The New York Times reports that the titles of every British book published in English in the 19th century (1,681,161, to be exact) are being electronically scoured for key words and phrases that might offer insight into the Victorian mind.
Literature By The Numbers
Black Lives Matter
Following the recent violence in the U.S., the editors at n+1 offer resources and articles from the archives. You could also read yesterday’s article asking what political writing is or Michael Bourne’s review of Nancy Isenberg’s White Trash.
The Perils of “Showrooming”
Emma Straub, whose Year in Reading piece ran this week, has written a great article on the perils of “showrooming.”
Tuesday New Release Day: White, Holt, Meyer
New this week: Nobel Laureate Patrick White’s posthumously discovered novel, The Hanging Garden; Elliott Holt’s debut You Are One of Them; and The Son by Philipp Meyer.
Unfashionable Genius
“There is a unity to all of Robinson’s work, and this is part of what makes her so great. Her writing expresses a consistent and compelling vision of the world—a vision that sees the real as revelatory, the everyday as wondrous, Spokane as leading to Galilee.” Anthony Domestico profiles Marilynne Robinson and her new novel Lila, which we’ve mentioned here and here and here, for Commonweal.