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LATEST Feature Articles
Serpentine Gallery in London Features Architect Frank Gehry
by - Thursday, July 24, 2008
Each summer in London's Hyde Park the Serpentine Gallery asks a different modern architect to design and build a temporary structure for public display. This year it happens to be Canadian-born uber-architect, Frank Gehry. This is his first built structure in the UK. Known for his dramatic fluid titanium sheet metal skins on the amorphous Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao in Spain, and the Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, Frank has this year designed a pavilion of glass and wood that could easily be adapted to a garden space connecting buildings on your property. Find out more about his inspiration for the project and browse through a collection of architecture books and films on the master. (photo credit, Paula Shackleton)
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LATEST Author Interviews
Author Interview: Kem Nunn
by - Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Summer is finally here and all the folks at BookBuffet who have surfing on the brain decided to re-post an earlier interview [Nov 13 2004] with Kem Nunn, the legendary surf noir novelist. In addition to his own novel adaptations, Kem has a successful streak of screenplays to his name, Wild Things and his newest collaborations are with HBO Producer David Milch on the show "Deadwood" and he co-produced the HBO series "John from Cincinnati", a surfing series set in Imperial Beach, California which premiered on June 10, 2007. Kem spoke to BookBuffet about the third book in his surf-trilogy, Tijuana Straits, Random House (2004)
Feature Articles >>
Discipline in Jogging and Writing
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Saturday, July 12, 2008
Haruki Murakami has a wonderful article in the "Life and Letters" section of The New Yorker magazine (June 9 &16, 2008) that reveals the Japanese novelist's inner workings and how he became both a runner and a writer. It's not surprising that discipline, with a capital D is at the root of both, providing fascinating biographical insights into the author's life, his motivations and his writing. If you're a runner, a wannabe writer, or simply a lover of Murakami's books: The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (1997) Kafka on the Shore (2005) and After Dark (2007) to name three titles for starters... read on.
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Book Reviews >>
"Stealing Athena" by Karen Essex, Doubleday 2008
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Monday, July 28, 2008
BookBuffet reviewer, Dee Raffo enjoys the historical fiction genre. Here is her July book review: "As I pick up Karen Essex’s fourth novel, Stealing Athena: A Novel (Doubleday 2008) I am struck by its beautiful cover. It is an 18th century self-portrait by French painter Marie-Genieve Bouliard, as she envisioned herself as the Greek courtesan and philosopher, Aspasia. The cover certainly does match the dual narratives of the book, where two characters 2300 years apart, one in ancient Greece, the other, 18th century Scotland, find themselves inexplicably linked with the Elgin Marbles, and the controversy and passion that surround them."
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Publisher News >>
NYRB Is Having A Sale
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Tuesday, February 26, 2008
The New York Review of Books (NYRB) is moving offices from their current location to Hudson Street in Greenwich Village. Take advantage of the 40%-60% discounts on excellent titles not often available at these prices. Sale ends March 9th. Just browsing the list of fiction, translated fiction, essays and criticism along with other genres, I have pulled a few titles from my own shopping list. Aside from personal reading interests, it's always nice to have a few extra books on hand for gift occasions in the coming months; these are books suitable for most everyone. Learn more about this important literary and publishing force in America.
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Whistler Reads >>
Whistler Reads: James Bond 007 Fall Party
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Tuesday, July 01, 2008
May 28th was the 100th anniversary of the birth of Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond 007. To celebrate, renowned British author Sebastian Faulks has released a new novel titled Devil May Care (James Bond). This unprecedented new edition to the popular and enduring spy series is the Whistler Reads pick for the summer. Members will have some frivolous fun over the summer planning for the September fundraiser and costume party! SAVE THE DATE: Sept 13th (venue TBA) Our sponsors are BACARDI and the Four Seasons Resort and Spa. Tickets are $100 each with proceeds going to fund future WR events. So pick up a copy of this book and developing your party cameo personae - are you a Bond babe, a 007 clone or an evil-doer? Come prepared to shake and get stirred! Event details to follow. Read more about what the critics are saying about Devil May Care.
