If you want an obsession, I'd say Writers' Houses is one to pick

1. The new issue of Bookslut went up this week with my column on bios and historical fiction and historical poetry. All of it is fabulous and I bet you haven't heard of most of these books. You should. Go. LOOK.

2. I also have a standalone review of Osa and Martin by Kelly Enright. As I write in the review, I've been a fan of Osa Johnson's ever since I happened into her autobiography while scanning the shelves of a particularly dusty used bookstore many years ago. Enright fills in many of the blanks and this is a most excellent book about a fascinating couple who happened to film South Pacific cannibals and African safaris in the early 20th century. (If that doesn't get you curious, note that Martin Johnson first traveled around the world with Jack London. How cool is that?!)

3. And see Martyn Pedler's column "Self publish or Perish".

4. Look - a new literary festival and it's in western Washington! It will be interesting to see how things develop. For folks who don't know, this is a location waaaaay out in the Cascade Range. Gorgeous area and very Pacific Northwesterny. (I know that's not a word but you get my point.)

5. Matt Ruff talks about writing The Mirage, a book I'll be including in my April column. (it crosses over just fine to teens.) I don't think there is any author other than Ruff who could have pulled off this title - an alt history book where the twin towers in Baghdad were attacked by American Christian fundamentalists on November 9, 2001. The twist - the amazing twist - is that some people are convinced that things are not as they are supposed to be, that actually America was attacked by Islamic fundamentalists on September 11th and the world they are living in is really a mirage.

So.Good. SOOOO good.

Here's a bit from Matt on the book:



There was the central conceit of the mirage. Apart from being a neat twist that you could build off of [it was a reminder that] your place in history, at the top of the pyramid of power, is not assured. If the world is turned over once, it could turn over again, and you should maybe build your ethics on the idea that you'll be on the bottom some day or you'll be in need of mercy...If you took Americans and you put them in a position where they believe they should be at the top, and instead, had been humiliated and put at the bottom, the rage that would evolve from that is probably not that different than the rage that comes out of the Middle East. They've been on the receiving end for a long time. Certainly guys like [Ayman al-]Zawahiri are oppressed, they're mad. The Mirage was part of the way at getting at some of that mindless violence.

6. Excellent piece at NPR on the discovery of a recording of a lost speech by Malcolm X at Brown University and the grad student who found it. What's interesting here is that the speech is basically absent from all official records at the school, but some luck and additional digging found something amazing. (This is basically every history nerd's dream by the way.)

7. Huzzah - Route 66 is coming back to life!

8. And double huzzah - the Writers' Houses Kickstarter project is funded! Feel free to continue donating however - I'm sure Allison will put your cash to good use (and there are illustrated postcards and many other goodies that will come your way).