There’s an article in the New York Times titled, “Do we need librarians?” Then there is a page for this debate among many lively and fascinating people arguing sides of this issue. But, if we’re having a debate about whether we need librarians or not, we’re beyond the help of librarians. To even raise it as an issue is ridiculous – librarians are one of the bastions of us as a society and a thinking civilization with a future. What’s next? “Books: Do we really need ‘em?”

I was fortunate enough to sit down with Ryan Bruce, station manager at KBRP radio, for an interview on the show Standing Room Only. It’s far-reaching, fun, and an interesting conversation about novels, reporting, writing, and much more. Click on More to hear …

The painter Peter Young lent me a book by Roberto Bolaño here in Bisbee two years ago. I sat with 2666 for a month and alternately hugged it close and threw it across the room. I ended up loving the book and the writer’s controlled emotional style of writing. I discovered Don DeLillo when a guy on 2nd Avenue was selling books spread out on a blanket on the sidewalk in 1984. “People uptown love this guy!” he said when I handed over $3 for an old copy of Great Jones Street.

Dwight Garner reviews nonfiction from Bolaño called Between Parenthesis — cool title — while amazon.com has a terse page about The Angel Esmeralda, a first collection of short fiction with nine stories from DeLillo, due out in November. It’s a good day to be a person who loves to read. Enjoy Garner’s review and more information at More …

Bobby Ryan is an offensive winger for the Mighty Ducks professional hockey team in Anaheim, California. He played for the United States in the 2010 Olympics, winning a silver medal. Bobby Ryan is a powerful player who — according to Brian Burke, who helped build the 2010 U.S. Olympic squad and who drafted Ryan onto the Ducks’ team — “can change a game by himself. This guy can break a game open.” Ryan also carried a secret past, starting with the fact that his name was Bobby Stevenson, not Bobby Ryan…