Tom Swift

Speaking of Newspapers

Tom Swift — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 04:10:30 +0000

As newspapers sink, usually books coverage is the first chair off the deck. So this is hardly shocking news even if it’s still discouraging news. I wonder how long it will be before daily books news will be found one day a week in the New York Times and elsewhere only when the eighth Harry Potter installment comes out.

In Other Excrement News

Tom Swift — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 05:14:49 +0000

I was waiting on the Beast to do his thing this morning when I turned to the Onion for an exclusive report on a related topic.

Should Sell Tickets

Tom Swift — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 21:24:52 +0000

The Savage Beast is usually the smallest pooch at the park and he is always the fastest. Last night we let him run with the big dogs — an option that would be puppy abuse if not for his wheels. I brought reading material along but I didn’t get through much of it. As soon as the Beast shot through the gate the party started and had there been music it would have been disco. Suddenly a half dozen dogs — all of them more than twice the Beast’s size, including one that had a tale as large as his body — were chasing him as though he was made of peanut butter. But he zigged as they zagged. He moved short right and then — whoop! — he was way left. Seemingly pinned in a corner, he simply reversed directions as though he had his own escape hatch. His first name is Barry and, hey, someone give that guy a football and see if his last name might not be Sanders.

Who Is Gonna Do It? You? You, Lt. Weinberg?

Tom Swift — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 16:42:40 +0000

I was whining about newspapers the other day and, obviously, I’m not the only one. For a long time I have been of the mind that at some point the people who run newspapers would realize that even in an ever-increasingly online world they still offer a unique and necessary product — a depth of news and information delivered in the best format for the consumption of both — and that they would start emphasizing their strengths and stop running away from them. Eric Alterman paints a dire picture and makes a point that leads me to think I am wrong: “The more one listens to the men and women at the top of the industry, the more it becomes obvious that the survival of the newspaper — the primary information-gathering and knowledge-disseminating instrument of American democracy — is going to have to come from somewhere else.”

Great Exchange

Tom Swift — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 15:39:16 +0000

Some authors — I know one intimately — don’t think especially well on their feet. Salman Rushie is not among them. I really enjoyed the Q&A at the end of this reading (during the final 17 minutes or so), as readers asked excellent questions and Rushdie provided witty and uncommonly insightful responses.

Sizzle And Steak

Tom Swift — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 21:19:41 +0000

Last night I read a terrific analysis of a fine writer’s work. One especially well articulated point: “Too often, style is dismissed as merely a sauce on the nutritious bread of substance, when in fact it’s inevitably a form of substance itself. This goes double for the presidency, where brilliant policy requires brilliant public discourse.”

Big Easy Weekend

Tom Swift — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 13:49:13 +0000

Bookish notes from a couple of days in New Orleans …

We were in town for all of an hour when we crossed paths with the release of Jackie Collins’ latest bundle of paper gold. In fact, the Savage Beast crashed the party. I would say more but I’m afraid that would leave too much of a trail for the authorities. How the other half lives: Ms. Collins arrived in a luxury bus designed as something of a rolling book cover and she signed copies under a VIP-only tent at what might be the largest casino east of Vegas.
We spent several hours poking our heads inside book shops. There are worse ways to see a city. Most of them had more books than space (better than the opposite problem, I suppose), including a tiny haunt at what used to be Faulkner’s mailing address. Beckham’s was the one I would return to first.
During breaks from the heavy heat I read Books: A Memoir. If you love books you might like it.

Should Have Invested In Big Pharma Years Ago

Tom Swift — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 18:21:48 +0000

Somehow I understated the matter. Apparently, those of us with two legs aren’t the only ones on drugs. Though it isn’t the most artfully crafted article I’ve read, the piece provides useful observations about animal behavior that explain a few things about the Beast.