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July 4 has passed us by, but we've saved our fireworks for this newsletter! We like to start with a bang, so we have an interview with David Benioff, author of The 25th Hour, and signed first editions of his latest novel, City of Thieves. Then we shower you with an original essay by Robert McDowell (Poetry as Spiritual Practice) before we erupt with brilliantly multicolored splashes of Q&As from Barbara Ehrenreich (This Land Is Their Land), Nikolai Grozni (Turtle Feet), Leni Zumas (Farewell Navigator), and Mark Alpert (Final Theory). And, of course, there's the big finale, with guest bloggers Stephen and Rebekah Hren (The Carbon-Free Home) and Stephen Trimble (Bargaining for Eden). If you're still seeing flashes of light when you look away, we'll know we've done our job.

We're too old to cheer, "School's out!" But we can't help ourselves — we get so excited when summer begins. Maybe it's the air-conditioned movie theaters full of wonderfully mindless blockbusters, or the smells of barbecue grills in every backyard — or, more likely, the delights of being able to read our favorite books outside in the warm sunshine! There's no shortage of great summertime reading in our newsletter, either. From our interview with Ethan Canin to signed first editions of his novel America America; from mouth-watering original essays by Elizabeth Hartley Winthrop (December), Jennifer Haigh (The Condition), and Paul and Anne Ehrlich (The Dominant Animal) to cool, refreshing Q&As from Edward Dolnick (The Forger's Spell) and Jonathan Evison (All about Lulu); right up to the guest blogs from Hayden Childs and Darin Strauss — we're ready for summer at last!

Can it be a coincidence that we're staring at a bright shiny morning in Portland as we put this newsletter to bed? Perhaps our interview with James Frey sent the clouds scuttling away for a while. Might the titular star of Salman Rushdie's The Enchantress of Florence (get your signed first editions now!) have cast a spell to clear our skies? Then again, the weather gods may be so preoccupied with original essays from Jeremy Scahill (Blackwater), David Sirota (The Uprising), John Matteson (Eden's Outcasts), and Jacqueline Carey (Kushiel's Mercy) that they simply forgot to give us our standard dose of rain and cumulus nimbus. We'll try to distract them with a Q&A from Kerry Cohen (Loose Girl), plus this week's guest bloggers, contributors to the new book Dirty Words, and next week's guest, Mary F. Pols (Accidentally on Purpose) — that should be enough to do the trick.

The Frictionfiction Show

Art lovers, music lovers, readers, writers, and poets: your guide to what's live in Web 2.0: music, fiction, poetry, and art.

The poetry and music podcast presented by Ian Duncan Smith, with music from Teru, Tom MacNiven, Martin McLaughlin, Virginia Evans, Stefan Picard, Plastic Dave, and DJ Blue. Two new poems by Ian Duncan Smith from the Surprising Stories September 2007 issue, The Aura Seekers and The Righteous Wrong, and a poem, Argument, from Virginia  Evans.

Excellent new songs from Ayewrite, and Jimmy G. Plus great electronic, computer generated music from Antony Reijokov at ccMixter.org.

New poetry from Peter Asher at poetrymonthly.com, a new story from me, No Slowing Down, and I give an old poem an airing, Tacoma Narrows Syndrome. It's about dangerous bridges.

August 8th 2007. Show 42.

Poetry and music podcast. It's the midsummer, anti-war poetry podcast. I donÃ??t mean overtly anti-war, but I do write poems with a theme of political power, neighbour versus neighbour, calls to arms, and division. So why did the RAF choose the day IÃ??m recording Friction Fiction to try out their fighters overhead? Coincidence? Paranoid? Anyway, it makes for a poignant moment.

Music from CDK, Squid Ink (Plastic Dave), a great collaboration between Squid Ink and The Hexyl Circle, Tom MacNiven, and Countryside.

Additional music by Alphasound, Penston, DJ Rkod, Michael Wenz, and Bombero.

NPR: Books Podcast

NPR book reviews, news and author interviews -- for people who love to read. The best of Morning Edition, All Things Considered and other award-winning NPR programs.

1) Joseph Wambaugh brings experience with police departments and knowledge of the city of Los Angeles to his mystery novels and non-fiction works; 2) Henry Fleming, the protagonist of "The Red Badge of Courage" is the latest subject of the series "In Character" ; 3) Lawyer and author Stephen L. Carter's latest novel is "Palace Council"; 4) A blend of botany, faith, and mythology in Christina Meldrum's debut novel "Madapple"; 5) Kay Ryan, the newly named next U.S. Poet Laureate

1) "The Dark Side" by journalist Jane Mayer explores the interrogation techniques used by the US, and treatment received by prisoners of the War on Terror; 2) The Crime in the City series visits the secrets of New Orleans... in the mysteries of author Julie Smith; 3) E. Lynn Harris writes of a straight college football player's celibacy in his new novel "Just Too Good To Be True"; 4) Mystery writer Chelsea Cain can't help but look for dead bodies around Portland, Oregon; 5) Alan Cheuse reviews Paul Goldstein's "A Patent Lie"

