BookWire
BookWire captivates with interesting, insightful and intelligent commentary
on nearly everything related to the publishing industry. I could easily
spend hours at this site, each and every week. There's a seemingly excessive
amount of material here, though none of it is gratuitous. BookWire simply
has a huge agenda - and tackles it well. Point your browser, put on your
reading glasses, and prepare for volumes of content.
At times, organization seems a bit lacking, but how could we expect otherwise.
There is more content included in this one domain, Bookwire.com, than on
the sites of several major publishing houses combined. Teaming up with *Boston
Book Review*, BookWire sponsors dozens and dozens of new reviews each month
spanning topics as diverse as fiction, poetry, technology and social commentary.
And *Publishers Weekly* supplies the site with weekly best sellers lists,
and special features like the "Best of 95." For those who *aren't*
interested in the latest Stephen King thriller, Danielle Steele romance
novel, or, egads, Bill Gates' new personal literary tangent, BookWire also
accommodates with The Hungry Mind Review, a must for independent publishing
fans. Each quarter, the Hungry Mind addresses a specific theme. In winter
1995, the theme was Science and Faith. Hungry Mind also sponsors a Web-only
section titled "Hot Off The Press," which contains dozens of reviews
that don't necessarily fall into the specific theme category.
The reviews are of course brilliantly constructed criticisms, and fine literature
in and of themselves. In addition to all this, BookWire houses the Web site
for *The Quarterly Black Review* (QBR). Though this area was still under
serious construction when I last checked, it did offer a wonderful interview
with writer Terry McMillan on the screen adaptation of her novel "Waiting
To Exhale."
QBR also offers a list of Black Classic authors. Clicking on Maya Angelou
links you to a bibliography on her work. Unfortunately, there is no additional
information about either the author or the texts, but it's a good start
and I applaud the effort. Finally, the "BookWire's Best Bets"area is a wonderful link list of book-related resources. Unlike other book
resource lists, this one has a heavy emphasis on children, paying special
attention to young writers as well as adults writing for young people. There's
also a separate section of the site completely devoted to the publishing
industry: Who works for the 500-plus national publishers, and how does one
contact them? The entire area is searchable.
BookWire is an outstanding accomplishment, and should pique the interest
of book lovers and the publishing industry. Fantastic. -SK
A
Anne
Rice and The Memnoch Ball
I find few things more upsetting than crystal-rubbing sprites spouting
off about the coming Millennial shift. Come to think of it, only vampire
wannabes annoy me more, and we have Anne Rice to blame for the gothic revival
we're witnessing. There is an enormous amount of Rice-related paraphernalia
online, and heaps of it can be reached from this site. Images, related links,
instructions on making custom fangs - you'll find it all here. Spooky types
will love this site; pay particular attention to the transcript of Anne
Rice's answering machine greeting. -SS
B
Bill Gates The Road
Ahead
Assume Bill Gates owns half of everything worth owning. If every second
he purchased half of everything he *doesn't* already own, how long will
it be until we're all working for Microsoft? This is a fine looking site
put together by top-notch Web artists. But tell me: Is there really a need
for an entire site devoted to *The Road Ahead*, Bill's book? And even if
the book merits a site, does it really deserve its own domain name? This
is one of the greatest privileges of wealth: People think you actually have
something worth saying.-SS
C-
bukowski
You'll find them in every college town: no talent twentysomething slackers
drinking beer, telling stories about girlfriends they never had, quietly
trying to play out a Bukowski story they once may have read. Admittedly,
some Bukowski can be amusing, but most of his hard-drinking tales bore me.
