Robert Bruce

LATEST ARTICLES ( 529 )

• The Sot-Weed Factor: Poop Is Everywhere

  The Sot-Weed Factor is great.It’s definitely an acquired taste. At 700 pages, and with a unique, old-world style of writing, the novel isn’t a swift read.To... Read more

  Posted on 24 October 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Neil Gaiman On The Future Of Libraries

  Apparently, England has a library problem.Budget cuts have forced their governmental to close hundreds of libraries since 2009. Read more

  Posted on 23 October 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Steven Soderbergh Tackles The Sot-Weed Factor

  The Sot-Weed Factor is a book that’s difficult to appreciate. But when you do “get it,” you really appreciate it.The novel’s style of humor reminds me of... Read more

  Posted on 22 October 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Miley Cyrus Gets A Grammar Lesson

  So I guess Sinead O’ Connor recently wrote Miley Cyrus a letter about not prostituting herself to the music industry. Or something like that. Read more

  Posted on 21 October 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Don’t Make These 5 Writing Mistakes

  Okay, “mistakes” might be a little harsh. Some of this is subjective.And I’ll admit that, when it comes to writing and words, I’m easily annoyed. Read more

  Posted on 18 October 2013 SELF EXPRESSION

• A Pontification On The Wordiness Of The Chapter Titles Within The Sot-Weed...

  Forget about all my negativity on Tuesday about The Sot Weed Factor. Yes, the Old English style is tiring. Yes, it’s wordy and archaic.And, yes, that’s the... Read more

  Posted on 17 October 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• This One’s For The Editors

  Outside of ghostwriting, copyediting has to be one of the most thankless jobs in the writing and publishing industries.I’ve worked briefly as an editor in the... Read more

  Posted on 16 October 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• When The Opening Paragraph Puts You To Sleep

  Have you ever opened a book and, after a few sentences, thought, “Oh my gosh. What have I gotten myself into?”It’s a question I have asked myself in the early... Read more

  Posted on 15 October 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Ann Patchett’s 7 Writing Tips

  A few years ago, Ann Patchett opened an independent bookstore here in Nashville called Parnassus. And though I’ve never read one of her books, that instantly... Read more

  Posted on 14 October 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• What Type Of Reader Are You?

  If you can say one thing about avid readers, it’s this: We’re a weird lot.Every reader is unique. Many of us can be rather eccentric. And some of us can be... Read more

  Posted on 11 October 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Next Up: The Sot-Weed Factor

  I now begin a 700 page novel. I don’t know if I’m ready for this.The Sot-Weed Factor is a “satirical epic” written by John Barth. Read more

  Posted on 10 October 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Book #62: Loving

  

  Terry Southern once called Henry Green, author of Loving, a “writer’s writer’s writer.”I’m not really sure what that means. But, basically, Southern—like many o... Read more

  Posted on 09 October 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Fitzgerald On Steroids

  To start, I’ll simply say that Loving, for me, has been a dive into mediocrity.The story feels uninspired, but the writing is outstanding. I’ll dive more into... Read more

  Posted on 08 October 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• The History Of Typography

  This might blow your mind.This is a stop-motion animation exploring the history of typography through 291 cut-paper letters and 2,454 photographs.If you’re a... Read more

  Posted on 07 October 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Bookish Pet Peeve #4: The One Upper

  Tell me if you know this guy.You’re out to lunch, maybe shooting the breeze over the water cooler at work, chatting with a friend about the books you’ve recentl... Read more

  Posted on 04 October 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Henry Green: “I Forget Everything I Read.”

  I love the brutal honesty in Henry Green’s answer to this Paris Review interviewer’s question.INTERVIEWER No one, it seems, has been able to satisfactorily... Read more

  Posted on 03 October 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• A Kids’ Book That Should Make Parents Freak Out

  

  This is a kids’ book.I don’t even know what to say.Is this a thing?What’s going on in our kindergartens? Do we have some kind of freaky, sexual Lord of the Flie... Read more

  Posted on 02 October 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Henry Green Says Social Media Is Cool

  Maybe. I might have a liberal interpretation, but you be the judge.You guys know I’m a big fan of the Art of Fiction Paris Review interviews. Read more

  Posted on 01 October 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Virginia Woolf Loves The Children

  

  Virginia Woolf wrote a kid’s book.Why does that strike me as incredibly strange? It’s like if Samuel L. Jackson voiced a kids’ book called Go The F**k To... Read more

  Posted on 30 September 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• 6 Features E-Readers Need Before I’ll Use One

  I don’t mean to be that guy. But I just can’t help it—I’m that guy.I’m the guy who doesn’t use e-readers. I know that makes me a literary old fogie—part of a... Read more

  Posted on 27 September 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE