In 2009, Rivka Galchen wrote a lengthy piece in Harper’s about the quest to predict and control hurricanes. Now that her article is sadly apropos, it’s available for free on the web. (Said quest had a major role in the author’s excellent first novel.)
Journalistic Disturbances
The Future Is Now
Today at 3 pm EST, Toni Morrison will be digitally signing copies of her recent novel Home, in celebration of Black History Month. The entire event will be streamed live on Google+.
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He’s at a Loss
Guess which famous novelist and new Twitter user got 19,000 retweets for the following: “On Twitter at last, and can't think of a thing to say. Some writer I turned out to be.” (Hint: his last name rhymes with “sing.”)
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Very Short Story Contest
Want a chance to win $200 and a shot at glory? Consider entering The Coffin Factory’s “Very Short Story Contest.” The deadline is August 15th.
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Liyuan Library by Li Xiaodong Atelier
A new library has been designed for the small village of Huairou on the outskirts of Beijing. Instead of adding a new building inside the village center, the architects chose a site in the nearby mountains, a pleasant five minute walk from the village center. "In doing so we could provide a setting of clear thoughts when one consciously takes the effort to head for the reading room."
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“This is my college education.”
Eccentric celebrity chef José Andrés (who should be familiar to fans of No Reservations) has an enviable library of cookbooks and volumes of food history. He even owns a notepad of Honoré Julien's (Chef for both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson) which allegedly proves the Frenchman introduced French fries to America.
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The Great Silence
"I and my fellow parrots are right here. Why aren’t they interested in listening to our voices?" New short fiction from Ted Chiang over at Electric Literature (and introduced by Year in Reading alum Karen Jay Fowler)! Pair with our encyclopedic survey of primate lit.
Tuesday New Release Day: Thiong’o; Mason; Gerard; Romm; Grøndahl; Grant
Out this week: Devil on the Cross by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o; Void Star by Zachary Mason; Sunshine State by Sarah Gerard; Double Bind, edited by Robin Romm; Often I Am Happy by Jens Christian Grøndahl; and Cave Dwellers by Richard Grant. For more on these and other new titles, go read our most recent book preview.
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Capote Quiz
The OUP's blog has created a Truman Capote quiz. The idea is to match the author's quotation with its literary victim.
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