Lots of Portland in Sunday NYT Book Review

Two writers with Portland connections got early Christmas presents yesterday: coverage in the most coveted real estate in bookland, the New York Times Sunday book review.

Oregonian scribe Peter Ames Carlin is no stranger to those pages, having previously landed there with a biography of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson. Yesterday, singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega spent a full page chewing over Carlin's new bio of the Beatles' Paul McCartney. Although Vega appeared not to like the book much—"this is an entertaining book, although flawed," Vega writes—a full-page review just ahead of the holidays is pretty nice exposure for any author.

The other writer with a Portland connection, Reedie Elyssa East, now lives in New York. But Reed College figures prominently in Lisa Scottoline's review of East's new novel, "Dogtown: Death and Enchantment in a New England Ghost Town."