Under the Wire

In college I worked for the newspaper. My feature "Long Necks and Longer Hours" raised a few eyebrows at my conservative Catholic campus. But I did get to cover more serious subjects and even interview a few notables. Well, one notable. My senior year, I also interned at a local television station. Upon hearing my boss say something along the lines of "sell the sizzle, not the bacon," I decided TV news wasn't for me.

Despite getting most of my news via NPR these days, I'm still fascinated by the newspaper newsroom. "The Room" as it is called in a novel by Lorraine Adams has my attention this week. The Room and The Chair is presented in short scenes - jumping from a military plane crash to a news desk to a dinner party of Washington intelligentsia. The story ventures further afield to Iran and Dubai and back again to the American intelligence agent masterminding it all.

Part thriller, part social commentary, part The Way Things Work, it has a little something for everyone.

Ah, the thrill of just making the deadline.