn and simple. He's so good at his craft he gets away with dashing off lines like "Because I was in AC [Atlantic City], Vegas's little cousin ... ". But when he's on, he's inimitable. His descriptions of the New Jersey casinos are often brilliant, particularly this take on the soon-to-be defunct Showboat:

The '50s-themed Johnny Rockets burger joint reminded boomers of sock hops, roller-skating waitstaff, the first backseat gropings. The House of Blues served up rootsy sentimentality, reminiscences of swell nights in blues franchises in New Orleans, Houston, San Diego. (Remember those two sloppy German matrons? Too bad we had to get up early the next day for the ConAgra convention). ... The piped in Nirvana and Pixes -- now officially oldies bands -- welcomed middle-aged, Gen X lumps like me. The sights and sounds of bygone days told us everything was still possible, the way the snap of a dealer cutting cards and the maddening chimes of loose slots assured us we could be winners. That sure, gambling sound of promise.

Whitehead also nails the players, from the middle-aged men seeking a diversion while their wives are playing roulette to the new breed of cards sharps. According to one observer these newbies are  "` ... young players four-betting, with nothing. Five betting.' He said young players the way World War II grunts used to say Hun bastards."

At one point in the narrative Whitehead jumps forward in time by a year to the 2012 WSOP Main Event. This smacks a little of desperation, as if his own story wasn't enough, and it wrecks the momentum of the narrative.

But only a little. It's not spoiling anything to say Whitehead doesn't win the whole thing. Very few players ever cash out. For those poker players who have harbored grandiose dreams but fell short, "The Noble Hustle" is a worthy companion.

Nancy Martin

I've  never had a writer admit her books aren't for everyone. But Pittsburgh's Nancy Martin told me men aren't likely to enjoy her books, nor does she go out of her way to seek them.

I admire her honesty, but guys, really, she's quite good.

Here's a link to a recent interview with Nancy:

http://triblive.com/aande/books/6507088-74/martin-blackbird-says#axzz3CAYAFsIR

Tawni O'Dell interview

Tawni O'Dell is a very good novelist, but what she does best is bring a keen eye to her characters. The descriptions in her new novel, "One of Us" (Gallery Books) are at times jaw-dropping.
Plus, she's a darn good storyteller who is from my old stomping grounds of Indiana, PA. Sigh. College seems so long ago.

Nevertheless ... Here's the link to my interview with Tawni.

http://triblive.com/aande/books/6649438-74/dell-book-town#axzz3CAYAFsIR

I'm back for good (I hope)

Yeah, I know. Been away for a long time.
But I'm determined to not only restart this blog, but keep at it. I've lots of material, so expect at least 3-4 post per week, if not more.
Later today I'll provide links to recent interviews with Tawni O'Dell and Nancy Martin that appeared in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Plus, I'll have a short review of Colson Whitehead's "The Noble Hustle."

Thanks for reading.

Rege