... Oh, that’s who he was talking about…Franzen on Troy Patterson. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
“I will grant you that these days, only chess players seem to use the word ‘gambit’ properly ... "
Well, not really. The use in chess goes back a long way, but the terms derives from an Italian word that means to trip up. So it's entirely fair to use it in the broader sense.
“That you are reading a review of this novel in these pages is a testament to the author’s success as a blogger.” This would certainly have annoyed me if I had assigned the book for review. Oh, wait. I did assign it for review. Why? Well, Mark was reviewing for me, the book was published by a major publisher, and it got some very good pre-publication buzz. In short, it looked like it would be a good book to assign for review if you want to give the impression you know what's happening in the book business - which is something you like to do if you are a book-review editor at a major newspaper.
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