I, too, think the division decision probably worked out better for this book.

Billy Bathgate
Since a professor first introduced me to Doctorow a few years ago, I had been searching everywhere for the "Billy Bathgate" story. It's not the same Bathagate as the eventual novel, though there are enough ties between the two characters to relate them. It wasn't at all a disappointing story.

A Character of His Own
This whole thing reminds me of a character in 'The Pale King' who is just so nice and wants to donate any money meant for him and makes the best out of terrible situations and tells people who just seriously wailed on him, and I'm talking wailed on him so badly that he has to go to the hospital…

I still take umbrage with the novel being referred to as a set of short stories. For the most part, these stories don't hold up on their own and you have to know what's going on in all the other ones to really obtain the full effect Egan was going for. It's decidedly a novel in ambition though not execution.

It definitely is one of those works that deserves all the awards it has received.

Fantastic Mr. Fox is pretty fucking great, too. Far better than just O.K.

Ice Trilogy
Has anyone read this? It's ridiculously hard to find here in the 719 (Internet aside) and am just wondering if its worth the effort.

Won Me Over
I picked up this book ready to be completely disappointed and totally unimpressed (think "The Imperfectionists"), but Obreht's layering of the individual narratives, some of what the individual narratives are doing in and of themselves, and the general mood of the novel was pretty awesome. The novel is at…

WAIT A MINUTE
People don't like the Chipotle guy? He's the only one of the three judges handing out advice that's actually pertinent to a successful restaurant. Like, none of them seem to have any sympathy either, but most of their advice is sort of superficial.

Question
Do I need to have to read "A Narrative of the Life of Arthur Gordon Pym" before this, or does the name in the title sort of justify itself?

Oedipus Wrestles the Alligator
I loved this book. When it was first announced, I figured that Swamplandia! and the World of Darkness would be having these massive competitions, almost Millhauserian, against each other. However, I like what Russell turned in a lot better.

I'm pretty sure that DeVotchKa have been around like ten years before Beirut. Their sound is more influenced from Calexico than anything.

On further listen, I'm getting a really big like James Bond-song vibe. By which I mean, the better ones.

Great! A friend of mine and I were wondering, considering they recorded their last albums in Arizona and California and whatnot.

Good Record
I streamed this on NPR quite a lot over the last few weeks. It's pretty good. Not their best, no, and kind of a stasis of the sound from "A Mad and Faithful Telling" (which, by the way, holds up A LOT better when you don't listen to it immediately after "How It Ends"). The B is fitting, I think, though I'm…

Just Realized…
…that Nicholas Hoult was in this. As much as I enjoy just starting at Nicholas Hoult, this makes me hope that Bryan Singer doesn't go the way of Roland Emmerich. California twink parties are fun and all, but not so much when they're presided over by the guy from Tales of the Crypt.

I like how the evil E.T.s were basically Voldemort's snake.

My vote goes for "Alohamora." And I can't wait for him to finish this travel-the-world remix.

Bruno tells you Lydia dies on page 2. Information that early in the book I wouldn't consider a spoiler. Also, I think it says that on the inside flap.

Oh Come On!
There is no way at all that this book warrants a D-. The biggest problems the book had went more on Hale beating his themes of human/animal separation, of the evolution of language, and what it means to be human a little too much, and sort of losing momentum toward the end of the novel. But it nearly hits…