Wine & Book Club >>
Wine & Book Group Pick for July & August 2008
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Tuesday, July 01, 2008
I've always been a fan of Glen Gould. His playing of Bach and particularly the Goldberg Variations is like trance for the piano—starting at the first variation one is swept away in space and time. I always imagine that my math skills are subliminally being enhanced just by listening to the contrapuntal melody. The other fascination I have with Gould is hearing the stories of his unusual personality quirks. Declared a child prodigy by age three when he demonstrated perfect pitch, it is said that he could read a music score through just once and play the piece perfectly from memory. He had an obsession with his hands. He always wore gloves, even in summer, and never shook hands with people. He would stand for long periods of time at the sink running warm water over his hands. This month I'm recommending the Wine & Book Group pick-up a new book about this fascinating musical genius. (Your dinner conversations will sparkle and entertain even the most die-hard pop or rock fan.) A Romance on Three Legs: Glenn Gould's Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Piano borrows heavily on a previous biography on the artist, but it also tells the story of Gould's relationship with a particular piano and the blind farm-boy technician he relied upon to keep the instrument tuned to his grueling specifications. See what you think as you read further, and download Gould's music from iTunes as a wonderful accompaniment. For wines to go with this selection we've chosen a few delicious ones from the Niagara escarpment wine growing region of Ontario. (Gould was a native of Toronto, not far away.) The area is as physically beautiful as this love story and the music. Enjoy!
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Author Interviews >>
Author Interview: CS Richardson
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Tuesday, April 29, 2008
CS Richardson has worked in publishing for over twenty years. He is a multiple recipient of the Alcuin Award, Canada’s highest honor for excellence in book design, and a frequent lecturer on various facets of publishing, design, and communications. The End of the Alphabet: A Novel, published by Doubleday Canada, is his first novel and it has just been awarded the Commonwealth Writers Prize for A Writer's First Novel. Congratulations Scott!! [interview Feb 2008]
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Technology Corner >>
Web Analytics: What They Know About You & The Websites You Visit
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Saturday, August 02, 2008
Web analytics are the gurus of online companies. They collect information about who visits their sites and they know your age, sex, income, education, marital status, what browser you use and system platform you use, and lots more. Why is that useful? If you are a website owner, it pays to know who your site visitors and customers are. If you are the web editor, it pays to know which articles people are reading, how long they stay on your site, where they browse and where they bail. It's not just for the purposes of matching future content to visitor tastes. It's key information in determining advertisement placement and maximizing revenue. All the big websites have a web analytics department. Even if you are a little guy—it is worth your while to pay attention to web analytics. The New York Times and NBC, to use two examples, track site visits minute to minute. They titrate content and advertising that is specifically geared to your viewing tastes, as breaking news develops or gains particular traction. The articles are repositioned on the page and the ads are matched to your past viewing tastes and geographics. The head of the companies meet with their analytics department each and every day and get regular updates throughout the day. For a taste of what you can learn, visit Quantcast Media Planner and key in your own search variables.
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Events >>
2008 BBC Samuel Johnson Award for Nonfiction
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Sunday, July 13, 2008
Each year the BBC sponsors the Samuel Johnson Prize for Nonfiction recognizing excellence in nonfiction writing. BookBuffet editor Paula Shackleton attended the discussion and provides audio excerpts with the five out of six shortlisted authors whose books vary in subject matter from the history of the Congo, to life in the Soviet during Stalin, to the biography of V.S. Naipaul, to an encapsulated view on the vitality of twentieth century classical music and its connections to popular culture, and finally to the first murder case in Victorian history that sparked an entirely new genre in literature and crime fighting—the detective novel and the professional crime detective. Meet Tim Butcher, Mark Cocker, Orlando Figues, Patrick French, Alex Ross and Kate Summerscale.
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Some Member Book Selections
 
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