It might not be a good idea to tell this to bookish readers, but it looks like loneliness can kill you.
The Perils of Being a Hermit
How Many Spaces After A Period?
According to Slate: "Typing two spaces after a period is totally, completely, utterly, and inarguably wrong."
Barry Hannah, 1942-2010
Barry Hannah, the mind-blowing author of Airships and many other books, died Monday at age 67.
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The Gladwell Sentence
Would you rather be sentenced to almost eight years in prison or be forced to read Malcolm Gladwell? Convicted eco-terrorist Rebecca Rubin was sentenced to five years in prison and told to read Gladwell's David and Goliath. The judge believes Rubin could learn non-violent protest from Gladwell. Pair with: Our own Michael Bourne's review of the book.
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Devastating Stories
Recommended Reading: "The Misanthropic Genius of Joy Williams" in The New York Times Magazine. Her latest collection of short stories, The Visiting Privilege: New and Collected Stories, which was included on our most anticipated list, will be released on September 8th. “When I asked Williams what she wants out of a great story, she replied, ‘I want to be devastated in some way.’”
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Fate and Fiction
Recommended reading: Catherine Lacey writes for Granta about "The Question of Fate" and fiction writing.
The Prince of Horror
"Hill had maintained a daily writing routine since age 13, completing four or five books as a teen and four more as an adult, and was now, at the cusp of 35, finally putting out a novel—a ghost story." GQ profiles Joe Hill about his writing, being the son of Stephen King, and finding success in his own right. From our archives: our own editor Lydia Kiesling's essay on King, nostalgia, and America.