So, this happens to us all the time.  We're away for a while, we fall a bit behind here and next thing you know, we're drowning in items to share.  Invariably, an all-too-familiar sloth sets in, and many of these nuggets fall to the wayside.  Not this time, however.  ...

"Interesting" is not a word we much care for.  It's weak, vague, and is generally deployed when we're avoiding saying something else, usually something bad:  "I thought your debut novel was ... interesting."  "The films of Edward Zwick are ... inter...

Back in 1994, prompted by Harold Bloom's The Western Canon, James Wood presented Guardian readers with his own list of the best British and American writing since 1945.  (He found Bloom a "fine, if prejudiced, reader or prose, but an unreliable reader of prose.")  The list ...

As promised, we follow up Wednesday's 3MI with Jesse Ball with a giveaway of his fascinating novel The Way Through Doors .  Thanks to the folks at Vintage Contemporaries, we're able to offer TEV readers five signed copies.  In case the interview wasn't enough to whet your app...

After being away far too long, the 3MI has come roaring back in style, in a new, expanded format.  The rules remain this same but it's been a while, so we'll refresh - the first three questions are customized for the interviewee, and the remaining seven questions (formerly ...

Last weekend, Mrs. TEV and I spent a lovely Saturday wandering around the Norton Simon Museum, my favorite of L.A.'s museums.  I was there to do a little research for my new novel - I wanted to get a close look at one of the paintings in the collection. Afterwards, we found ourselves in th...

For the first time in who-knows-how-many-years, we're not participating as a judge in the always entertaining Tournament of Books.  Why not?  Because Harry, Revised is in the running ... Cock-a-doodle-doo ......

James Wolcott's outstanding (and hilarious) review of the latest Updike is as superb an example of Snark as Art as we've seen.  Enjoy it.  Especially the closing line.  Heaven knows, we did. John Updike’s unfailing geniality and fluent industry appear to get on a fair num...

Writing for the Times, Matthew Parris discovers what has been in plain sight for years - Tintin is gay.  (To which Mrs. TEV responded, "This is news?".) Billions of blue blistering barnacles, isn't it staring us in the face? Sometimes a thing's so obvious it's hard to see...

* Rob Riemen, author of our recent favorite Nobility of Spirit (see Recommended sidebar), writes an open letter to the President-elect. * We failed to get our shit together in time to contribute to the always stimulating Books of the Year symposium at Ready Steady Book, but that shouldn't stop y...