A new issue of The Quarterly Conversation covers Gaddis, Müeller, and the Nordic masculinity of Per Petterson, among other topics.
New Quarterly Conversation
Pre-Anderson
Who else read the biographies of historical figures as a kid and felt bad about not having learned Greek and Latin by age ten? Would you like to feel worse?
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Take Off Your Shirt, Mr. Darcy
How do you celebrate Pride and Prejudice‘s 200th birthday? By building a 12-foot tall statue of Colin Firth’s Mr. Darcy in his wet shirt. The fiberglass statue is temporarily installed in Hyde Park but will tour the U.K. before settling in Lyme Park, Cheshire, where the famous scene was filmed.
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#OccupyGaddis
Over at the LARB blog, Lee Konstantinou is heading up a summer reading group for William Gaddis’s J R. To participate, just tag your tweets or Tumblr posts #OccupyGaddis.
A Web of Allusions
Small Demons presents Storyverse, a website in which users are invited to explore the connections between their favorite books and the people, places, and cultural artifacts out of which they are woven. It’s difficult to explain, but painless to enjoy thanks to a beautiful GUI.
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Leftover Links
Some seriously deranged Amazon customer reviews. (via Doc Searls)A year ago “Our Lady of the Underpass” was a Chicago phenomenon. Eric Zorn revisits.Chimney sweeps and flower pots are the stuff of poetry for Sam.Dale Peck’s recent judgment in the Tournament of Books is scarcely worth mentioning, but I did very much enjoy Kevin Guilfoile’s commentary on the topic as well as his tale about meeting Ken Kesey.Kakutani’s reign of terror turns 25.The Literary Saloon points us to Jonathan Franzen’s new book. It’s a memoir, and like Ed, I am disappointed by that.The Rake chats with Charles D’Ambrosio
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Speed is Addictive
If you were like this writer when you were growing up, you knew — nay, believed — that Sonic the Hedgehog was better than Mario, full stop. At The Verge, Trent Volbe explains the Blue Blur’s greatness, including a sample from the Green Hill Zone soundtrack to illustrate the games’ sick bass grooves.
Book Nerd Gift Alert
I did not know this existed: Trivial Pursuit Book Lover’s Edition. I suspect that Millions readers would be quite skilled. Sample question: “What Hardy novel features a doomed title heroine who names her daughter Sorrow?” Bookslut took the game for a spin a few years back.
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