Thomas Pynchon Appears...Sort Of

At least, he's got a new book coming out in December called "Against The Day." Info on it was posted on Amazon.com, hastily removed, vehemently denied and then finally confirmed by his publisher. It's the first book by Pynchon since "Mason & Dixon" in 1997. Because he doesn't do the TV talk show circuit or pose for photographs or run a blog or deliver weekly podcasts, Pynchon is invariably referred to as "reclusive," as if he's a hermit or freak, a la JD Salinger. (Hey, at least Pynchon keeps publishing.)I say, anyone who does a guest appearance on "The Simpsons" (albeit, sketched with a paper bag over his head) is fine by me. His publisher says Pynchon won't be doing a book tour. Uh, that kind of goes without saying.