Losing one's marbles: It's a Monday

There are two kinds of histories, book/daddy was once taught: They're either beads on a string or marbles in a jar. They either connect events, teleologically, or they accumulate them, layer them.

What, then, of a history of histories?

Speaking of history, book/daddy once had a lingering, adolescent interest in esoteric thought -- it comes from being taught by Jesuits. Until, that is, he read Robert Anton Wilson That just about cured any interest in Freemasons, conspiracies, Anton LaVey and Aleister Crowley, an interest definitely not revived by National Treasure or From Hell.

But some people still seem to think Zoroaster and the Knights Templar were behind everything.

In case you find yourself in such a horrible position: how to explain Ayn Rand to an Ayn Rand-nut/bookstore customer. Courtesy of librarian.net

New lessons in how to read the body, notably such messages as "Get outta here!" and "Oh ... mah ... Gawd!" Courtesy of The Valve.

December 16, 2007 6:44 PM | Permalink

Categories:

THE REVIEWS:

Pat Barker, Frankenstein, Cass Sunstein on the internet, Samuel Johnson, Thrillers, Denis Johnson, Alan Furst, Caryl Phillips, Richard Flanagan, George Saunders, Michael Harvey, Larry McMurtry, Harry Potter and more ...

ESSAY:

Big D between the sheets -- Dallas in fiction

ESSAY:

Reviewing the state of reviewing

ESSAY:

9/11 as a novel: Why?

ESSAY:

How can critics say the things they do? And why does anyone pay attention? It's the issue of authority.

The disappearing book pages:

Papers are cutting book coverage for little reason

Thrillers and Lists:

Noir favorites, who makes the cut and why