Good Reads: 10.15.09

Hollywood’s Comic Book Connection
Film critic Michael Sragow on how the fan base for comic books and graphic novels has enriched Hollywood films.

Why Read Dickens?
The life of Charles Dickens has spawned four published novels in the last year. A teacher discovers the roots of our long-lasting attraction to the vintage Victorian in a high school student’s paper.
The Guardian


In Defense of Creative Writing Programs
Some believe they are responsible for a rise in the quality of American fiction since the 1950s. Philip Marchand says they also provide a system of patronage for writers – not to mention generating a lot of first-rate readers.
The Afterword

Why Book Clubs Don’t Read Short Stories
Nor do they read much poetry. What gives? Audra Otto attributes this reluctance to lack of short story guides for book clubs.
MinnPost.com

How To Write Adventure Stories
A crime-fiction pro breaks down the elements of a good adventure story and reveals a few trade secrets.
Criminal Brief

NPR’s Three-Minute Fiction Contest
“The nurse left work at five o’clock.” This was the required opening sentence for Round 2 of NPR’s short fiction contest. Read the winner by Cathy Formusa. Her prize? A copy of How Fiction Works by James Wood.
National Public Radio

Ralph Nader on His New “Novel”
If Ralph can do it, you can too. He inserts real people like Warren Buffett and Yoko Ono into what he calls his “practical utopia.”
Time