Anna Quindlen at The Huffington Post is one of the many writers reflecting on the greatness of To Kill A Mockingbird in honor of the book’s 50th anniversary.
Anna Quindlen on Harper Lee
A Confession
Cat Marnell and Alana Massey both have new books out, and they are, in their own ways, variants on the genre of “confessional” writing. In an essay for Slate, Katy Waldman unpacks their essential appeal and their arguments, describing how each goes about the task of reinventing the concept of the memoir. You could also read our interview with Massey.
Tuesday New Release Day: Epic Fail, Roberts, Murakami
The biggest release of the week is, of course, the launch of the first Millions Original, Epic Fail (here’s our excerpt), by our own Mark O’Connell (We may be a bit biased there). Also out, Sam Roberts’s Grand Central, about the iconic train station, and, now available for the first time in a single, massive paperback volume, Haruki Murakami’s 1Q84.
●
●
Out of the Frying Pan
The Kindle edition of one of our Most Anticipated Books is on sale at $1.99. Our Man in Iraq, a novel by Robert Perišic, follows two Croatian cousins who manage to get caught up in the frenzy of the Iraq War. You can find out more in John Feffer’s interview with Perišic. (h/t Buzz Poole)
●
●
Coda
Sad that Mad Men is over? We’ve got just the thing. Back in 2012, our own Hannah Gersen compiled a list of ten books to read when a given season — or, in this case, the series — comes to an end.
The Naked Bookseller
Recommended reading, though perhaps not viewing: “On the strange, true tale of the naked bookseller.”
“I don’t love women writers enough to teach them.”
Millions alumna Emily M. Keeler interviewed author David Gilmour for Hazlitt’s Shelf Esteem blog. In the process (and perhaps because he was distracted by “a Frenchman”) the author voiced some opinions on female authors that have been called “ill-informed,” “careless and offensive,” and “staggeringly narrow-minded and parochial.” The ongoing kerfuffle prompted Hazlitt to share the unedited transcript from Keeler’s interview, and it’s clear that Gilmour’s remarks were not taken out of context.
●
●
Dubliners 100
The 100th anniversary of the publication of James Joyce’s Dubliners occurs this month, and the occasion is being celebrated with the launch of Dubliners 100, a “reimagining and rewriting of the 15 original stories by a range of well-established and promising writers.” Among the modern writers lending their talents to the homage is Paul Murray (Skippy Dies), Donal Ryan (The Spinning Heart), and Pat McCabe (Butcher Boy).
●
●
Passive-Aggressive Presents
We fully expect all Christmas-observant Millions readers to have gifted (and received) at least one book this week. The Toast expects the same of their readers, and have provided a very handy key to choosing and/or deciphering passive-agressive literary presents.
●
●