Only a handful of writers in America have explored the Chinese immigration experience as fully as Lisa See.  No one, however, has done it with as much variety, depth or reach to a wide audience.  From her thrilling family story, On Gold Mountain,  to her new novel, Dreams of Joy, Lisa See has mined individual, familial and collective Chinese American stories to produce a most wonderful window into what it means to be part of both cultures as a woman in the 20th and 21st…

Everybody Loves Raymond was a phenomenally successful sitcom, and now, in syndication, it is still enormously popular. The growing Russian television industry smelled potential as well, and invited Phil Rosenthal, the show’s wry creator, to come to Russia to discuss adaptation for a Russian audience. Sitcoms cross borders all the time.  Some adaptations succeed abroad, others not so well.  Phil Rosenthal narrates this really funny documentary about taking an essentially American family sitcom to another culture, to a country so hungry for pop culture that…

Francine Prose is simply one of the best storytellers around. Reading Like A Writer is almost a bible for would-be novelists.  And part of that bible tells would-be writers to read great novels.  They should start with Francine Prose.  Her novels are diverse and often hilarious, and always provocative.  Take a favorite of ours, Blue Angel, a scathing satire on the whole of academia, from self-serving professors to overindulged and talentless students, to the politically correct, and sometimes even admirable administrative policies (such as sexual…

Betty White is hot. Hot in Cleveland, to be sure, but really Hot in LA.  In her new book, If You Ask Me (And Of Course You Won’t), Betty tells us something remarkable: that she came to the Mary Tyler Moore Show for a one-time appearance, in the fourth season.  She ended up staying for the duration of the run, for three additional seasons.  But in most seasons in which she appeared, Betty turned up in only five or six episodes.  Her impact on the…