The contest to design a new cover for Lolita that we noted in August has named some winners.
Lolita Covered
A Little Bit Groupon
Last week, I relayed the news that The Circle, the upcoming novel by Dave Eggers, casts its eye on the cultish workings of a Google-esque company in California. But how Google-esque will the company be, exactly? Nick Clark takes a look at the evidence.
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Tiphanie Yanique on the Destruction and Blessing of Love
Tiphanie Yanique discusses her second novel, Monster in the Middle, which follows the maze-like trajectory of generations of love and relationships.
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Simms Taback Dies at 79
Simms Taback, the children’s author and illustrator known for his version of There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, has died at age 79.
On the Stupidity of Entitlement
Year in Reading alumna Ottessa Moshfegh has a new story in this week’s issue of the New Yorker, titled “The Beach Boy.” Moshfegh also spoke with Deborah Treisman about her writing: “Isn’t it hilarious when people are blind to their own arrogance? For some, no amount of American liberal-arts education, charitable contributions, or hours spent listening to NPR will ever wake them up to their own privileged, bigoted, and classist attitudes. […] One might say that New Yorkers like the folks in ‘The Beach Boy’ are especially susceptible to the kind of stupidity I love to write about—the stupidity of entitlement.”
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#ManlyBookClubNames
Literary Twitter has been on fire with #ManlyBookClubNames since The New York Times style section reported that apparently men have book clubs, too. “Perhaps because participation in reading groups is perceived as a female activity, some all-male book clubs have an outsize need to proclaim the endeavor’s masculinity.” If you’re looking for a book club, consider joining Adam Boretz’s Football Book Club.
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What’s The Point?
There is good news for those of us whose dreams of artistic superstardom don’t seem to be panning out — a job listing from McSweeney’s seeking failed artists for an associate position. “We would hate for you to be pretentious,” the listing states, “but if you don’t regularly call other people pretentious — this might not be the job for you.”