Book Buzz

Boardwalk Empire received universal critical acclaim, but after opening strongly viewing figures rapidly declined. Photograph: CAP/FB/Supplied by Capital Pictures Late last year there was a confluence of critical opinion in America the likes of which the nation hadn't seen in years. Every single film critic in the traditional media 350 "best" lists, the ads boast seemed to anoint The Social Network, director David Fincher's semi-fictionalised account of the founding of Facebook, as the movie of the year, maybe even of the decade. Every single literary critic in the traditional media seemed to agree that Jonathan Franzen 's Freedom , his saga of a dysfunctional American family, was the novel of the epoch. And just to make it three for three, just about every television critic in the traditional media seemed to genuflect before Martin Scorsese's Boardwalk Empire , an HBO series that depicts the depredations of a mob kingpin in Atlantic City during Proh...

This week, a conversation with Amy Bloom about her new story collection, "Where the God of Love Hangs Out"; Motoko Rich has notes from the field; Lee Siegel discusses Christopher Lasch's classic, "The Culture of Narcissism"; and Jennifer Schuessler has best-seller news. Sam Tanenhaus is the host. Popout Original audio source (05bookupdate_REV.mp3)

This was a fun week for me. A group of cool people and I launched The Badass Project , getting underway by debuting our inaugural interview with Copybloggers own Jon Morrow. (NOTE: If youre making assumptions about what a project with that name is, youre probably wrong and will be ashamed of yourself for thinking ill of me after you see what it actually is. Shame on you. Now subscribe to something I do as penance.) But it got me thinking: Given the theme of the Project, what would a true Badass think if I were to shirk my duties as Wrap guy and embezzle tens of thousands of dollars from Copyblogger as I was planning on doing last weekend before getting sidelined? Would they think it was noble and good? Or would they think it was unethical? I guess it just underscores the fuzzy nature of morality. Nobody can really say whether that would be right or wrong. Anyway, heres what happened this week on Copyblogger: Monday: Has the Internet Made Teaching Lucrative? Yeah, I really have to under...

To participate in the Saturday Snapshot meme post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky below. Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. All I ask is that you don't post random photos that you find online. The library in my town. I considered myself very fortunate that our small town opened their new library the week that we moved there. The previous library had been in use for almost a hundred years, and was basically a small house with shelves built into the walls all the way around the interior. Now it is the location of the library book sales. I'll have to see if I can remember to bring my camera to the next sale and get some pictures of it. This post 2011 At Home With Books . All Rights Reserved. If youre reading this on a site other than "http://athomewithboo...

BORN UNDER A LUCKY MOON BY DANA PRECIOUS ABOUT THE BOOK: Smart, touching, and utterly engaging, Born Under a Lucky Moon is a polished gem of contemporary womens fictionand it boldly announces the arrival of author Dana Precious, who immediately takes her place at the winners table beside Rebecca York, Jennifer Weiner, and Rebecca Wells. Not unlike Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood and other beloved works of southern womens fictionexcept set in the American MidwestBorn Under a Lucky Moon is a story of family, love, murder, sex scandals, and new beginnings that is, at once, intelligent, endearing, and delightfully quirky. Born Under a Lucky Moon is the tale of two very important (but distant) years in the lives of Jeannie Thompson and her (embarrassing, crazy) colorful family members to whom "things" just seem to happen. From the Great Lakes of Michigan to Los Angeles and back again, it is a story of surprise marriages, a renegade granny, a sprinkler system cur...

We thank Ian McEwan for responding to our letter (Letters, 24 January), but we, the undersigned, must continue to express our profound disagreement with his decision to accept the Jerusalem prize. Courtesy does not oblige us to respect a decision that fails the Palestinian people by rejecting their call for an international Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign against the Israeli state. BDS was launched by over 170 civil society organisations in 2005: after Susan Sontag and Arthur Miller received the prize.In reply to Ian McEwan's claim that literature transcends political considerations, we put three questions to him. First, as the prize is awarded by the Jerusalem municipality, isn't accepting it a fundamentally political action? Second, would he have accepted a prize funded by apartheid South Africa? And finally, isn't it now abundantly clear that the long slow process of "dialogue and engagement" with intransigent Israeli governments has only enabled...

This week, music legend Patti Smith discusses her new memoir, "Just Kids"; Motoko Rich has notes from the field; Rebecca Newberger Goldstein chats about her new novel, "36 Arguments for the Existence of God"; and Jennifer Schuessler has best-seller news. Sam Tanenhaus is the host. Popout Original audio source (29bookupdate.mp3)