“Though we take from a covetous man all his treasure, he has yet one jewel left; you cannot bereave him of his covetousness.”

-John Milton

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Nobel laureate José Saramago (as translated by Margaret Jull Costa) moves this reviewer of THE ELEPHANT’S JOURNEY.

The Christian Science Review revisits Discovery gunman’s inspiration, MY ISHMAEL by Daniel Quinn.

The Washington Times opines on the value of Richard Dawkins THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH: THE EVIDENCE FOR EVOLUTION.

And here’s a look at what reviews Publishers Weekly set aside exclusively for their online readers.

“Book love… is your pass to the greatest, the purest, and the most perfect pleasure that God has prepared for His creatures.”

-Anthony Trollope

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LET’S TAKE THE LONG WAY HOME: A MEMOIR OF FRIENDSHIP, by Gail Caldwell, chronicles the author’s affection for her dearest friend, writer Caroline Knapp.

Meghan McCain uncorks her opinion on DIRTY SEXY POLITICS.

The California Literary Review has great appreciation for Philip Ball’s THE MUSIC INSTINCT: HOW MUSIC WORKS AND WHY WE CAN’T DO WITHOUT IT.

The Christian Science Monitor isn’t quite ready to deify Jonathan Franzen for FREEDOM (nor for THE CORRECTIONS, for that matter.)  Here’s what they liked about it and what they didn’t.

“Heresies are experiments in man’s unsatisfied search for truth.”

-H.G. Wells

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Author Henry Kisor’s memoir asks, WHAT’S THAT PIG OUTDOORS?, the answer to which goes a ways towards bridging the hearing and deaf communities - and all in good humor.

Juliet Fortier reaches to take a new angle on the angst-template for heroines, JULIET.

YOU LOST ME THERE, by Rosecrans Baldwin, is reviewed by The Canadian Press.

And Library Journal keeps us all up to date on what new in non-fiction.

“I like to see life with its teeth out.”

-Janet Frame

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A pair of business books get the once over at The Dallas Morning News.

The Seattle Post Intelligencer checks out a new comic, AFTER DARK #1, by Fuqua, Snipes, and Nentra.

Author Craig Silvey is going to be pleased with this glowing review of his latest effort, JASPER JONES.

Kevin Guilfoile adds his work to the the high-tension puzzler novel shelf with a heavily-loaded mix-mash of legal thriller, superhero adventure, and mystical gauntlet in his book, THE THOUSAND.

“In the name of God, stop a moment, cease your work, look around you.”

-Leo Tolstoy

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All of author Barbara Trapido’s editorial pacing and shouting seems to pay off in SEX AND STRAVINSKY.

Kathy Reichs is back with the next installment of her Dr. Temperance Brennan series (the one that inspired the hit TV show, Bones) and New Jersey.com has a look at SPIDER BONES.

My local paper makes a thorough case for a new children’s book, THE QUIET BOOK, by Deborah Underwood, illustrated by Renata Liwska.

THE CROSS OF REDEMPTION, by James Baldwin, is a powerful collection of previously unpublished essays, edited by Randall Kenan.

“And the first rude sketch that the world had seen was joy to his mighty heart, till the Devil whispered behind the leaves ‘It’s pretty, but is it Art?’”

-Rudyard Kipling

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Wine expert Libby Volgyes is more or less won over on the usefulness (in certain categories and situations) of Carolyn Evans Hammond’s GOOD, BETTER, BEST: A NO NONSENSE GUIDE TO POPULAR WINES.

The Louisville Courier has a look a a couple of books that give an look inside the operations over at Disney.

John Gross edits a comprehensive look at ‘the sincerest form of ridicule’ in THE OXFORD BOOK OF PARODIES.

Kirkus approves of Suzanne Collins giving her fans exactly what they’d be looking for in MOCKINGJAY.

“A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless. We find that after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us.”

-John Steinbeck

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Have a little fun with mathematics and get inspired with HERE’S LOOKING AT EUCLID: A SURPRISING EXCURSION THROUGH THE ASTONISHING WORLD OF MATH, by Alex Bellos.

Author Erich Rauchway takes Tom Buchanan (Fitzgerald’s Gatsby character) on a new adventure in BANANA REPUBLIC.

The Washington Times weighs in on Binka Le Breton’s lush memoir, WHERE THE ROAD ENDS: A HOME IN THE BRAZILIAN RAINFOREST.

To bring the scales to balance, here’s a chronicle of poetic inspiration drawn from falling bombs and ruined cities - Daniel Swift’s BOMBER COUNTY: THE POETRY OF A LOST PILOT’S WAR.

