…meanwhile, quondam neighbor Jonathan Lethem has packed up for California (to take over the Pomona College position last held by David Foster Wallace). Just in time for Halloween, he raps with New York Magazine about the move…and about his new, book-length treatment of John Carpenter‘s They Live.
Brooklyn Boys II
Words, Quantitatively
Google has just released a tool that lets you see how frequently certain words have appeared in the millions of books from all eras that Google has scanned. It’s pretty neat. Here are some presidents, technologies, and the meaning of life.
Big Name Fan(fiction)
“On one occasion, my brother had looked over my shoulder, shuddered, and announced to my mother and father that I was reading porn. ‘No, I’m not!’ I replied, but he was right in a way.” Harry/Draco? Ron x Hermione? Confessions of a fanfiction addict.
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Books with Class
Season Three of Downton Abbey arrived on our shores last night, and if you’re interested in learning more about the show’s literary pedigree, our own Garth Risk Hallberg has you covered.
Pray for Me
After working on his novel Family Life for seven years, Akhil Sharma began to lose his mind. Whenever he sat down to write, he began having panic attacks, the kind that left his chest feeling “constantly bruised” for months on end. Eventually, he hit on a solution: he learned to take his mind off his novel by praying for other people.
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Negative Theology
Anthony Domestico writes on negative theology in the works of Joy Williams and Mary Rakow at Commonweal Magazine. Our own Nick Ripatrazone offers 50 reasons why you should read Joy Williams.
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Tarantino on Writing
Say what you want about Quentin Tarantino; the man thinks like a writer. You can hear him doing so out loud on the current episode of KCRW’s The Treatment, with Elvis Mitchell.
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Death by Bookcase
At the Telegraph, Sir Tom Stoppard briefly explains his desire to be killed by a falling bookcase.
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