Archie finally chooses between Betty and Veronica–but, don’t worry, there are 5 more issues in the series… (via @largeheartedboy)
Team Betty
All in Our Heads
Ever since the advent of modern neuroscience, the language of the brain scientist has entered our common vocabulary. Words and phrases like “synapse,” “chemical imbalance” and “hardwired” point to its relevance in contemporary culture. At Page-Turner, a look at how cognitive language and our notion of attention affects the way we think about fiction and music, with particular reference to On Beauty by Zadie Smith and Orfeo by Richard Powers.
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Hatchet Man
“Book reviews are another matter, because a bad review has the potential to be far more adversarial: one writer spending years on a book, one reviewer spending days reading it, and a lasting relationship being created between the two in print. Or, perhaps, a history between the two that lends the review a particular piquancy.” An exegesis of the good bad review.
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Curiosities
The O.E.D., the ultimate bibliophile’s extravagance may never again appear in a new print edition, according to the New York Times. (via)”The most talked about books of the 2008 spring season,” according to European newspapers.Like Kennedy buffs hunched over stills from the Zapruder film, Bolaño enthusiasts may find themselves scrutinizing the cover design for 2666 (featured on the back flap of the galley).Wyatt Mason, one of America’s best critics, enters the blog fray. As does The New Yorker.”The idea that a university education is for everyone is a destructive myth.“
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Dune in the Age of Aquarius
Everyone Is an Immigrant
Eliza Griswold’s got a great essay up on The Poetry Foundation’s website. It’s about poetry and reportage in Lampedusa, the largest island in the Italian Pelagie chain.
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The Thrill of Writing Prose
Bookforum interviewed Garth Greenwell about the queer tradition of autofiction, the impulse to write fiction, and the thrill of surprising oneself. Also check out this Millions review of Greenwell’s debut novel What Belongs to You.
“you have not thought thru clearly”
Recommended Reading (Inauguration Day edition): “Haecceity” by Joshua Clover.
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