Can’t keep track of who is driving which car in The Great Gatsby? Pop Chart Lab made a chart of the comings and goings of the novel’s characters via trains, cars, and feet.
Careless Drivers
Literature’s Favorite Houseguests
Jessica Francis Kane lists some of her favorite houseguests in literature, including King Lear, Jane Bennet, and more.
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Miranda July Steals
“I discovered that stealing required a loose, casual energy,” writes Miranda July. “A sort of oneness with the environment, like surfing or horse-whispering.”
The Power of Awwwws
Let’s all take a momentary break from literary coverage so we can watch a wedding proposal so sweet and wonderful, it’ll make you totally forget how much you hate its accompanying song.
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Tuesday New Release Day: Lipsyte, Carson, Silver, Hamid, Miller, Oates, Graver
Sam Lipsyte’s new collection The Fun Parts is out this week. Also out are Red Doc> by Anne Carson, Mary Coin by Marisa Silver, How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid, Jacob’s Folly by Rebecca Miller, The Accursed by Joyce Carol Oates, and The End of the Point by Elizabeth Graver.
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Nebulous Plotlines
You’ve probably heard it before: never end a story with the phrase “it was all a dream.” Unfortunately for the person who taught you this rule, many classic stories (including Anna Karenina) take place at least partially in dreams. In the NYRB, Francine Prose investigates the trope in fiction.
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New York: It Isn’t All That
Roxane Gay rounded up some of her favorite writers from “Outside of New York City.” (And she’s not talking about Brooklyn.)
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The Freedom of Limits
“Limits stop you from living a life without limits,” writes Augusten Burroughs. “Of course, this is only an illusion. What limits really do is give you an acceptable excuse to avoid doing something.” (He’s talking about life, not Oulipo.) The piece is excerpted from his recent book, This Is How.