As you might expect, the world of Game of Thrones fanfiction is complicated, pornographic and more than a little bit intimidating.
A Song of Spare Time
Of Man’s First Disobedience
Simon DeDeo writes for AGNI about the first line of Paradise Lost, John Milton’s first disobedience. As he explains it, “The line is a syllable too much. In Milton’s blank verse epic—iambic pentameter, five sets of two-syllable feet—the opening has eleven syllables, not ten.”
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Into the Abyss
“The day is spent for the most part in a glorious solitude. Like the hunter who moves silently through the woods to check his traps, she moves through the library, cautiously avoiding those whom she knows. A single conversation would ruin the beauty and vastness of her silence. Today no such conversation occurs and she is happy.” Good luck not reading this narration of a graduate student’s life in the voice of director Werner Herzog, now. Here’s a great Herzog Millions piece, as well.
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The Literature of Loss
“Loss isn’t science; it’s a human reckoning.” The New York Times posts an e-mail conversation between Joyce Carol Oates and Meghan O’Rourke on why we write about grief, following the release of Oates’ memoir A Widow’s Story and in anticipation of O’Rourke’s own memoir of loss, The Long Goodbye.
eBooks for the brain
By now we’re used to the age-old, tiresome books vs. ebooks debate: which one is cheaper, better-smelling, better for notes, better for authors, better for the Earth. But which one is better for the brain?
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His and Hers
The novelist and essayist T Cooper has a new book out, Real Man Adventures, that reflects on his life as a trans man. At Slate, Amanda Hess gives a comprehensive take on the memoir.
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Edan Lepucki Sells Her Second Novel
Congrats are in order for our own Edan Lepucki, who recently sold her second novel to Crown! Her new book, a “sly, sinister exploration of female relationships,” will come out in 2017. You could also read her and our own Bill Morris on writing their most recent novels.
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Back from the Gulag
On NPR, Russian high school students now must read from The Gulag Archipelago. Genuine reflection or lip service? (Thx, Laurie)
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