Potshots

John Sutherland on how and even why we read novels. His new introduction to the paperback version of How to Read a Novel: A User's Guide

book/daddy's wife, who teaches theater at a public elementary school -- and therefore, mercifully just gets to watch our Bush-induced testing frenzy because No Child Left Behind doesn't give a damn about arts education -- tells me that Linda Perlstein's book, Tested, sounds like a pretty accurate depiction of the insanity. A review by Rick Ayers.

book/daddy likes to think he exited The Dallas Morning News with a certain dignity and professional honor (and severance package) intact (see his departing column here). And then there's this guy at the Orange County Register, whose "fuck you" antics toward management do warm one's dark, childish heart.