The lights are on / but you’re not home. / Your mind / is not your own. / Your heart sweats (?) / Your teeth grind. . . . You might as well face it / You’re addicted to Twitter.
You’d like to think that you’re immune to the stuff…
Dividing Lines
In spite of the title of her blog post, Lily Meyer doesn’t think Ann Patchett is really an enemy of Zadie Smith. Instead, she thinks the two authors play opposing roles in her life, thanks largely to the different effects their books have on her perceptions. At the Ploughshares blog, she contrasts their novels, using excerpts from White Teeth and Bel Canto. Related: Kevin Charles Redmon’s review of Patchett's novel State of Wonder.
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Two Strangers
“Werner isn’t surprised to pass the entrance exams easily. He’s more nonplused to find his head measured with calipers and his hair whiter than any of the 60-odd shades of blond on the examiners’ charts. It goes without saying that his eyes are also rated for their shade of blue.” Janet Maslin reviews Anthony Doerr’s new novel.
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Katy Kelly’s New Homepage
News for young readers and their parents: Meet the charming and irrepressible Melonhead and Lucy Rose--and their author, Katy Kelly, at Kelly's new author homepage.
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P.D. James Passes Away
Author P.D. James, "the Queen of crime writing" and subject of one of our Post-4o Bloomers essays, has passed away, reports the BBC.
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The Eternal Mystery
Recommended reading: Jonathan Russell Clark, who's written for us many, many times before, considers "The Eternal Mystery of the Reclusive Writer" for Literary Hub.
NASA’s Science Fiction
Science fiction is about to get a lot more scientific. Tor and NASA will be collaborating on some book projects.
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