I know I said that there would probably be no more Friday Links in 2010, but let’s face it–I have little else to do with my time.
Besides, youth wants to know.
–A few of weeks ago we touched on (oh, what an awful, awful choice of words) the gentleman who wrote The Pedophile’s Guide to Love and Pleasure. Phillip R. Greaves has now been arrested and brought up on obscenity charges. He was taken at his Colorado home (“home” = windowless van, no doubt) and shipped to Florida to await trial.
Take a look at that mugshot. Is it fair, I wonder, to judge this particular book (person) by its cover (those leering eyes)?
If not, let’s just judge him by his book …
This is a curious passage, though:
Legal experts questioned whether Greaves’ right to free speech would come into play if there’s a trial. If prosecutors can charge Greaves for shipping his book, they ask, what would prevent booksellers from facing prosecution for selling Vladimir Nabokov’s “Lolita,” a novel about a pedophile?
What do you guys think?
— There is an absurd amount of year-end “Best Of” lists. I’ve contributed to them myself. But a year-end “Worst Of” list? Let me at it.
(Side note: I’ve read not one of these ten books. Why am I admitting that here? I don’t know. Because it fills space.)
(And may I just say that the photo leading off the piece is actually better than the piece itself.)
— No more literary signs/placards on the MTA. I’m okay with it. As long as there’s something up there to provide riders an opportunity to avoid eye contact with other humans.
— This is probably old news for many of you, but Amazon is now making available to writers the sales statistics on their books. For authors, this could easily turn into a Facebook-level timesuck.
— Are you tired of only checking out books and movies at the library? Have you ever wished that your local library allowed you to check out human beings as well? Move to Toronto. (In the summer)
— This one has really been making the rounds: a child opens a Christmas gift containing books and throws a shit fit. (Keywords: Funny, cute, ominous.) (Note the Wii product placement. At nearly 300,000 views, do you think the family will be asking Sony for royalties?) (Sony? Or is it Nintendo? Who cares?) (“Royalties” = wrong word.)
— WBN ToW: AmeliaGray, author of Museum of the Weird, always has something fun to say.
— Shameless Plug of the Week: Eh, we don’t really have one this week. How boring is that?
We are taking blog submissions, though. Details to come in a separate post.
Until then, enjoy your holidays, folks. WBN is off to Milwaukee for some family time and frigid cold, either of which is liable to kill us at any moment.
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