New this week is Julian Barnes’ new collection of stories, Pulse. We also have new novels from Geraldine Brooks (Caleb’s Crossing) and Jean Thompson (The Day We Left Home). There’s also a new collection available from Nobel laureate J.M.G. Le Clezio (Mondo and Other Stories). And new in paperback: Millions Hall of Famer Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart and The Pregnant Widow by Martin Amis.
Tuesday New Release Day: Barnes, Brooks, Thompson, Le Clezio, Shteyngart, Amis
Wharton is the Original Gossip Girl
On this week's New Yorker Out Loud podcast, Rebecca Mead recommends (seriously) Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth -- "the real thing" -- for teen-readers who love the Cecily von Ziegesar Gossip Girl series.
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Mad Content
Is there a difference between journalism and advertising? Buzzfeed doesn't seem to think so.
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Vanishing on the Stage
Over at Entropy, Laura A. Warman writes about queer poetics and the politics of the body in poetry performances. As she puts it, “Can we be a body that is constantly obscured?” Pair with this Millions essay on poetry performances.
How to Be A Writer
"Facing the daily avalanche of stories about outrageous corruption, writing about timely political issues can often feel pointless. It can be easy to lose faith in the creative process." For LitHub, an essay by Tom McAllister on writing about politically-charged traumas with humanity and his new novel, How to Be Safe. Pair with: our 2010 interview with McAllister.
The World’s Most Translated Books
This week in book-related infographics: a look at "50 of the World's Most Translated Books."
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TLS Best Books of the Year
The Times Literary Supplement offers "Best Books of 2009" picks from a smattering of contributors, including Julian Barnes and Ali Smith.
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The Why and How of Colophons
Ever wondered why Knopf's colophon is a borzoi, or why Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's colophon appears to be a musician riding a flying dolphin? Well, now you can find out. Also, a while back, HTMLGIANT's Jimmy Chen ranked some colophons by their ability to fly.
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“Strongly Worded”
After learning that the good folks at BAM will be roasting Gary Shteyngart, the author’s inquisitive dachshund, Felix, wrote a plaintive letter to the organizers. It’s worth pointing out here that we set up Felix on a doggy blind date a few weeks ago.
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