“If culture is purely entertainment, nothing is of importance. If it’s a matter of amusement, an impostor can undoubtedly amuse me more than a profoundly authentic person. But if culture signifies more than this, then it’s worrying.” Sociologist Gilles Lipovetsky interviews the Nobel Prize-winning novelist Mario Vargas Llosa about the contemporary collapse between “high” and “low” cultures.
Civilization of the Spectacle
Whatever I choose is cool because I am cool.
The Rumpus has an interview up with Ann Friedman, executive editor at GOOD, and curator of the beloved tumblogs Lady Journos and #realtalk From Your Editor.
On the Most External of Hard Drives
Scared of relying on the cloud? Worried your book-in-progress might disappear into cyberspace? How would you feel if you could save your files on -- wait for it -- the Moon?
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“The conspirators sit smoking thoughtfully”
Recommended Reading: “The Colonel’s Daughter,” new fiction from Noir author Robert Coover.
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Tuesday New Release Day
This week we have new on shelves: Julie Orringer's hotly anticipated debut novel The Invisible Bridge; Meghan Daum's memoir of real estate addiction Life Would Be Perfect If I Lived in That House, Private Life by Jane Smiley, and The Singer's Gun by our own Emily St. John Mandel.
Chabon: Friend to the Geeks
You may not know this, but Michael Chabon co-wrote the script for Disney's latest blockbuster, Shirtless Martian Tim Riggins John Carter. In an interview with Wired, Chabon defends genre-writing, and also talks about his sci-fi influences.
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Where Does He Get Those Wonderful Toys?
The Original of Laura offers a glimpse under the hood of the chromed and gleaming Nabokov machine, writes Sam Anderson of New York Magazine.
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