My hometown Sizzlers just closed at the turn of the year, provoking a surprising touch of nostalgia.

Isn't Jasper Fforde on the job?

Rugose.

It won't be the same til Pierce is gone.

Are you talking about that… unnatural act?

Kraken. A similarly huge and fantastical adventure but set in contemporary London. Not as unrelentingly intense as the Bas-Lag books — there's quite a bit of wit and humor, by far the funniest of his books.

Kraken. A similarly huge and fantastical adventure but set in contemporary London. Not as unrelentingly intense as the Bas-Lag books — there's quite a bit of wit and humor, by far the funniest of his books.

I loved, loved that book as a kid. Read it til the binding disintegrated. I can't remember if I ever saw the movie, and I know everyone says it's mediocre at best, but in stills is makes for fantastic illustration.

I loved, loved that book as a kid. Read it til the binding disintegrated. I can't remember if I ever saw the movie, and I know everyone says it's mediocre at best, but in stills is makes for fantastic illustration.

Hm, I actually found the French more natural, but then I'm far more fluent in English. It's just a gymnastic trick of writing, you know, not to be taken seriously as a story.

Hm, I actually found the French more natural, but then I'm far more fluent in English. It's just a gymnastic trick of writing, you know, not to be taken seriously as a story.

I lost my little library in disaster not too long ago, and one item I really miss is my French La Vie Mode d'Emploi. I'd been reading it on and off for years, never got all the way through. Are you reading the Bellos translation? I may give in to it.

I lost my little library in disaster not too long ago, and one item I really miss is my French La Vie Mode d'Emploi. I'd been reading it on and off for years, never got all the way through. Are you reading the Bellos translation? I may give in to it.

Can someone ID something for me? I read a book long long ago that I recall as a long, powerful, brutal Old West tale featuring minimal punctuation and a protagonist going by the Indian epithet Gun in the Water (or Knife, maybe?). I can't recall the title or author, but from what I've learned since I feel like it has…

Can someone ID something for me? I read a book long long ago that I recall as a long, powerful, brutal Old West tale featuring minimal punctuation and a protagonist going by the Indian epithet Gun in the Water (or Knife, maybe?). I can't recall the title or author, but from what I've learned since I feel like it has…

Read Jon Ronson's 'The Psychopath Test' last night/this morning. I saw an interview recently where he alluded to the book, and I've been meaning to check out his stuff for a while. A passable read, engaging enough but mostly anecdote, and musing rather than incisive. Bryson-esque. Veers from the nature of psychopathy…

Read Jon Ronson's 'The Psychopath Test' last night/this morning. I saw an interview recently where he alluded to the book, and I've been meaning to check out his stuff for a while. A passable read, engaging enough but mostly anecdote, and musing rather than incisive. Bryson-esque. Veers from the nature of psychopathy…

Midnight Blue, NYC public-access TV by Al Goldstein, impresario of Screw magazine.

Midnight Blue, NYC public-access TV by Al Goldstein, impresario of Screw magazine.

The first two paragraphs here make it sound like Playtime with a more bitter vibe. I'm going to check this out.