1) Writer Brad Meltzer says you must read "Replay" by Ken Grimwood; 2) Looking at Boston through the eyes of mystery writer Robert B. Parker, creator of the private eye Spenser; 3) In "The Forger's Spell", Edward Dolnick tells the true story of Han van Meegeren, who created fake works by Vermeer; 4) Mystery writer Sarah Graves sets her "Home Repair is Homicide" series in her adopted town of Eastport, Maine; 5) Cokie Roberts on the power of the founding mothers of the U.S. in "Ladies of Liberty"; 6) Alan Cheuse reviews "Basrayatha: The Story of a City" by Muhammad Khudayyir, all about the Iraqi port city of Basra

Fictionwise: Excellence in eBooks: Top Ten Best-Selling eBooks

Top Ten Best-Selling eBooks

Living quietly at Bath suited Miss Elizabeth Ashton perfectly. In the past she had refused several unexceptionable suitors--for reasons of her own. Her peace was shaken, however, by the arrival of Mr. Charles Carlyle, a charming and irreverent rake. When relatives place her in a compromising position with him, Charles insists that she marry him--or be ruined. Regency Romance by Catherine Reynolds; originally published by Harlequin

In this classic tale, New York Times bestselling author Mary Balogh introduces a hero like no other: Miles Ripley, London's most irresistible bachelor, who's about to lose his heart to the last person he ever expected to love--his wife. When Abigail Gardiner knocks at the door of Miles Ripley, Earl of Severn, the last thing she expects is a marriage proposal. Desperate, she'd come to this charismatic stranger's home to plead for her future. Instead she shocks them both by saying yes. Her impulsive decision will have consequences neither she nor her new husband can foresee. For Miles has his own reasons for marrying her. And Abigail is harboring a secret of her own. As distrust gives way to desire ... as, together, they give in to the pleasures of the marriage bed, a devastating scandal threatens their future. Now these two wary hearts will risk ruin and disgrace for a love that has changed them both forever--the kind all seek, but few ever find.

Isabella Swan's move to Forks, a small, perpetually rainy town in Washington, could have been the most boring move she ever made. But once she meets the mysterious and alluring Edward Cullen, Isabella's life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. Up until now, Edward has managed to keep his vampire identity a secret in the small community he lives in, but now nobody is safe, especially Isabella, the person Edward holds most dear. The lovers find themselves balanced precariously on the point of a knife--between desire and danger. Deeply romantic and extraordinarily suspenseful, Twilight captures the struggle between defying our instincts and satisfying our desires. This is a love story with bite.

NYT > Books

Two handsome new books for different age groups take on the formidable challenge of telling the story of Muhammad Ali’s epic life.

A “family encyclopedia of ecology” and the first book by “the MySpace community” spell out environmental threats and suggest action to help.

Sequels to the popular children’s books “Not a Box,” “Zen Shorts” and “Little Pea” — plus the latest in Mo Willems’s “Pigeon” series.

NYT > Cartoons and Cartoonists

News about cartoons and cartoonists, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Does The New Yorker’s cover really qualify as satire?

Neil Young’s concept album “Greendale” continues to inspire spinoffs outside the music world, including a graphic novel and a multi-performer theater piece.

“Click & Clack” stars graphically rendered versions of Tom and Ray Magliozzi, who have been solving carburetor and girlfriend problems on their national radio program for over a decade.

The Shifted Librarian

shifting libraries at the speed of byte

Last year, I noted how the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library and others analyzed the user experience in the catalog and began using MeeboMe as a way to provide a path out of the “no results” dead end. Now we have another great example from the Allen County Public Library of re-examining dead ends [...]

“We recently completed a 6-month trial of Family Gaming at the Civic Center Library, City of Scottsdale, Arizona. It began as an Adult Gaming program, but we didn’t seem to be able to draw in enough adults to make it worthwhile to be strictly an adult program. We did find out, however, from the [...]

So it turns out there are a couple of potentially controversial things about the current issue of The New Yorker, one of them being an article called “The Lion and the Mouse” by Jill Lepore. I’ve always agreed with the ethic and attitude of “Library 2.0,” even though I didn’t like the implication that libraries [...]

About.com Contemporary Literature

Get the latest headlines from the About.com Contemporary Literature GuideSite.

With the release of The Dark Knight in movie theaters this past weekend came the trailer for the forthcoming movie version of Watchmen, the critically acclaimed graphic novel by Alan...

Legacy of Ashes won the 2007 National Book Award for Nonfiction and is a finalist for the 2008 National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction. Pulitzer-Prize-winner Tim Weiner gets at...

Sloane Crosley has heard every Ferris Bueller's Day Off joke (for a grand total of 3,567 times) about her name. She attended a Christian-based summer camp for eight years, despite...

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