Guernica picks a scuffle with the VQR‘s Ted Genoways over what’s killing literary fiction. (Writers? Editors? M.F.A.s? How about late capitalism? Or the term “literary fiction?” Or the surfeit of articles about its demise?)
The Lonesome Death of Lit-Fic
First Look at Last Gasps
In 2003, Mary Roach kicked off her book-publishing career with Stiff, a look into the lifespans (pun intended) of cadavers and the ethics of using them for study. At Lapham’s Quarterly, you'll find the 2001 magazine article that Roach later expanded into Stiff. (Related: we interviewed Roach back in April.)
An Issue of Perspective
Sure, male journalists are generally not the best when it comes to writing about women, but things have gotten better in the last few years, right? Maybe not.
●
●
King’s Revival
Last week, we reported that Stephen King's first hard-boiled detective novel, Mr. Mercedes, will be out this June. If thrillers aren't your thing, though, King has another horror novel coming out this November, Revival. It tells the story of the dangerous bond between a charismatic minister and a heroin addict musician.
●
●
Clash of the Esoterics
Two guys who can talk about just about anything - Nicholson Baker and NPR's Tom Ashbrook - did just that yesterday on On Point, as Baker promoted his latest opus, The Anthologist.
●
●
only sell to the rich or deranged
The folks at BookRide, the blog of London's beloved antiquarian bookstore Any Amount Books, have published a handy set of guidelines for curmudgeonly booksellers. When Kyo Maclear visited The Monkey's Paw in Toronto, it would seem that they had yet to stumble upon this code of curmudgeonly conduct.
●
●
NYRB Winter Sale
From now until February 28th, you can grab New York Review of Books Classics titles at a steep discount.
●
●