Red Room Where the Writers Are

Narrative of life and death -- in the margins »

I'm reading a riveting memoir of mental illness and recovery called GET ME OUT OF HERE by Rachel Reiland. I came upon it when browsing in a bookstore, and the first few pages swept me away.

On my visit to Acres of Books... »

 I visited an old friend this weekend, probably for the last time.

Giving it Away »

Why would an author ever give away a book?  A whole book, that took months, maybe years, to write?  It's a big question today, as publishers and authors both struggle to find readers in an online

Books as comfort food »

It wasn't so long ago that my nightstand was literally tipping over from the stack of books piled upon it.

Litquake's Tribute to Smut! »

I wanted to let everyone know about a great event coming up in the Bay area. I'm really honored to be a part of this one!

In good company »

Quick Blog, Awesome Graphic Essay »

Got Reading Guilt? Books you you know you shoulda read? Books your parents made you read?

READ LIKE AN AMAZON: Howls from the Kennel »

  (NOTE: Stuck for a synonym? Messed up over metaphors?

New reading! »

From the "this just in" files, I've just found out that I'll be reading a portion of Icarus at

THE TRIAL OF READING »

I less and less . . . and less . . .  have the ability to read anything of length while I write.

Literary Salons and Book Groups »

If there is a modern American equivalent to the French salons of the 17th and 18th centuries, it may be found in the thousands of book groups that gather regularly across the nation in living rooms, public libraries, and local coffee houses to discuss literature and ideas – often passionately, and with a great deal of wine and laughter involved.

Reading On Saturday Night »

Hello! Please come to a reading: Writers With Drinks: http://www.writerswithdrinks.com/When: Saturday, July 12, 2008, 7:30 to 9:30 PM, doors open at 7:00 PM

Whatever Happened to the "Paperless Society?" »

I don't own a Kindle Reader and I don't know anyone who does. Being a hands-on person, I would miss the tactile quality of a real book. Wouldn't you?

My Underworlds of Burroughs and Baum »

The summer just before I turned eleven years old, I first read Burroughs and Baum. That's William Burroughs: author of Junkie and Naked Lunch. And L. Frank Baum: author of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz books.

The Sacred Act of Reading »

 “Then there were times when you had to write. Not conscience. Just peristaltic action.

The Show Must Go On -- The Reading's now in front of Cody's! »

Folks, It's staying light out longer these days so I'm going to still show up to Cody's this coming Monday and hold my reading on the sidewalk in front of the boarded up husk of what was once a gre

Fast, cheap and dirty »

   In summer, I like my reading fast and cheap and dirty. Do my own books fit the bill?

When writers of color come together the sky opens (Hey Bay Area!) »

Thursday June 26,  Thomas Glave, Faith Adiele, Ruth Forman, Gregory Allen Howard, Diem Jones, Elmaz Abinader with Tony Khalife--hosted by Aimee Alllison

But Enough About Me... »

I think I'm through with author book signings and readings at bookstores. The idea sounds great, but the reality is somewhere between depressing and horrifying.

Are we all whistling as we pass the cemetery? We talk about what we are writing . . . »

. . . about publishers and producers and agents, but seldom do we speak of readers _ other than as numbers.

What should I be reading? »

  I'm looking for culture.

Weekend in Paradise »

Please enjoy this photo of Crested Butte, Colorado, from Theresa Rizzo, a good friend and wonderful writer.

The Importance of being earnest...in what and why we read »

As I read the latest reviews in the NYT Book review, I am struck by the degree to which fewer and fewer of us read for serious purposes outside of entertainment in fiction.

On These Small Hands »

Words.  Books.  I was looking at my bookshelves the other day, astonished at how much I've read in my life.  You'd think I'd be wiser, more intelligent, as peaceful as Buddha reading and rocking in

Storytelling is All That »

Call this a rant, flubber, whatever.  To me, it's the best way I have of expressing myself.  And for some reason, I feel the need to express myself today. 

QUOTATIONS FROM EDMOND JABÈS 3 »

WIDE, the margin between carte blanche and the white page.

A Writer's Beginnings and Parental Literary Criticism »

I started writing when I was a kid, around ten years old.  My father said he used to come into my room and there would be pieces of paper all over the floor, little pieces of paper folded up with wri

My First Love, Reading »

Reading saved me.  It has always saved me.  From before I could read myself, my mother reading to me saved me, kept me from thinking my own thoughts sometimes, giving me new thoughts to think abo

3 New Radio Shows and a moveable seat »

The Compulsive Reader Talks has 2 new shows -- one with Julie Mars, author of Anybody Any M

Turning Those Pages »

Well we're starting to make a little noise here, anyhow.

"Friend-raising" for our public libraries? »

On Saturday, May 3, the Burlingame Public Library Foundation hosted a lunch that was as much about raising funds as it was about building community. As one of the organizers put it, the afternoon was an exercise in “friend-raising.” Michael Krasny, the host of the San Francisco Bay Area public radio station KQED’s Forum program, talked about his new book, Off Mike: A Memoir of Talk Radio and Literary Life, published this year by Stanford University Press.

The Big One »

Tomorrow is the biggest event of my nascent writing career. I'll be reading from my novel at the Mineshaft Tavern in Madrid, New Mexico, on Friday May 2, 7-8 pm.

Raising a Reader »

The argument this morning was about getting dressed.

Tagged! »

The writers at Type M 4 Murder (http://typem4murder.blogspot.com) have been tagged with a literary challenge.

Rose Among Thorns »

The Charm School has gone through a few iterations in its lifetime. I thought you'd like to see the genesis of this book from the outside in.

What's So Funny 'Bout Fiction: On the Hoaxed Memoir »

Every day there seems to be a new author putting his or her hand up

Hope for Writers »

There’s heartening news in the publishing world, although you wouldn’t know it from most of the doom and gloom in the popular press about the decline in reading.

What's on your booshelf? »

Like in this recent, popular, New York Times piece, there’s been some press lately about how important books are as a means of identifying people with similar interests and attitudes. With these new “bookshelf” applications in Facebook (as I mentioned a few weeks back), and other places, books are clearly—even in this digital age—remaining a social touchstone.

Reading and Signing at Back Pages Books »

I'll be reading from and signing Unwelcome Bodies this Sunday at 3:30 at Back Pages Books in Waltham, Massachusetts:http://www.backpagesbooks.com

The $400 Brown Paper Wrapper »

Whenever I take out my Kindle (which is whenever I travel, which is more than I can admit) I feel that exhilarating blend of guilt and thrill that I imagine people feel when they steal jewels.