Interview with A.S. Byatt

The Guardian‘s Books Blog is hosting a tournament to determine “The Great American Novelist,” and the list of the final 32 seeded contenders, as voted by the site’s readers, is enough to raise some eyebrows—not as much for who did make the cut as for who didn’t. Guardian readers, haven’t you heard of Richard Yates?

“I hate to break it to you, folks, but RTs are implied endorsements. Forwarding an article by e-mail without explaining why you are passing it on implies that you agree with it (and that you are someone who likes to waste my time). RTing something without comment means the same thing.” Uh oh.

Portland’s famous independent bookseller Powell’s is offering free shipping for online orders this weekend.

“When she got to a passage in the book about a ‘slump,’ she looked at the children and said, ‘So sometimes you don’t feel good, right? But then – what do you do?’ The children waited.” Via Slate’s Katy Waldman, a look at the world’s greatest pool report.