book reviews

[grassfarmer]

Wisecracker and book reviewer Martin Schmutterer considers himself a prairie cosmopolitan. He earns scant income as an adjunct college instructor, occasional bookseller, and sporadic writer. He fancies cheese, bourbon and the Central European novel. His wife wears the pants in the family, but the dog calls all the shots.

Well folks you can see that this guy is straight from the liberal cool aide drinking crowd. When he reviews a serious book such as The Cell and complains about his loss of freedoms it is certain his wife wears the family pants!!!!

[AK_Gandy]

http://www.powells.com/review/2002_08_07.html

"A book like The Cell is useful or important if it does one of two things: 1) breaks news, or 2) gives a more lucid, more cogent, more comprehensive overview of a story than, say, a series of newspaper articles could. The Cell succeeds at neither of these....."

"Also included here, somewhat perfunctorily, is the story behind John Miller's now-famous 1998 interview with Osama bin Laden (which also became an article for Esquire). It's puzzling that three such experienced and knowledgeable reporters could have written such a chaotic mess of a book."

Adrienne Miller is Esquire's literary editor








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[grassfarmer]

We have to watch it A.K. the thought police closed us down before we really got going on the last thread.

She writes a mean sentence, deftly deploys some searing imagery, and tackles everything from infidelity to self-abnegation to artistic inspiration. She seems eager to get it all out at once. It's a messy project that could have been a little tighter. But that's OK. It's Miller's first novel, and it's an exciting one. A book review of a novel written by Addrienne. Yup! she sure sounds like the kind of person who knows about messy,chaotic writing.[IMG]file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/PETETA%7E1/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot.jpg[/IMG]

[AK_Gandy]

Originally Posted by grassfarmer

We have to watch it A.K. the thought police closed us down before we really got going on the last thread.

They're not "thought police".................... they're just doing their job. Quite frankly, I was surprised they let a couple of them go as long as they did.

If you want to discuss a subject without starting out by slamming/attacking those with a different view, I'll bet the mod's would be willing to let it continue.

Let's discuss the subject instead of automatically assuming that if someone looks at things differently.................they're stupid, misinformed or un-American.

It just means they have a different opinion.

[Brian_C]

Originally Posted by AK_Gandy

http://www.powells.com/review/2002_08_07.html

"A book like The Cell is useful or important if it does one of two things: 1) breaks news, or 2) gives a more lucid, more cogent, more comprehensive overview of a story than, say, a series of newspaper articles could. The Cell succeeds at neither of these....."

"Also included here, somewhat perfunctorily, is the story behind John Miller's now-famous 1998 interview with Osama bin Laden (which also became an article for Esquire). It's puzzling that three such experienced and knowledgeable reporters could have written such a chaotic mess of a book."

Adrienne Miller is Esquire's literary editor








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There has never been a statue erected to honor a critic.

[AK_Gandy]

Originally Posted by Brian_C

There has never been a statue erected to honor a critic.

Depends on how you define the term "critic."

By using the term "never" (instead of say...'seldom').....................you are wrong.

http://www.therestisnoise.com/2006/03/statues_of_crit.html (click here)

Of course, if you include artists who have also worked as critics the number is much greater.





Not to mention leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. who was a 'critic' of the inequities of racial laws.

And then add all of the statues that have been erected by avowed racists, adulterers, crooks, etc........and I fail to see where having a 'statue' automatically means..............'Stature.'

[grassfarmer]

I was going to say that the old adage about teachers might apply here to critics. It goes like this: those who can't teach, and those who can do. Most critics don't put themselves into a positions where their performances might also be criticized.
The trouble with the teacher adage is that my father was a teacher and also followed his profession by doing, rather successfully I think. So it might be said that not all adages' are true and not all critics are accurate.

[Brian_C]

Grassfarmer...here's another one:

Figures don't lie, but liars figure.