Thursday's Flurry of Words

Sincerely Not Sharp Dressed Men

Every time we listen to ZZ Top we think of an earnest cover band. Not sure why: we like ZZ Top, and we’ve never seen a “tribute” band to them. Maybe it’s because there used to be a late night commercial for Carey Hilliard’s restaurant in North Charleston, SC, that featured peppers in beards, fedoras and sunglasses spinning guitars. Go figure. Anyway, on with Thursday’s Flurry… Joshua Braff tells NPR his guilty pleasure. Tim O’Brien tackles the challenge of writing the imaginative story. Speaking of cover bands, a new book examines the history of the search for fame. Glenn Stout has a rollcall of The Best American Sportswriting of 2010.  The Vonnegut library opens in Indy. Franzen returns to the family quest in Freedom. And then there’s this, for the reader who has everything. We gotta lotta nice links, yah. — Andrew Geer