Edges of Bounty

Check out this new book by a friend of mine. Haven't read the whole thing yet, but it looks very good so far ...

"Edges of Bounty: Adventures in the Edible Valley" is a book of words and pictures published by Heyday Books available is stores now.

http://edgesofbounty.com/

Book Sale in Berkeley

If you happen to be in the Bay Area on Thursday, October 16, check out the Super Sidewalk Book Sale put on by University of California Press. Located on the sidewalk (ah, but you guessed that) at 2120 Berkeley Way (between Shattuck and Oxford), the sale offers BARGAINS GALORE on UC Press books! Most paperbacks are $5, most hardcovers are $10.

Smartest One in the Room

In addition to being a most prolific and skilled writers of novels, Jenn Rossmann has now turned out Introduction to Engineering Mechanics: A Continuum Approach. In addition to knowing the ins and outs of your average fluid, she also does ten million other things REALLY REALLY WELL. I mean, when she moved across the country, California lost some serious points in its average IQ. And the writing groop itself, well, she was keeping us above the median.

Post-MFA doldrums

Here's the most recent post from an interesting blog about the writing-life as a career. Called "The Three P's of Post-MFA '08," the blog chronicles the search for employment of three 'professional' wordsmiths ...

The "Link" Between Creativity and Mental Disorders

"Experts say mental illness does not necessarily cause creativity, nor does creativity necessarily contribute to mental illness, but a certain ruminating personality type may contribute to both mental health issues and art."

Wow. That is some groundbreaking science. It never would have occurred to me on my own. I'm glad we live in a world where there are scientists and experts to uncover these mysterious connections for us. I hope we're paying them enough to do this kind of intellectual heavy lifting: "If you think about stuff in your life and you start thinking about it again, and again, and again, and you kind of spiral away in this continuous rumination about what's happening to you and to the world -- people who do that are at risk for depression." (That's Paul Verhaeghen--psychologist, novelist and one hell of an articulate guy).

Now if they can only tell me what defect in my brain chemistry led to the decision to pursue poetry rather than, say, astrophysics or nursing or some other, more-conducive-to-cash-flow vocation, we'll be all set. If they can come up with a drug to combat the aforementioned defect, that's even better.