As the world digests the news of the death of Osama Bin Laden, we offer a recommendation for Lawrence Wright’s masterful book The Looming Tower, which tells the history of Bin Laden and the terrorist movement that led to 9/11.
Bin Laden Book
Not for Us
It’s easy to find essays targeted at writers that argue that rejection isn’t really that bad. In her new book, How to Not Write, Lisa Carver takes the argument a step further, as she says that not only does rejection not hurt you, it “frees you” and “facilitates action.” At The Rumpus, an excerpt from the book.
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Nein, nein!
Bad news, guys: the longest word in the German language is officially no longer a word.
On DFW, On Blogging
Practically everyone read Maud Newton‘s riff on David Foster Wallace‘s influence this weekend, but Edward Champion had some issues with it.
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Nice Wrinkles, Beckett
Portraits of authors composed of their own words? Why not.
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Too Much Imagining
Jonah Lehrer has resigned from his staff position at the New Yorker, after Tablet Magazine revealed he had fabricated quotes–from Bob Dylan, no less!–in his bestseller Imagine: How Creativity Works, which since has been pulled from the market. Michael C. Moynihan, the journalist who discovered the deception, was interviewed by the Observer, saying he felt “horrible” watching vitriolic reactions pour in. Previously the book saw critique for its loose science in both The New Republic and The Millions.
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