Visitors to this site will find a few pieces of Bukowski art, some sound
files, a brief bio, and the various other items one typically finds at a
small fan site. Pleasant enough, but this is certainly not the definitive
Buk space. Interested parties should try a net search.-SS
C+
Haiku
for People
You'll find answers to various haiku-related questions, and plenty of haikus
by famous and not-so-famous poets. Nothing more. But that's OK. The poems
are wonderful (for haiku aficionados, at least) and the How and What sections
are informative, and should be useful for would-be haiku writers. The site
is simple and to-the-point, accomplishing its intended goals. I like that.-SK
A
Hunter
S Thompson
I sometimes puzzle over that age-old question, Is a self-destructive lifestyle
an essential part of genius? Case in point: Hunter S. Thompson. Few would
argue the brilliance of his political journalism. And few would argue the
fundamentally unhealthful lifestyle he has pursued - for decades, if reports
are to be believed. Another mundane fan site, there is little original material
sitting here. Of greatest interest to Thompson fans will be the related
links, which feature images, reviews, and more. A useful point to jump into
the Web, but don't expect to spend a great deal of time parked here.-SS
C+
John
Keats 1795 1821
This site is served by Portico, the British Library's Online Information
Server. One might expect it to be a vast clearinghouse of Keats-related
information. If these were your expectations, you would be mistaken. Visitors
will find a brief biography of the poet, a few digitized images of early
manuscripts, and little else. The available material is well-presented,
but a Keats researcher will be disappointed by the paltry selection. The
especially troubled might enjoy the audio file of Sally Brown's reading
of "When I have fears that I may cease to be." -SS
B-
kathy
acker hoam paige
I had never encountered the work of Kathy Acker prior to this page. This
may be a good thing - my fragile psyche is still in pieces over the way
"Cheers" ended. This site offers extensive selections from Acker's
work, in addition to news, reviews, and related links. The organization
and presentation in no way dampen the intensity of the writing here. The
word "postmodern" appears numerous times in this space, and this
definitely works for me for if "postmodern" can be considered
synonymous to "mad as hell." Overall, a collection of disturbing
and pointed writings that no doubt have quite a following.-SS
B+
kids lit
"Designed for kids and adults interested in quality kids literature."Buy books, submit art and stories, read letters to Santa - a little dated,
indeed- sign a guest book, and submit your personal comments. This site
features all the typical Web ammenities, and is a great space to share with
the wee ones. It could use a little layout help, but overall, it's on the
up.-SK
B
Literary
HyperCalendar
December 12, 1889: Robert Browning dies in Venice. January 4, 1960: Albert
Camus dies in a car crash. See the connection? Perhaps this site will help.
Here we have a hyperlinked literary calendar with a few pieces of literati
trivia for each calendar day. This site reminds me of those kooky-themed
desktop calendars that were so popular a few years back: a wacky Winston
Churchill anecdote for each day of the year. And so forth. The site creator
appears quite interested in user feedback; always a good sign. As more bits
of trivia augment the database, the site will grow more interesting.-SS
B
Shakespeare
Illustrated
I must admit that I began composing this review as soon as I saw the site's
title. "How nice," I thought, "Shakespeare's plays...with
pretty pictures." It turns out the site is nothing of the sort. Instead,
what one finds are digitized images of paintings related to the various
plays. The images look good; care was taken in their translation. Most definitely
a work in progress, we can hope that time will nurture a growing collection
of images to be browsed. Both art types and Shakespeare fans would enjoy
this site, yet still rue its small size.-SS
B
The
Beat Generation
As a documentary site, it's fine - other than a few presumptuous declarations
like "Walt Whitman, The Original Beat," or, in reference to Columbia
University, "This grand old Ivy League university may not even want
to be the birthplace of the Beat Generation." (Come on, Columbia is
as liberal as Ivy gets). This aside, the pages offer biographies and pictures
of Beat heroes, presenting an informed and sensible historical perspective.
It's slightly dry, which is unfortunate, as it unravels such creative writers.
-SK
C+
The Consummate
Hitchhiker's Guide
Here you'll find extensive information on Douglas Adams and the ever-growing
Hitchhikers Guide To The Universe cybercult. This is quite a database of
related resources. But be warned, young travelers, the collection is merely
a stockpile of hyperlinks, most of which flash the yellow "new"starburst logo; no original content here. Links are poorly organized, and
the layout is distasteful. But it's still a comprehensive list for those
who want to skip the likes of Yahoo and Lycos.-SK
B-
The
Sherlockian Connection
Any mention of Sherlock Holmes brings a wry smile to my face. Such nice
stories, and the Holmes fans I've met are all such nice people. No surprise
that they should at last turn up on the Web. Here you'll find a standard
fan site with links to Holmes-themed external pages, and a "What's
Happening" area for fans in Baltimore. There is also a great deal of
information here about an e-mail list for the faithful. Pleasant, nothing
exceptional, much like the stories themselves. Holmes enthusiasts will feel
at home.-SS
B-
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