Bookninja (the best damn book blog in the universe) has two blog posts up right now about authors who should know better. First: Philip Roth says that the novel only has twenty-five years to live before it basically goes extinct:

Roth has long been pessimistic about the survival of the novel in a gaudy, short-attention-span culture, but his latest prophesy is one of his bleakest yet, predicting that the form will dwindle to a “cultic” minority enthusiasm within 25 years.The author believes that the concentration and focus required to read a novel is becoming less and less prevalent, as potential readers turn instead to computers or to television. “I was being optimistic about 25 years really."

To me, this smacks of old-mannishness, and it's a little disappointing to see Roth fall into the trap of blaming the kids these days with their internets and pr0n with destroying a thousand-year-old literary form. Meanwhile, on the trashy side of the bookshelf, Anne Rice is ashamed that she wasted her youth writing vampire books now that she's found Jesus:

“Being on the side of the angels, it feels much better than being on the side of the vampires. Vampires were tortured, tragic figures,” Rice told the Wall Street Journal. Her novel, Angel Time: The Songs of the Seraphim, follows the adventures of Toby O’Dare, an American killer who is given the chance by a mysterious stranger (who turns out to be an angel) to go back to 13th century England to find salvation.

Oh, Anne. Your new book sounds atrocious. All we want is a little bit of fang, a lace-up shirt with poofy sleeves, and some hot sex scenes. Is that so much to ask?