Erich Von Däniken’s Chariots of the Gods – a book that’s more like a spaced-out jam session than a scholarly thesis. Von Däniken’s riff? Cosmic journeymen moonlighting as ancient architects. He’s laying down tracks about spacemen sprucing up our planet with pyramid power and Easter Island headshots. But here’s the rub – Von Däniken’s solo…
David Hockney’s double portrait “Henry Geldzahler and Christopher Scott”
David Hockney’s double portrait “Henry Geldzahler and Christopher Scott” (1969) is a striking example of his mastery in capturing personal relationships and individual character through art. This portrait features Henry Geldzahler, the influential New York City-based curator, alongside his partner, painter Christopher Scott. The painting is celebrated for its intimate portrayal and its significant role…
Pittsburgh Poet Recites Positive Poems
Billie Nardozzi writes poems every week for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. It’s for love, not money: He pays for the privilege of getting them into print.
Sandy and I at Barnes and Noble
Sandy and I had a fun trip to Barnes and Noble today, where we mostly browsed through the sales aisle.
Three Soldiers by John Dos Passos
Hailed as a masterpiece on its original publication in 1921, Three Soldiers is a gripping exploration of fear and ambition, conformity and rebellion, desertion and violence.
A Writer’s Room
Thomas Fasano is an old-fashioned guy, and stepping into his home office is like stepping back in time, perhaps like visiting an old C.P.A. who still uses ledgers and adding machines. The office is in the back of the home where he has lived with his wife, Sandy, for the past eleven years. Among his…
The French love their bookstores
In the 1998 romantic comedy You’ve Got Mail, Meg Ryan stars as an independent bookseller whose livelihood is threatened by a behemoth bookstore chain owned by Tom Hanks. Thats was fifteen years ago. Today, book selling is a different game, the pendulum having swung so much to the other side that it’s the few chains left who are fighting for survival against Internet book sellers and e-books.
Rediscovered novel by Hermann Hesse, In the Old Sun, published by Coyote Canyon Press
One of Herman Hesse’s earliest novels, In the Old Sun (In der alten Sonne) was completed in 1904. The story is of novella length and comes long before the novels that were to make Hesse famous in the decades after World War II. In his early years as a writer, Hesse turned memories of his…
Book cover designers at Random House
The Inside Random House series has released another video. This one gives viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the publisher’s offices as book designers explain their creative processes and the experience of creating covers for some of the world’s best-known authors. What’s great about this video is that we get to see some of the best…
Stephen King’s print-only book is now a pirated ebook
Stephen King’s latest novel, Joyland, was supposed to be published in a print-only edition by Hard Case Crime. The move was roundly applauded because it demonstrated some real faith in traditional print publishing. It was also a savvy business decision driving sales sky-high.