Lev Raphael's Blog, page 65

Stunning Hidden WWII Diaries Reveal Average Germans Knew Much More About War Crimes Than They Claimed

On my recent book tour in Germany for my memoir, My Germany , I was reminded of what a rich book culture that country has when I browsed in crowded book stores at the train stations, and studied billboards for all kinds of books, not just thrillers.

And speaking at Justus Leibig University in Giessen north of Frankfurt, I heard about a remarkable diary just published in Germany that should make waves in the U.S. when it's translated from German.

The devastating two-volume book by Friedrich Kel...

My Favorite Thriller of 2011: The White Devil

I've been reviewing crime fiction for well over a decade on-air, in print, and on-line, and always look for something original. I found it in Justin Evans's amazing 2011 thriller The White Devil , my favorite crime book of the year.

Ask yourself what's worse: thinking you saw a ghost or having it confirmed that you did see a ghost?

Andrew Taylor faces that creepy dilemma and a lot more in a book that ingeniously mixes literary detective work, a horror story, young love, academic satire, and cult...

Maybe You Should Stop Dieting?

I've belonged to the same gym for two decades and at the beginning of each year, attendance during the mornings when I work out really jumps. It's harder to find an empty locker, the cardio machines are jammed and you have to be prepared to wait for some weight machines.

The surge fades away after a few weeks as New Year's resolutions die. During that time, I hear men and women groaning about their holiday overeating, and comparing the benefits of various diets. And January blogs and newspa...

Does A Christmas Carol Really Need to be Rescued?

I bet you never realized A Christmas Carol was in danger, did you? And it's not from people supposedly trying to take "Christ" out of Christmas.

No, the real danger is poor, dead Dickens himself. Journalist Jesse Kornbluth has published a version of Dickens' novella that's been cut by half. Why? He claims Dickens' writing is dated, clotted, overwrought. That last label is the funniest of the three because a story about a notorious miser visited by four ghosts who scare the hell out of him...

Thank You, Jane Austen

I fell in love repeatedly in college. With authors. I was an English major and reeled from one new passion to another. Some of them feel like youthful indiscretions now. Tobias Smollett and Dreiser are two of those.

Other loves have lasted and deepened as I've grown older and become an author myself and made a career of it. I still read Henry James and Edith Wharton and they've inspired some of my stories and novels. Austen is another enduring love. I've returned to different novels of h...

How to Have a Perfect Book Tour

Authors often feel like DHL parcels on a book tour, delivered from one venue to another. Small things can feel like big problems: iffy internet service at the hotel; a plane or train being just a few minutes late; forgetting where you put something because you've packed and repacked your bags so many times.

So how do you maintain control?

First thing, never be shy about arrangements at your venue. I've done hundreds of readings and talks on three continents, and I keep finding myself set up ...

Traveling in Germany Can Have its Quirks

I've just returned from an eight-event reading tour in Germany for my memoir My Germany, and I had a great time once again. I love the serious book culture that exists in Germany and how authors are respected as cultural figures. I love the comfortable trains and the train stations with good food, great bookstores and cheerful-looking flower shops.

But certain things about traveling in Germany are quirky, and that's actually a good thing, because a book tour can be exhausting, and without ...

The Five Stages of Book Touring

I'm currently on my fourth book tour in Germany, where people value books and authors in ways you don't find in the U.S.

I'm reading from my memoir My Germany in German and English, and the tour is going well, with enthusiastic audiences. But there's also an inner tour I'm on, one that has five stages I am very familiar with. I think other authors will recognize them.

First comes exhaustion. The time change is brutal, but even worse is the long flight. Even when you fly business class, if you'r...

Writing Academic Satire... For Fun and Profit

Essays, stories and books of mine are taught at colleges and universities around the country, so I've spoken at a lot of different institutions over the years, from Ivy League schools to community collages.

They all have something in common. Invariably, a faculty member will take me aside during my time there and tell me about some eccentric in his or her department. Or about scandal, a schism, or some long-simmering vendetta.

And I think to myself, "You can't make this stuff up!"

There was a...

Gay at a Straight Wedding

Like the narrator in my latest Nick Hoffman mystery, I've been out for decades. But there are still times when I unexpectedly feel exposed.

My spouse and I recently went to a straight friend's wedding, and it started for us like Four Weddings and a Funeral . The ride should have taken only about 15 minutes, but we hit every single red light along the way, and it was over half an hour. As we pulled up outside and parked, I could hear organ music echoing from the very traditional-looking Episc...