Hitchens elevates Hilary Mantel to “the very first rank of historical novelists” in a long consideration of Wolf Hall.
Hitch Hearts Hilary
The Revolution Will Not Be E-Read
According to some new research conducted by ebook retailer Kobo, the digital reading revolution (if it still exists) is being powered by prolific readers who are primarily female and older than forty-five. The study asserts that women make up almost seventy-five percent of "active" e-readers, defined as those who spend more than thirty minutes per day reading. What does all of this mean? Who knows, but keep reading.
Who Wrote What?
Do you want to work at The Strand in New York City? Think you have what it takes? Take this famous quiz and match each work with its author to see if you have the literary chops to pick up a paycheck from one of the United States's most beloved bookstores.
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“A startlingly new interpretation of the Parthenon”
Perhaps inspired by the similarly-named astronomer, Freeman Dyson wrote an entry for the NYT’s By the Book series, in which he praises Edward Wilson, Kristin Ghodsee, Robert Kanigel and Octavia Butler, the last of whom he dubs his favorite novelist of all time. Sample quote: “The Magic City can be read on two levels, as a children’s adventure story and as a critique of modern society. Karl Marx was a friend of [Edith] Nesbit’s family.”
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10 Rules for Writers by Janet Fitch
"Write the sentence, not just the story" is the first of ten rules for writers from Janet Fitch.
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Tuesday New Release Day: Kepler, Block
New this week is the latest Scandinavian sensation, The Hypnotist by "Lars Kepler," who after a literary manhunt, was revealed to be a husband-and-wife team. Also out this week is a new novel by wunderkind Stefan Merrill Block, The Storm at the Door.
Happy 110th Bloomsday! (1/2)
True James Joyce fans don't need to be reminded that today, June 16th, is the 110th Bloomsday--the day of Leopold Bloom's fictional wanderings-about-Dublin commemorated in the 732 pages of Ulysses. Though the most traditional way to celebrate Bloomsday may be to follow in his literal footsteps with your own tour of the city, as the Paris Review explains, there's more than one way to prove your love for Joyce even if you never read his book.