The United States Postal Service just announced that beginning in August they will no longer deliver letters on Saturdays. This is the latest cost-cutting measure in the USPS’s continuing fight to stay solvent, which has become more and more difficult with the increased use of email and other forms of electronic communication, and with Congress’sContinue reading “Sad Post Office News”
Author Archives: danielshankcruz
Books Acquired Recently
Cohen, Samuel, and Lee Konstantinou, eds. The Legacy of David Foster Wallace. Iowa City: U of Iowa P, 2012. I ordered this book at a discounted price at the Modern Language Association bookfair last month, and it finally arrived this week. As I’ve mentioned numerous times here, I am a big fan of Wallace’s work,Continue reading “Books Acquired Recently”
Back in the Saddle
I haven’t posted in several weeks because I am currently on the job market and have had several interviews that have taken up all of my non-teaching time. However, my life should be a little less crazy in the near future, so I’ll be able to get back to my normal routine of posting aContinue reading “Back in the Saddle”
Two Recent Publications
I’ve recently had two publications appear online. The first is a review of Michael Moon’s book Darger’s Resources, which appears in both the print and electronic versions of the Rocky Mountain Review, the journal of the Rocky Mountain Modern Language association. The electronic version is here. The second is an essay on Miriam Toews’s SummerContinue reading “Two Recent Publications”
Fifty Shades of Grey
I just finished reading E L James’s bestselling romance novel Fifty Shades of Grey because one of my students is writing his senior thesis on it. It isn’t horrible, and is worth reading as sociological research. I had heard that the writing was atrocious, but aside from James’s overuse of the words “jeez” and “crap”Continue reading “Fifty Shades of Grey”
Brief Thoughts on the Baseball Hall of Fame
The Baseball Hall of Fame announced today that no new members were elected from the players’ ballot. Jonah Keri has an excellent column here about why this result is ridiculous, but not catastrophic. As a Mets fan, I was all ready to write an outraged post if Mike Piazza didn’t get elected, but since noContinue reading “Brief Thoughts on the Baseball Hall of Fame”
Books Acquired Recently: Strand Edition
On New Year’s Day I visited the Strand Bookstore at the corner of 12th Street and Broadway in New York City. The Strand is my favorite place in the world; visiting it is a necessary experience for any book lover able to afford a trip to New York. I used to live within walking distanceContinue reading “Books Acquired Recently: Strand Edition”
Books Acquired Recently: MLA Edition
Today I made my long-anticipated visit to the MLA Convention book fair. I acquired five books and ordered several more that will be shipped to me, which I will write about once I receive them. All of the books interest me, but the fact that I got several of them at a discount made themContinue reading “Books Acquired Recently: MLA Edition”
MLA
I am currently at the MLA Convention in Boston. MLA is always a fun time; it’s a total geek-fest. While the various sessions are interesting, people watching is my favorite convention activity (aside from browsing at the book fair, of course). I love that eighty percent of the attendees–including myself–are dressed in black, I loveContinue reading “MLA”
Books Acquired Recently: Holiday Edition
My family exchanged gifts today rather than on the 25th. Here is a list of all of the books I was fortunate enough to receive: Bechdel, Alison. The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For. Boston: Houghton, 2008. I read an article in the New Yorker about Bechdel earlier this year and decided that I wantedContinue reading “Books Acquired Recently: Holiday Edition”
Daniel Shank Cruz 