Heti and Didion, Chatting It Up
On Forgiveness and Thoughts of Transgression
At BOMB Magazine's website, an interview with A.M. Homes, conducted by (who else) a friend who accompanies her to synagogue. Among other things, the two discuss Yom Kippur, adoption, and May We Be Forgiven, the author's latest novel (which we reviewed).
HBD EB!
Happy first birthday to Emily Books! The Observer ran a little recap of the book club-slash-store's lascivious first anniversary party, where Kate Zambreno and Tamara Faith Berger both read from their recent novels. Here's the Million's interview with Zambreno, and here's a #LitBeat from one of Berger's previous readings from her steamy wonder of a novel, Maidenhead.
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Drinking JJS While Reading JJS
One of the best parts of last month's Cullman Center discussion between John Jeremiah Sullivan and Wells Tower was watching JJS carry on the conversation while sipping from a highball glass of whiskey. The essayist's Southern roots and Irish ancestry of course make him no stranger to potent potables, which is why Danny Nowell's "John Jeremiah Sullivan" cocktail is so appropriate.
Choose Your Own Literary Dystopia
Which dystopian future is right for you? Kurt Vonnegut’s? George Orwell’s? Margaret Atwood’s? Take Flavorwire’s simple quiz to find out!
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Benefits Does Have a Nicer Ring to It
In its treatment of the poor, Britain may be “going back to the Middle Ages,” says Booker repeat winner Hilary Mantel. Indeed, she explains, “In some respects … Cromwell lived in a more enlightened time.” And she’s not the only high profile UK author to come to the side of government welfare these days. In a two-part interview for The Daily Show, J.K. Rowling notes that she couldn’t have written her first books without government “benefits.”
Wimmer on Bolaño
Year in Reading alum Scott Esposito asks fellow Year in Reading alum Natasha Wimmer nine questions about Roberto Bolaño's The Third Reich.
Do Libraries Really Destroy Books?
"6 Reasons We're In Another 'Book-Burning' Period In History" is not about the destruction of books based on content or community objections; it's about the destruction of books because libraries (and sometimes bookstores) don't know what to do with them. We also had a little something to say about the topic.
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