When Rod Blagojevich lost his cush job as governor of Illinois, everybody wondered how he would ever be able to put food on his family again because he was qualified to perform zero useful functions outside of being America’s Clown. But then he got a book deal and people were all, “Oh hey nice six-figure book deal you got there, even if it’s chicken scratch compared to what you could have gotten in bribes if you’d stayed in office.” Now we “turn the page” on another “chapter” (GET IT???) of this exciting story. MORE »

It is like college here in DC this week: there is an opportunity for free food that can be capitalized upon by pretending to be interested in the publication of something—plus a bonus Susan Sontag salon. Plus, that quintessential collegiate particular: fictitious tales about Brooklyn! MORE »

There is a use for both your encyclopedic knowledge of arcane Greek mythology and your shameful mental repository of Lee Woodruff-centric minutia this week in DC, in the context of author events. It’s true! MORE »

Remember that time you were like “oo look a comic book about mice” and then you were like “this shit’s not funny it’s about the Holocaust”? Whoops! Well, Art Spiegelman, the author of that comic book (Maus) will be making a rare public appearance tonight at the Corcoran Art Gallery. MORE »

In the continuum of America’s Problems, right before everyone was concerned about the economy and right after the environment actually starting melting, there was the issue of the Muslins, a dangerous sect of Hawaiian Christian Platonists who went rogue for a few years, in Iraq. You’ll recall The War, yes? Anyway, few books about that thing, and how it’s still a problem, despite not being mentioned on any blogs for awhile. Also, there seems to be an early onslaught of nostalgia for capitalism going around, which in this week’s column is comically juxtaposed against the closing of one of DC’s most beloved bookstores, Vertigo Books. Irony! MORE »

Your editor was just reading (re-reading, actually) John Steinbeck’s humorous snapshot of America in 1960, Travels With Charley. When your editor’s lunch (beer) was done, the bookmark was placed between pages 110 and 111 of the Penguin “Steinbeck Centennial Edition,” about how simple folk needed their two things to hate. MORE »

It’s Ladies Week on the DC book tour circuit, as there are a number of biographical-y things about important historical events that one wouldn’t necessarily equate with certain obscure ladies who were actually quite integral, in these important historical events. For instance, the New Deal. And “liberty,” as a concept. Also special guest appearances by your Congressman Chris Van Hollen and moderately popular Newseum exhibit Cokie Roberts. MORE »

One is not born an enemy of Christopher Hitchens, one becomes one. Take the nascent case of a one Adrian Wooldridge, who’s parading around town with his new book, God Is Back, all about how God is back! Adrian Wooldridge has a world of Slate columns originally scribbled in pink highlighter on Andrew Sullivan’s bathroom floor tiles coming his way. Sad. MORE »

America’s barely-remembered poor little rich girl got herself a book deal, through her dad’s agent! You can’t call Meghan McCain “chronically unemployed” anymore, or at least not until next year. But what will our nation’s confused, tattooed spinster write about, in her book? We have a few clues. MORE »

Lots of childrens’ books things at Politics & Prose this week, but no matter, there are things for well-behaved adults such as yourselves too. There’s Cesar Chavez’s death quinceanera, plus an EXPOSE on Big Pet, which you should read before Michael Moore makes it into a movie and then it is not acceptable to care about in public anymore. MORE »

Death row is so popular right now, in fictions. It’s like the new working as an assistant to a magazine editor or post-9/11 inquiries into Meanings of Things. So go hear two authors talk about their new death row books, plus a couple economics suggestion handbooks things because that’s still going on too isn’t it? MORE »