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VIDEO: Neil Gaiman on "Why Fiction is Dangerous"

One of the unquestionable highlights of BookExpo America this year was the opportunity to hear Neil Gaiman speak.  I've been a fan of his work for years, and I've even met him a couple of times, but it...

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“Time is more complex near the sea than in any other place…”—John Steinbeck,...

Sea Creaturesby Susanna DanielI can’t say why it is, but some stories grab you right from the opening pages. That was the case with Susanna Daniel’s fantastic sophomore novel, Sea Creatures. Early in...

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“It became one of those stories, never told honestly.”

& Sonsby David GilbertI think I was about 7% into David Gilbert’s sophomore novel, & Sons, when I started emailing friends that it was brilliant. That was a pretty snap judgment, but by the...

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VIDEO: Allison Leotta & the booty call of interviews

It's not much of a secret that I've been friends with novelist Allison Leotta for the past few years.  I met her at Thrillerfest in New York a few months before her debut novel, Law of Attraction, was...

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“Speak of the Devil and he shall appear.”

Speak of the Devilby Allison LeottaWARNING: Spoilers for Allison Leotta’s prior novel, Discretion, below.Readers of Allison Leotta’s Anna Curtis legal thrillers have been waiting on tenterhooks for her...

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“Perception is reality.”

Big Egosby S. G. Browne“It used to be you were stuck with your own personality, your own identity, and any adjustments to your persona would only be as successful as your acting ability. That all...

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VIDEO: Andrew Sean Greer on The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells

I know, I know, enough already!  I keep going on about this book.  What can I say?  I love it.  I read it way back in January, and I've been spreading the word ever since.  I can't resist sharing good...

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“Sometimes you can tell the truth better through stories.”

The Truthby Michael PalinThe quote above is one of more than a dozen that wrestle with the nature of truth in this second novel by writer, globe-hopper, and former-Python, Michael Palin. At the heart...

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Comfort reading

So, things have been pretty quiet around here for the past couple of weeks.  It's not, for once, because I've been slacking off.  Nope, I've been pretty darn sick.  (And yet, how awesome is it that...

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“There’s the story, then there’s the real story…”

MaddAddamby Margaret AtwoodEarly on in the long-awaited conclusion to her MaddAddam trilogy, Margaret Atwood writes:“There’s the story, then there’s the real story, then there’s the story of how the...

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Psycho killer qu’est-ce que c’est?

Cain's Bloodby Geoffrey GirardI heard about this novel’s audacious high-concept premise several months before its publication. Marketing copy said:“A terrifying debut novel about the evil in each of...

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GUEST BLOGGER POST: The Secret Side of Empty by Maria Andreu

Note from Susan: Generally, guests posting to this blog meet two criteria: They have a novel out, and they're a friend of mine. Well, I've never met Maria Andreu, and in fact, I've had no contact with...

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VIDEO: David Gilbert and Adam Johnson in conversation

My fall got off to a rocky start health-wise. I’ve been out of balance, and I’ve been having trouble writing for the past few weeks. Ridiculous, I know. But the good news is, I’ve been attending some...

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VIDEO: Antoine Laurain says, "As you can see, my English is very bad..."

Last week I grabbed my favorite Francophile and headed down to the Ferry Building.  Bestselling French author, Antoine Laurain was visiting Book Passage on tour for his charmer of a novel, The...

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VIDEO: Armisted Maupin in conversation with David Ulin

I know that I tend to go on and on about all the amazing literary events around San Francisco, but I can't help myself.  It's basically non-stop here.  And, as you've gathered, I tend to stay pretty...

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VIDEO: Donna Tartt says, "All educated Southerners have three different...

Ugh.  I find myself again on the roll of bad bloggers.  In my defense, I've been out doing--rather than in writing about it.  San Francisco has had back-to-back festivals: Litquake for literature and...

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R.I.P., Michael Palmer

I remember vividly the first time I met Michael Palmer.  It was in the swimming pool of the Arizona Biltmore in July 2006.  I walked right up to him and said that thing every writer wants to hear:...

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Top 10 Books of 2013

Happy New Year, readers!  It's a fresh year, so I'm making a resolution to get back on the blogging bandwagon.  So, what can I tell you about 2013? Well, I read 225 books in total. Yes,that's a record....

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What DID Susan read in 2013?

I promised to post the complete list of books I read this year.  Here, without further ado, it is.  Oh, and for those who assume I'm some kind of speed reader--I'm really not.  While I read faster than...

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VIDEO: Helene Wecker & Andrew Sean Greer in conversation

Quickly, before my Best of 2013 Week is over, I wanted to share something very cool I've been hanging on to since the fall.Yes, I know that everyone is sick of me promoting Helene Wecker's debut novel,...

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“A legend can be made, it turns out, one crude stroke at a time.”

On Such a Full Seaby Chang-rae LeeOn Such a Full Sea is the story of Fan. Not just the story… The myth! The legend! It is being narrated—unusually—by the collective, first-person plural voice of the...

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“Art stands on the shoulders of craft…”

This is the Story of a Happy Marriageby Ann PatchettAnn Patchett is a writer I’ve come late to. Everyone raved about Bel Canto, but opera-lover that I am, have I read it yet? Nope. Still, her most...

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An amateur no more...

   So, this past week, I realized a life-long dream.  After years of working the amateur circuit, I have become a professional bookseller.  What's an amateur bookseller, you may be asking?  Well, I've...

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What's your problem?

Okay, I haven't posted in six months, so I think it's reasonable to ask, "What's your problem?"  Readers of my last post will recall that I started a new job in January.  I'm a full-time independent...

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Now out in paperback...

So, for readers who were wondering about these "shelf talker" reviews I mentioned in my last post, shelf talkers are the little signs you've probably seen written by bookstore employees recommending...

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