Bulletin Board
Look what the election hath wrought already: reports that Bruce will release an album about the time Obama is sworn in. There are also unconfirmed reports brief U.S. and European tours will follow.
Bookish Linkage
Evidently, publishers also find a memoir by President Bush “resistible.” (Via.)
In contrast, Roberto Bolaño’s 900+ page 2666, set for release next week, is already described as a “literary juggernaut.”
The range of biographies, so to speak, of things and ideas you wouldn’t normally anticipate is wide.
So, what books would you pick to teach a course called “Murder, Mayhem and Madness“? (Via.)
City Pages takes a look at Graywolf Press, the independent St. Paul publisher of great works like Per Petterson’s Out Stealing Horses. (Via.)
Interesting thought to ponder: SF works that caused political change.
Add David Halberstam to the list of journalists and authors under government watch. (Via.)
Edward Champion doesn’t believe there’s any such thing as a free book for book bloggers. (I rejected the program out of hand because the I wasn’t interested in the publisher’s topics or it dictating where reviews had to be posted.)
Nonbookish Linkage
Should a person be pleased or disappointed if they don’t have any of the 15 creepiest old album covers?
Esquire gives us its list of the five most misleading propaganda films from the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s.
I could have told you this 40 years or more ago.
What’s the religious world coming to? Time cards for Catholic clergy and talk of “performance-related pay.” Hmmm, just how do you judge a cleric’s performance — ceremonies performed, confessions heard, new members, collection plate income or souls saved? (Via.)
Election-type Linkage
An interesting observation of the historic nature of the presidential election from the perspective of NYT headlines.
Here’s the speech Springsteen gave in Cleveland Nov. 2, the same night he debuted a new song, “Workin’ on a Dream,” and dedicated it to Obama.
Finally, this seems like a good way to close the book on election-related items. By a margin of 56-44 percent, Minnesota voters approved a “Clean Water, Wildlife, Cultural Heritage and Natural Areas” constitutional amendment. It authorizes a sales tax increase of three-eighths of one percent starting next July for dedicated funding for those purposes, including “to preserve our arts and cultural heritage.”
I’m workin’ on a dream
Though sometimes it feels so far away
I’m workin’ on a dream
And I know it will be mine someday
“Workin’ on a Dream,” Bruce Springsteen
