Did you miss 192 Books’ Geoff Dyer and John Jeremiah Sullivan conversation a few weeks back? Well, good thing for you that FSG put the whole transcript online.
Which One Will Write An Essay About It First?
Did You Hear That?
Grab your tinfoil caps, everyone. Ben Granger at 3:AM Magazine has published a new piece on Umberto Eco, Dan Brown, and conspiracy literature.
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Revolution Girl Style Now
Listen up, rebel girls! The October issue of The Believer features selections from New York University’s riot grrl collection, curated by archivist Lisa Darms.
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The CIA Supports the Practice of Good Grammar
“’There is absolutely no truth to this allegation [that the CIA is trying to remove ‘ë’ from the Russian alphabet],’ the spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal. ‘The Agency supports the practice of good grammar and pronunciation in any language.’”
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That’s Not Leather
In horrifying book news, the binding of one of Harvard College Library’s books has been confirmed to be human skin.
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Murakami Controversy
Haruki Murakami‘s Norwegian Wood has been dropped from one New Jersey school’s syllabus due to “some words and language that seemed to be inappropriate as far as the parents and some of the kids were concerned.” His publisher A. A. Knopf has issued a statement in response.
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He’ll Ask You For a Napkin
Mallory Ortberg of The Toast, whose Ayn Rand-inspired versions of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and You’ve Got Mail we told you about a few months ago, is back it at again. Now Rand (er, I mean, Ortberg) has her sights set on the dubiously libertarian children’s classic If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. If we give you the article, you’ll probably ask us for an essay by Gary Percesepe about meeting Ayn Rand’s editor to go along with it.
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The Limits of Speed
Chuck Klosterman wonders whether or not the fastest human ever may have already been born.
Peeling Back the “Mask of the Whiskey Gentry”
In a long investigation of Hunter S. Thompson’s classic essay, “The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved” (PDF), Josh Roiland takes readers to church by pointing out exactly what’s so alluring about the piece, which “scholars often point to … as the origin of Gonzo Journalism.”
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