“Behold the ladyblogosphere,” writes Molly Fischer for n+1, “for [Jezebel, The Hairpin, xojane, and Rookie] are not women’s blogs but ladyblogs, and ‘lady’ is their endemic verbal tic.” Emily Gould’s response is worth a read as well.
On the Ladyblogosphere
Kanye West, Philosopher + Author
Kanye West is back on Twitter. And in literary news, he's decided to write a philosophy book, Break the Simulation and publish excerpts (or maybe the entire thing) on Twitter. There appears to be no release date or publisher attached so stay tuned.
The Internet v. Writing
It's hard to write when the internet beckons. So has said Dani Shapiro and our own Emily St. John Mandel. Colson Whitehead doesn't necessarily agree, however. Ditto for our own Kevin Hartnett. Now the folks at Electric Literature have thrown in their two cents.
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But When Will They Play “Free Bird?”
Meanwhile, in NPR's recording studio, classically trained violinist Aleksey Igudesman and pianist Hyung-ki Joo perform the most original rendition of "I Will Survive" you're going to hear all year.
Genuinely Weird
Jeff Vandermeer's Southern Reach trilogy: a genuinely weird work of ecological fiction, a hyper-object, or a strangely beautiful "glimpse of a whole that’s, by its nature, unknowable"? Joshua Rothman argues for all three in a review for The New Yorker. For more from Vandermeer himself, check out his Millions interview with Richard House, author of The Kills.
Writing Like a Reader
Over at Catapult, Lynn Steger Strong writes on writing a novel that readers will read. As she puts it, “I was trying to explore the specific experience of living in the world while also living largely, sometimes to one’s own detriment, inside of books, inside one’s head.” Also check out this Millions piece, featuring six writers looking back on their first novels.
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You Should Have This Title Read to You
When it comes to the pleasures of reading out loud, Michael Robbins isn’t so much interested in “why we find certain sounds in certain combinations pleasing or disturbing,” but he does enjoy “the hows.”
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How the Novel Made the World
In the June Atlantic, William Deresiewicz revisits that old favorite subject, the past and future of the Great American novel, in a review of two new books about the history of novels: The Dream of the Great American Novel by Laurence Buell and The Novel: A Biography by Michael Schmidt. (Dizzy yet? If not, consider nine other experts' opinions on the Great American Novel here at The Millions, for a round dozen.)
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Tuesday New Release Day: Pynchon, Baker, McNair, Boccaccio
Thomas Pynchon’s new novel, Bleeding Edge, which we covered in several Curiosities, is out this week. Also out: Traveling Sprinkler by Nicholson Baker; Pickett’s Charge by Charles McNair; and a new translation of Boccaccio’s Decameron by UT-Austin professor Wayne Rebhorn. (For more on these and other upcoming titles, check out our Great 2013 Second-half Book Preview.)