Category Archives: Books

A review of Matthew Tully’s Searching for Hope

Posted on 3 May 2012 by

[NUVO] In this week’s NUVO, an alt weekly in Indianapolis, I’ve got a review of Matthew Tully’s Searching for Hope: Life at a Failing School in the Heart of America. Tully’s a very good columnist at the Indianapolis Star, and while Searching for Hope isn’t … Continue reading →

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A review of Jonathan Franzen’s Farther Away: Essays

Posted on 30 April 2012 by

[San Francisco Chronicle] In Sunday’s San Francisco Chronicle, I’ve got a review of Jonathan Franzen’s new collection of essays, Farther Away. While I liked it less than most — I call it “the book of a writer who’s calming down” … Continue reading →

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Novelists and cable television

Posted on 19 December 2011 by

[The New York Times] In Sunday’s New York Times Book Review, I’ve got an essay about how more and more novelists are selling the rights to their work to cable networks — and in many cases, even helping adapt that work, … Continue reading →

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A Review of John Jeremiah Sullivan’s Pulphead: Essays

Posted on 14 November 2011 by

[San Francisco Chronicle] In yesterday’s San Francisco Chronicle, I’ve got a review of John Jeremiah Sullivan’s terrific new book. It collects a bunch of Sullivan’s magazine pieces (hence its title, Pulphead), and pretty much all of them, whether a review or … Continue reading →

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Wouldn’t it be great if the book industry had its own Oscars?

Posted on 30 October 2011 by

[The New York Times] In Sunday’s New York Times Book Review, I’ve got an essay on the short and inglorious history of the American Book Awards. Actually, it’s also a history of the short and inglorious rebranding of the National … Continue reading →

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