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I confess, I've gotten a Time Out.

But not for bad behavior.

I'm delighted to be a Critics' Pick in Time Out Chicago, for the talks I'm doing this week and next.

More details on these and other events on . . . wait for it . . . the EVENTS section of this website.

People ask me all the times, "What made you decide to write this novel?"

But what I want to ask THEM is, "What made you decide to read it?"

So I really enjoyed eavesdropping as this bookblogger mused about why she might read The Secrets of Mary Bowser (instead of Jeffrey Eugenides' The Marriage Plot or Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried).

Then I glanced around my bookshelves and wondered what anyone would think of me, if all they had to go on was all the books I own.

Who's the bigger Uncle Tom: Samuel L. Jackson or Mickey Mouse?

Check out "Is Django Unchained Shackled to Hollywood's Past?" which I just wrote for Speakeasy, the Wall Street Journal's culture blog.

What strikes terror into the heart of a novelist?

Listen to this piece from NPR's Live Wire! to find out:

Thanks as ever to the fantastic folks at Live Wire! Radio for having me on the show.

Last night I had a great time at the live taping for NPR's LiveWire! program.



It is mostly a comedy show.

Except that I was there talking about Mary Bowser, slavery, and the Civil War.

And Pink Martini's Thomas Lauderdale and NPR's Ari Shapiro were talking about the anniversary of the killing of Civil Rights activist Medgar Evers.

And Arthur Bradford talked about the How's Your News team (of developmentally disabled reporters) covering the 2012 presidential campaign.

That may not sound like a rocking good time, but it was. Because in Portland, rocking good time and social justice are not incompatible concepts. They are inseparable pursuits.


Check out the rest of the pix on Facebook, and tune in December 1 or thereabouts to hear the show (check the full broadcast schedule by city or look for the podcast on livewireradio.org).