Erin reads the LA Times so you don't have to

Today's Book Review section raves about Jane Smiley's new offering, Thirteen Ways of Looking at the Novel. Referring to Smiley's "unmediated voice - blunt, uncompromising and witty," the review details the path that led the author to a year of reading that spanned the history of the novel, and what she learned about what has changed, and more importantly what has stayed the same. It's a defense of the novel:

if there's one thing she believes, it's that reading fiction broadens our sympathies and stretches our imagination so we understand that even bad guys have their reasons.

I heartily enjoyed listening to Smiley speak back in April and so plan to gather even more of her thoughts by reading this book.

Also, Adam Gopnik, of New Yorker fame, has branched out into the world of young adult literature with The King in the Window, about an American boy's adventures in Paris. I loved (and heartily recommend - and may even lend) his collection of Parisian esays Paris to the Moon, and thus agree with the reviewer: "The only question ... is an obvious one: How long must readers wait before Gopnik writes a Parisian novel aimed at his legions of adult fans?"