“Where, more importantly, is the story? David simply is. He does nothing, desires nothing. He exists, if that, and nothing more.” Shalom Auslander judges the prestigious Three Under Three prize.
“Pointless and trivial.”
Ugly Mugs
Recommended Reading: Walker Rutter-Bowman on Arthur Bradford’s Turtleface and Beyond. Pair with Jonathan Russell Clark’s review of the book.
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Cultivating Profit
In an attempt to shift attention away from the ongoing E. coli scandal, Chipotle has announced the next round of authors whose work will be appearing on their cups as part of their ongoing Cultivating Thought series. Look for pieces by Amy Tan, Jeffery Eugenides, Neil Gaiman, and Barbara Kingsolver among five or six others – just be careful of the burritos.
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Meet Ms. Marvel
In an effort to diversify the comics industry, Marvel’s latest superhero isn’t another white man in a cape but a teenage Muslim girl living in Jersey City. Kamala Khan, alias Ms. Marvel, can change shape and will fight villains and her parents’ expectations when the series debuts in February. Pair with: Matt Madden’s history of American comics in six panels.
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“I was born as a woman, I talk you to death”
Recommended Reading: “The Hypno-Domme Speaks, and Speaks and Speaks” by Patricia Lockwood, which has been in my head for two days now.
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Spoiling Infinite Jest
There are three kinds of readers of David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest: those who feel some niggling guilt about that brick on their bookshelf, those who’ve read it (proudly) but secretly may have no idea what happened in that tangled ending, and the people responsible for this excellent infographic. (Complement with cached commentary at Infinite Summer and a guide to the geography of Wallace’s Boston.)
Best Foreign Fiction from Jessa Crispin
Jessa Crispin offers “Picks for Best Foreign Fiction,” at NPR, including selections from Russia, Colombia, the Netherlands, and Israel.
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