Of Ghosts and Writers

I love conspiracy theories and a new one has just caught my attention. Perhaps, Kaavya Viswanathan was not to blame for plagiarizing Megan McCafferty's work? The International Herald Tribune writes that both Viswanathan's and McCafferty's books were edited by the same person.   "…Claudia Gabel, is thanked on the acknowledgements pages of both McCafferty's books and [...]

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Opal Recalled

It's often said that no publicity is bad publicity. Notoriety attracts attention and attention, whether positive or negative, sells books. But in Viswanathan's case, some mistakes just can't be publicized away. Harvard Crimson reports that the publisher of "Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life" are now asking stores to return all unsold versions [...]

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How Kaavya Got Published, Got Famous, and Got Caught

I was absent-mindedly clicking my way through the afternoon when I came across a video that made me sit up. Katie Couric interviews a Harvard sophomore who denies she intentionally plagiarized another author's work. Katie asks piercing questions and 19-year-old Kaavya Viswanathan looks like she's a stiletto away from tears. I feel sorry for her [...]

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Nice Girls Don’t

He wakes me with a kiss. Happy anniversary, he whispers. I grab his balls. You can't get away that easily, I said with a smile. Come here and give me the anniversary I want. We make love. I am so wet his penis keeps slipping away whenever he pulls out. As always, I finish myself [...]

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Almost, But Not Quite

I like it rough, I told him. How rough? Sweaty, no-holds-barred rough. You sure? he said as he nibbled on the straps of my nightgown. We might wake the baby up. It's pitch-black. She won't see a thing even if we wake her up. He starts kissing, kneading, exhaling. I feel goosebumps form everywhere. He starts [...]

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Sexist?

I came across an interesting post from Temperamental Artist. She presented a list that is supposed to gauge how sexist her reading has been. The list piqued my interest so I'm making my own, too. Just present in bold font the books you've read; italicize the ones you've been meaning to read, and underline those [...]

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Made for Walking

What is it with men? My husband likes ogling bad girls. You know the type; black-clad females who sport rainbowesque hair, multiple piercings, and tattoos. I don't mind him doing that. I like ogling girls, too. But when I mentioned getting a tattoo, he vehemently vetoed the idea. "It makes you look dirty and cheap," [...]

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CSI

I like watching CSI. They always find inventive ways to kill people off. They have charred bodies dropping out of chimneys and rape victims being made part of the architecture. One episode was particularly reminiscent of Edgar Allan Poe's The Cask of Amontillado and The Tell-tale Heart. A man rapes a girl, stabs her, and [...]

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Guilt

(Part 1 of an indeterminate-number-of-parts recollection) I was baptized a Roman Catholic. And, for the longest time in the world, I felt guilt like one. I carried a lot of guilt as a child. There was the guilt that came from knowing I was born with the taint of the original sin. Then, there was [...]

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Toilet Talk

Why do we wash our hands after going to the bathroom? The most logical answer would be that hygiene demands it. I do it; you do it; our friends do it; everyone does it. But really, how is modern toileting dirtier than any other activity? When we go inside the toilet, we don't touch anything [...]

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