Lumbering

book/daddy is ripping out and replacing kitchen cabinetry this week. Our regular reader may recall the Great Water Heater Flood of '07 -- this woodwork is a further consequence of that and the subsequent, under-reported Flooring Crisis. At any rate, amid the flying splinters and nails, book/daddy sends his regrets for not posting more the past few days, but it is difficult to type while wielding a hammer and a prying bar. He begs your indulgence, noting that although he may not be the finest literary critic around, he's probably one of the very few the past year who has built a wood fence, installed a new intake vent for the A/C, ripped out a kitchen floor and done cabinetwork.

I'd like to see just how well Louis Menand can handle a router. Or spackling. There's very little appreciation of spackling skills in literary circles. A serious oversight in theory and practice.