“Every artist makes himself born. It is very much harder than the other time, and longer.”

-Willa Cather

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The New Zealand Herald thinks Peter Rose’s, RODDY PARR, might have narrowed its target a little too much by gaming with the names and nuances of mostly Australian lierati.

Swedish crime thrillers are all the rage, but Ake Edwardson’s, THE SHADOW WOMAN, may have suffered in translation.

I just hope Elle’s, HUNTING SEASON: A FIELD GUIDE TO TARGETING AND CAPTURING THE PERFECT MAN, is more lighthearted than it sounds here.  Yikes!

And Seamus Heaney’s latest book of poetry, HUMAN CHAIN, earns an Editor’s Pick over at the Guardian.

Pregnancy, childbirth, and parental attachment metaphors abound in this business. Strain at the plot arc and grind your teeth through the editing pains and you’ve given birth (or at least served as midwife) to a new thing, a wobbly creature you christen with a title, then swaddle in cover art. Endure criticism and it stings like having your baby defamed as hard-on-the-eyes. Ask many a writer and you’ll hear that the task of peddling a manuscript is nothing short of turning out your very flesh and blood into the cold, cruel world.

Life is hard, but literature is a nursery of horrors.

Or is it?

AuthorScoop has invited authors of every stripe to weigh in on Thursdays, on one question:

Is your book your baby?

(view the entire essay collection here)

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Insofar as a book is a complex, separate, unwieldy, difficult, beloved, independent creature, then yes, my book was my baby. But now that my children are in their twenties, I find it more relevant to compare the process of completing a book to the entire scope of parenting, which for me began when those tiny individuals popped out and I instantly knew  two things: I was hopelessly in love, and they were going to require more resources from me than I possessed at the time. That disquiet and passion also pretty much sums up the beginning of writing My Name is Mary Sutter. I can never say that I was certain, at any given moment of parenting or writing, what the right choice might be for any given problem. Sometimes I guessed, sometimes I followed a primal, maternal or literary instinct, sometimes I floundered, and on the good days—which I hope were more frequent, not less—I tried to make intelligent choices based on that underlying, enduring love. What I learned over time was that my characters, like my children, had their own truths, their own lives, and it was my job to discover who they were, what they wanted, what they needed from me, and then at moments of intense pressure, summon spontaneous wisdom to figure out how to equip them so that they ultimately could become their best selves. And after I had given each of them every chance, every attention, every ounce of love I could squeeze from my exhausted soul, I sent them all out into the world. It was then that I knew what a folly the concept of “finished” was, because my worries for my book, like those for my children, including whether they will flounder and sink far from my the reaches of my arms or whether anyone will ever love them as much as I do, are never-ending, and that in choosing to write a book, I have risked my heart once again, fool that I am.

-Robin Oliveira, author of MY NAME IS MARY SUTTER

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I do feel that my books are indeed, very much my babies. As far as gestation goes, not really. I wish I had only carried my kids for around a month. After that though, very much so. I am always very protective of my work and will only give it out to a limited number of eyes, like trusting your kids to only the best babysitters. I have nightmares about dying before I get to see their full potential. ie: published vs graduation, great jobs & grandkids. I drive with my laptop in my passenger seat, protecting my novels within and use the “mom arm” with it if I have to hit the brakes fast. I love each one for it’s own differences and try not to love one more than another. * grins * After receiving the news that I was going to be published, I did refer to it as “my baby” because it was going to take nine months for anyone else to be able to see it.

So yes, freakazoid sounding as it may be, my books are my babies. * throws cover art over shoulder and burps it *

-June Donaghy Kramin, author of the just-released paranormal romance, DUSTIN TIME

“Consciousness is much more than the thorn, it is the dagger in the flesh.”

-Emile M. Cioran

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The Christian Science Monitor appreciates Sue Diaz’s memoir, MINEFIELDS OF THE HEART: A MOTHER’S STORIES OF AN SON AT WAR.

Kirkus stars a pirate graphic novel, THE UNSINKABLE WALKER BEAN, by Aaron Renier.

EMPIRE OF DREAMS: THE EPIC LIFE OF CECIL B. DEMILLE, by Scott Eyman, satisfies the critics at The Los Angeles Times.

The Wall Street Journal looks at INTERSTATE 69: THE UNFINISHED HISTORY OF THE LAST GREAT AMERICAN HIGHWAY, by Matt Dellinger.

“An alcoholic is someone you don’t like who drinks as much as you do.”

-Dylan Thomas

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