Why They’re Single is a “tribute site to excellence and failure in online dating.” And what better date for it to go live than on Valentine’s Day? (Related: OK Stupid: The Horrors of OK Cupid.com)
Sometimes It’s Obvious
Get Your Tissues
The first trailer for the film adaptation of Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief is out. Expect a lot of Oscar nominations and tears.
Not Just the Mind’s Eye
A new Tumblr, The Composites, takes descriptions of characters from novels and feeds them through police composite sketch software to produce images of their “faces.” Creepy and cool. (via kottke)
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Women and Poetry: A Discussion
Elisa Gabbert organized a roundtable discussion with several female critics to explore the twinned questions a) why are more men being published than women? and b) is it because there’s “also a lack of women writing about poetry?”
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Still Neglected
In 1970 The American Scholar published a list of works that “distinguished men and women” deemed neglected. Now, inspired by a LitHub essay on “10 Great Writers Nobody Reads,” the Scholar‘s editors are revisiting those neglected books to see if anything’s changed. Pair their efforts with Claire Cameron‘s look at the unlikely rise of the once-neglected Stoner.
“Afro Picks” Image & Pun Draws Criticism
The cover image of this week’s Publisher’s Weekly, which centers around an annual feature on African American book publishing, is drawing a lot of attention, mostly negative. Read PW senior news editor Calvin Reid‘s explanation/mea culpa.
Ciao, Napoli
Elena Ferrante uses a pseudonym. We may not know her given name, but we do know her home city – Naples. Read about realism in her work from Irene Caselli, who also calls Naples home. Want to know more about Ferrante? She does interviews.
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The Hardest Goodbye
“And when she champions authors, she explains specifically what makes their work special. No vague parroting of Kakutani reviews here. She gives you the straight dope.” How do you say goodbye to your favorite bookstore?
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Mark It Up
Recommended Reading: Laura Miller’s argument for writing in books. You could also read Sam Anderson’s marginalia in Dan Brown’s Inferno, as well as his Year in Marginalia from 2010.