At the Telegraph, Sir Tom Stoppard briefly explains his desire to be killed by a falling bookcase.
Death by Bookcase
Los Angeles Times Festival of Books
L.A.-based readers won’t want to miss this weekend’s Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, held this year on the USC campus. Millions staff writer Patrick Brown will be moderating a panel discussion about bookselling, “From the Front Register,” on Saturday at 12:30 pm. At 2:30 that same day, I’ll be on a panel facilitated by Lizzie Skurnick called “Fiction: The Long and Short of It.” My fellow panelists are Yiyun Li and occasional Millions contributor Victoria Patterson. Go here for details and to order panel tickets (just $1 each)!
Magical Atmospheres
At The Rumpus, Sean Carman interviews Year in Reading alum Laura van den Berg, whose new novel, The Isle of Youth, came out last week. (ICYMI, Nathan Huffstutter reviewed The Isle of Youth for The Millions).
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Occupy a Classroom
NYU students can take a 4-credit undergraduate course on Occupy Wall Street and America’s debt issues this spring. According to the university’s website, this year’s tuition costs start at $19,672.
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Mythic Beginnings
Recommended Reading: This excerpt from The Work of the Dead: A Cultural History of Mortal Remains by Thomas Laqueur. In it, Laqueur explores the cultural peculiarities of mourning and the necrobotany of the yew tree, or “tree of the dead.”
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Write Away the Stigma
Check it out: Creative Nonfiction and Writing Away the Stigma are teaming up to put on a six-part writing workshop and fellowship for individuals who have been affected by mental illness. Twelve writers will have the opportunity to study, free of charge, with the founder and editor of Creative Nonfiction magazine, Lee Gutkind. Submissions are accepted throughout the month of November.
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