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The Evolution of a Novel

January 13, 2012
Cover of Alex George's A Good American.

No real update today, but I want to share something worth checking out. Author, Alex George, has a wonderful “story in five photos” entry on his blog, chronicling the evolution of his latest novel, A Good American (affiliate link), from a blank page, through several drafts, galleys, and the actual novel. More than that, though, it [...]

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What Are Your Reading Habits?

January 11, 2012
A pile of books.

Yesterday on my personal Facebook page, I posted the video above. A very good friend replied, saying that he’s all about e-books and audio books these days, because it allows him to not be weighed down by books and lets him read/listen on the go. The Power of E-Books I love physical books, but I’m [...]

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The Book Pile: Habibi

January 5, 2012
Cover to Craig Thompson's Habibi.

I’ll just go ahead and say it: I think Craig Thompson’s Habibi is one of the best — if not the best — examples of graphic novels as a medium. It blurs the lines of time and place, it uses traditional comic book panels and many design elements to carry the story, and it ends [...]

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The Book Pile: The Sense of an Ending

January 3, 2012
US Cover to Julian Barnes's The Sense of an Ending.

Yesterday, I read The Sense of an Ending (affiliate link), by Julian Barnes. At 163 pages, it’s short enough that I’m tempted to read it again, to see if my feelings about it change. The Quick Version The book is about a group of school mates who go on to college and then onto their [...]

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What’s in a Title?

January 2, 2012
Clock about to strike midnight.

It seems fitting to begin the new year by reading a new book: Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children, a book about children born at the stroke of midnight in India in August of 1947 — at the very time of the country’s independence. Reading Rushdie’s introduction to the 25th anniversary of the book, he talks about [...]

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Best of The Juggling Writer – 2011

December 31, 2011
Calendar.

2011 wasn’t as busy a year for The Juggling Writer as last year. I’m sure, in part, that starting a new job was partially to blame for only 93 entries for the year — not the 150 entries of the year before. But it was still a good year. I wrote almost 95 entries this [...]

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The Things Not Said

December 15, 2011
Louis CK: Live at the Beacon Theater

Last night, I watched Louis CK: Live at the Beacon Theater. I thought about writing a post about things known writers can do with direct distribution, but changed my mind as I sat down to write this. (If you’re not familiar with Live at the Beacon Theater, Louis CK funded the production himself, edited the [...]

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What Do Italian Fig Cookies Have To Do With Writing?

December 12, 2011
Cosi di ficu.

This time of the year, Italians make fig cookies. Most fig cookies I’ve seen are cucidati, similar enough in shape to a Fig Newton, but with a totally different dough and frosted. [A quick aside: there's really no comparison between Fig Newtons and Italian Fig cookies. While I've liked Fig Newtons since childhood, the filling [...]

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Paying the Tab

December 7, 2011
A sign outside a liquor store.

My father moved to Kansas from Chicago when I was 8 or 9. After my step mother divorced him (sometime in my early teens), he eventually settled in Independence, Missouri, where I visited during the summers. He tried taking time off work when I visited so we could go fishing, canoeing, and camping. Before one [...]

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The Thing About Books

December 5, 2011
A bookcase.

I like e-books. I’ve been buying more e-books than physical books, lately. Not that I have anything against physical books — quite the contrary: I love physical books. But in a one-bedroom apartment, there’s not a lot of room for physical books. (Which is why I tend to give books away.) E-books are a great [...]

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