By Elizabeth Hand
Special to The Washington Post
Tuesday, March 10, 2009; Page C01
 

ANGELS OF DESTRUCTION
By Keith Donohue

Shaye Areheart. 347 pp. $24
By day, Keith Donohue is the consummate Washington bureaucrat, toiling away in the National Archives. But when he’s not approving grants for the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, he’s summoning strange, fey creatures for his [...]

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Early reviews are good:
“Norah’s unexplained origins form the enigmatic core of this story … the novel movingly illustrates the quest for connection hardwired into every human heart.” – Publishers Weekly.
“Donohue has a talent for using small details to draw his characters, and the result is a dark and unsettling story that takes hold of the [...]

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That clever little tagline was in an insert inside my recent copy of Maryland Life magazine. Evidently this year is the 200th year anniversary of Edgar Allan Poe’s birth.  Baltimore (where Poe’s mortal remains rest for eternity – or until somebody builds a subdivision on the graveyard) is having a year-long celebration of Poe.
Both of [...]

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Scout Tufankjian was an independent photojournalist following Barack Obama around during his campaign.  There are some really wonderful photos on her website www.scouttufankjian.com.
This photographer is wonderful.  The human element in her work is both grand at times and at others, simple and humble.

You can purchase her book Yes We Can at Amazon.

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I haven’t read it yet but I did get an (uncorrected) proof of my brother’s latest for Christmas. It comes out March 3rd. Here is the short review from Publisher’s Weekly:
Tweaking some thematic elements of his previous novel, The Stolen Child, Donohue now tells the story of Norah, a nine-year-old who appears on the doorstep [...]

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Movie deal for 9-year-old dating author
Today Show
Fox is ready to take advice from a 9-year-old.
The studio has acquired the film rights to “How to Talk to Girls,” a cute 46-page self-help tome written by Alex Greven, a Colorado fourth-grader.
Greven wrote “Girls” as a handwritten, $3 pamphlet sold at his school book fair. He wrote it [...]

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Before he began his recent travels, it seemed to Phil Zuckerman as if humans all over the globe were “getting religion” — praising deities, performing holy rites, and soberly defending the world from sin. But most residents of Denmark and Sweden, he found, don’t worship any god at all, don’t pray, and don’t give much [...]

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Will and I cleaned up the spare room and found this “Flip This House” book.
There is an episode of Psych where Sean tells Gus something like, “That’s so forty minutes ago! I’ll bet you still say chillax.”

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He COULDN’T have gotten through his list!
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‘100 Things’ co-author Dave Freeman dies at 47
AP
Dave Freeman, co-author of “100 Things to Do Before You Die,” a travel guide and ode to odd adventures that inspired readers and imitators, died after hitting his head in a fall at his home. He was 47.
Freeman died Aug. 17 after [...]

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Not only was yesterday Will’s birthday here is a snippet from Garrison Keillor’s daily “The Writer’s Almanac” for August 19: It’s the birthday of Ogden Nash, born in Rye, New York (1902). He wrote humorous poems in his books that include The Bad Parents’ Garden of Verse (1936), I’m a Stranger Here Myself (1938), and [...]

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This is a photo of a portion of the rejection letters I’ve been receiving for years.  These are all rejections for literary works.  My art rejections are in a different file.  These days a number of rejections come via email too, so you can be rejected in a much more timely and paper-free, eco-friendly manner.
Whenever [...]

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I finally finished John Adams this morning. It’s a great book; a wonderful illustration of the fullness of a life dedicated to public service, a true understanding of the birth of the nation and proof that a man and woman can be partners, lovers and friends.
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“Griefs upon griefs! Disappointments upon disappointments.
What then? This is a [...]

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Ain’t I a Mommy?
Bookstores Brim with Motherhood Memoirs. Why Are So Few of Them Penned by Women of Color?
Article by Deesha Philyaw, appeared in issue Genesis; filed under: Books; tagged: mommy wars, motherhood, parenting, publishing, race, women of color.
Article Excerpt (read article at Bitchmagazine.com)
Speaking at the Ohio Women’s Rights Convention in 1851, abolitionist and former [...]

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I’m not a huge comics reader, but hey, who knows?  I’ve always been a Wonder Woman fan myself. 
From BUST.com – Comics for Ladies

So I’m a giant comic geek, but I despair over the lack of comics aimed at the ladies. There’s plenty out there that I love, still, but it makes me happy to [...]

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I was at Borders last night and noticed “Thank God For Evolution” sitting on the shelves. 
The editorial reviews seem to be rather glowing.  However, the reviews by customers are somewhat mixed.  It seems that some of the lower star ratings come from non-Christians who feel that there is a bit of a “have your cake [...]

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