Baseball Infographics Book

“What traits make Austen special, and can they be measured with data? Can literary genius be graphed?” The New York Times tackles the question of why, 200 years after her death, Jane Austen is still so popular. (One finding: the author“used intensifying words — like very, much, so — at a higher rate than other writers.") See also: our interview with Curtis Sittenfeld, whose most-recent novel Eligible is the ultimate literary tribute, an adaptation of Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.

Slate's got a video  interview with Salman Rushdie in three parts, and his speaking agency has released a rare video from one of Rushdie's previously unrecorded talks, where the man describes writers as much more vulnerable than ideas.