It’s a collection, as you might imagine, of writings about movie actors, many of whom I hadn’t heard of; I skipped parts of it because I really didn’t care, and a lot of the writing …

It’s fascinating, and maddening, and disheartening, but very good, especially if you lived through girl-on-girl bullying yourself (which, who didn’t).   Some of Simmons’s terminology is a little new-agey for my taste, but that’s a …

I seem to remember enjoying Kahn’s baseball writing in the past — I know I read The Boys of Summer years ago — but this one is too fond of itself by half and goes …

Can someone explain to me, please, how it is that pieces which previously appeared in reputable publications with copy editors then wind up riddled with typos in a compilation?   Argh.   It’s really hard …

It’s a really good, fast read; the directness of the prose reminds me of Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast, and also of Joan Didion, but it’s less mannered than either of those two.   A lot …

Really wonderful work by Anthony Lane; the movie reviews are top-notch, the book section is chewy but not too dense, and the piece on the bestseller list circa 1994 made me giggle out loud at …

Okrent’s diction gets a little high for the subject sometimes, but it’s very accessible, and because it’s about a single game in 1982, all these baseball names from my childhood keep popping up and making …

It’s really good; EW gave it a B+, but I think that’s low.   It’s really funny and a fast read.   Shawn’s full tour schedule is <a href=”http://blog.myspace.com/mypetvirus” target=”_blank”>here</a>.   Tell him Sars sent …

It ends up serving as a comment on human nature, really.

Some of the writing is clumsy, but it suits the vintage style of the material and isn’t distracting.   A quick read, and particularly hilarious on the Tarnower murder. (9/30/03)