Over in the New Statesmen, Ed Smith makes the case for increasing your productivity by making sure to get your R&R. He mentions Bertrand Russel’s In Praise of Idleness, which is my go to piece for arguing with myself against being too busy to argue with myself. Or would be, if only I could find the time.
Chilling out is good for society.
Bright Star
Keats on film! See the trailer for Jane Campion's Bright Star.
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Blocked
“Trump has blocked me from reading his tweets. I may have to kill myself.” Stephen King responds to news that the U.S. President doesn't want the author reading his Twitter account. Luckily, reports Entertainment Weekly, J.K. Rowling has stepped in, offering to DM King anything he misses (these are all sentences we regret having to write, fyi). See also: Elizabeth Minkel's consideration of Rowling's second narrative thoughts.
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Wyatt Mason on Lipsky/Wallace
The David Foster Wallace interview, Although of Course..., comes under the scrutiny of one of Wallace's most attentive readers, in the NYRB.
Cost of the Memoir
“My parents really don’t like that book. It embarrassed and saddened them and they didn’t understand why I would air my dirty laundry in public. They’ve had some time to sit with it and now they’re more supportive of what I do as a memoirist. I think they see the value of telling your story now. It’s still a tender subject and I wouldn’t say that they exactly love the book now, but at least it’s an open dialogue.” Jillian Lauren speaks on the cost of telling one’s truth publicly and her memoir Some Girls: My Life in a Harem. Pair with a piece by our own Michael Bourne on the art and business of memoirs.
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Britain’s Illuminated Manuscripts
Illuminated manuscripts such as bestiaries and bibles, prayer books and propaganda, histories and stories, each owned and annotated by kings and queens, go on display at the British Library in London. ("The Genius of Illumination", November 11-March 13)
The Return of Agatha Christie
"As much as there is an evergreen fascination for Christie’s stories, there's also an alluring air of mystery surrounding the woman herself." Broadly explores the enduring nature of Agatha Christie's stories, the recent surge in adaptations (including Murder on the Orient Express), and the mysterious 11-day disappearance of the writer herself. From our archives: an essay on the sometimes inherent predictability of the mystery genre.
The Winds of Winter
Recommended Reading: Lit Hub has been sharing excerpts of winter favorites, from James Joyce’s “The Dead” to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
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