The big literary new release this week is Ann Patchett’s State of Wonder. Also recently out is Gertrude Stein’s long-lost oddity for children, To Do: A Book of Alphabets and Birthdays. New in paperback is John Brandon’s Citrus County.
Tuesday New Release Day: Patchett, Stein, Brandon
New McEwan on the Way
Here’s another book that will be in our July “Most Anticipated Books” round up: Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan, said to be set in 1972 and follow a female spy who is a compulsive reader of novels.
●
●
MAD MEN Reading List
At the New York Public Library blog, a Mad Men reading list.
Letter to Detroit
“The city has the beckoning power of a black hole or the Italian countryside or a castle. There is no way to explain our wiring to someone whose fairytale has always ended somewhere like Florida.” Aisha Sabatini Sloan on calling Detroit home, over at The Offing. Also check out Bill Morris’s Millions piece on movies set in the city.
●
●
Zen and the Art of Failing at the Tour de France
What if the Tour de France nearly ground to a halt due to fiction? Imagine the best bikers in the world reading themselves into injury. At The Morning News, our own Matt Seidel imagines the chaos, making clear what happens when professional athletes meet page-turners. You could also read Matt’s essay on Tim Krabbé’s book The Rider.
●
●
A Profile of the Profilist
Whether you’re a fan of the Boss or not, David Remnick’s recent 17-page look at the life of Bruce Springsteen is a delight to read and a masterful example of the profile piece. Remnik joins Storyboard to talk about the art of the profile.
●
●
You’ve Been Sleeping on Romance Novels
“While men weren’t looking, women built a genre that tackles love, sex, pleasure, class, money, feminism, masculinity, and equality.” Jamie Green writes for Buzzfeed about how romance novels have gotten more feminist over the years (and still getting a happily ever after) and people are now starting to sit up and take notice.