Christine Sismondo believes bars deserve more credit for “produc[ing] a particular type of public sphere in colonial America.” She discusses her new book America Walks Into a Bar with The Smithsonian’s Rebecca Dalzell.
Who doesn’t love to hit happy hour after work?
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.
Neomysterativity
The term “academic writing” is controversial, not least because it implies that academics have an odd and persnickety way of writing. In a blog post for The New Yorker, Joshua Rothman examines the genre, looking back on his time in grad school to argue that academic writing is a “fraught and mysterious thing.”
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HTMLGiant’s ToBS
If you're looking for an occasionally evil but mostly hysterical month-long diversion, I recommend following HTMLGiant's "Tournament of Bookshit". So far one highlight has been: "excessively long list of credits including pushcart nominations in your bio vs. the guy who goes 20 minutes over the suggested reading time"
Molecular Language
Recommended Reading: Justin Taylor on Sam Lipsyte’s The Fun Parts and how “attention to language at the molecular level” creates a better experience reading and writing. Pair with our review of Taylor’s Everything Here Is the Best Thing Ever.
Thursday Links: Reservoir Noir, Calvin & Hobbes, Early Looks, Gunter Grass, Google, DFW
Waterboro Library in Maine has compiled a list of books about "Drowned Towns," - "Mysteries and other fiction with a featured element of intentional submerging, inundating, and flooding of towns, villages, cities, and other places as a consequence of building dams and reservoirs for water supply, hydroelectric power, irrigation, flood management, and job creation." Also known as "Reservoir Noir."Rare art by Calvin & Hobbes creator Bill Watterson (via)AICN Books offers early looks at The Road by Cormac McCarthy and A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon.The Written Nerd looks at the ethics of "street dates," the "do not sell before this date, or else!" restrictions that come with blockbuster books.The IHT looks at Gunter Grass' new memoir, roughly translated as Peeling the Onion. Earlier this month Grass told the world that the book would reveal that he had been a member of the Waffen SS during World War II. Word has it, the book is unlikely to appear in the US any time soon.Google now lets you add a Book Search widget to your Web pages. The search engine giant has also announced that it will start making public domain books available in PDF form. Here's an example.YPTR, in amusing fashion, takes up the question of DFW and whether he will produce a novel again.
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A Necessary Evil
Is the system rigged? Aaron Bady at The New Inquiry discusses the inherent evil of the canon and the general problem with lists. For more on why we care about literary awards in the first place, here is Mark O’Connell from The Millions.
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