Robert Bruce

LATEST ARTICLES ( 529 )

• Animal Farm, Interpreted Literally

  This is so much better than my review of Animal Farm.John Self is the protagonist in Money. I’ve already shared with you some of his pretty hilarious zingers. N... Read more

  Posted on 04 February 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Faulkner’s Advice For Reading His Novels

  

  I guess this means I need to read The Sound and the Fury three more times to get it.Crap.From The Paris Review’s interview with Faulkner. Read more

  Posted on 03 February 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• All 32 NFL Teams Reimagined As Famous Authors

  This is probably the worst idea I’ve ever had for a blog post. So you’ll probably want to stop reading now.Yet I onward I go, wasting an hour of my life... Read more

  Posted on 31 January 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Money Is Oh-So-Funny

  If you can get past the “dirtiness” of this novel–and there’s a lot to get past–Money by Martin Amis is quite an entertaining book.It’s one of the more... Read more

  Posted on 30 January 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Was Your English Lit Teacher Wrong About Symbolism?

  You always wondered if your college lit professor was just making crap up.Turns out, maybe they were.This article from The Paris Review offers a revealing take... Read more

  Posted on 29 January 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Kirk Douglas, Meet Lorne Guyland

  I misspoke (miswrote?) in my preview of Money last week.In the post, I said that the character of Lorne Guyland in Money was based on Kirk Douglas, who later... Read more

  Posted on 28 January 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• My 7 Rules Of Loaning Books

  Last week’s post about The Book Borrower, one of my bookish pet peeves, seemed to have hit a nerve with a lot of people.So I thought I’d dig a little deeper. Read more

  Posted on 24 January 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Next Up: Money

  You know, I’ve read several novels during this adventure that have made me feel like showering afterwards.There’s Lolita, Portnoy’s Complaint, Dog Soldiers and... Read more

  Posted on 23 January 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Book #66: The Day Of The Locust

  

  I’m tired of reading books about depressed, alcoholic, hopeless twenty-somethings.I’m just tired of it, man.I get it. I really do. Your 20s is probably the... Read more

  Posted on 22 January 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• “I’ll Try Another One Anyway, I Guess.”

  Six weeks after The Day of the Locust was published in 1939, Nathanael West wrote a letter to his friend, F. Scott Fitzgerald. He was updating F. Scott... Read more

  Posted on 21 January 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Why 1984 Almost Didn’t Happen

  Though I won’t be revisiting George Orwell anymore in this project, I thought this piece of information was worth sharing.Orwell’s 1984 nearly didn’t happen. Read more

  Posted on 20 January 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Bookish Pet Peeve #5: The Book Borrower

  If you’ve ever loaned a book to someone and never seen that book again, then raise your hand.Wow, look at that. Lots of you are raising your hands sitting... Read more

  Posted on 17 January 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Homer Simpson Stars in…The Day Of The Locust?

  Man, movie trailers in the 1970s were all kinds of horrible.They were cheesy, too long, and with terrible music.Take a look at this official trailer for The... Read more

  Posted on 16 January 2014 CULTURE

• A New Way To Edit Your Novel

  If you don’t know McSweeney’s, you should, especially if you have a drier sense of humor.A friend passed this hilarious article along to me last week.Did you... Read more

  Posted on 15 January 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• “Where Else Should They Go but California?”

  This is how Nathanael West describes a group of people in Hollywood who have gathered around a theater so they can catch a glimmer of a movie star. Read more

  Posted on 14 January 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• The Style Sheet That Influenced Hemingway

  This is a copy of the style sheet Ernest Hemingway used while working at The Kansas City Star early in his career as a writer.It’s a little difficult to read. Read more

  Posted on 13 January 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Let’s Look At More Terrible Book Covers

  

  If you ever have about 10 minutes (or more) to kill, do yourself a favor and head over to Lousy Book Covers.If you get a kick out of looking at horrific book... Read more

  Posted on 10 January 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• 24 Hours That Changed Literature

  This is one of the more interesting little tidbits I’ve discovered about an author since I’ve started this project.Nathanael West died the day after his good... Read more

  Posted on 09 January 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Ranking The First 65 Novels

  It’s time for me to talk about my utterly meaningless and completely subjective rankings of the recent books I’ve read from the Time list.If you’re new to the... Read more

  Posted on 08 January 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• My Goals For 101 Books In 2014

  What’s in store for 101 Books in 2014?I honestly don’t know. But here’s my best guess.As I begin 2014, I’m about to pass the two-thirds mark. Read more

  Posted on 07 January 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE