In the early eighties, when the writer James Lasdun was working in publishing, he rejected a book by a writer who turned out to be a pen name for Doris Lessing. The fallout? He couldn’t bring himself to read her work until this year. (Related: our own Mark O’Connell’s interview with Lasdun about his latest book.)
Not My Best Work
Sleeping Like a Genius
Stay up until 4am reading that new release? Dread your early alarm after a night spent with a book? Maybe you're just on Flaubert's schedule. Or, if you find it easy to fall asleep before midnight and enjoy early mornings, perhaps you're running on Victor Hugo time. New York Magazine has compiled an infographic of the sleeping habits of geniuses, and the good news is that no matter when you fall asleep and wake up, someone brilliant has more or less kept your same schedule. So take heart, late-night readers and early risers. We're all in good company.
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RIP Robert Stone
RIP Robert Stone, who passed away at his home in Key West on Saturday. The author, who won the National Book Award in 1975 for his novel Dog Soldiers, was 77. You can get a sense of his work by reading Tatjana Soli’s review of his story collection Fun with Problems.
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Jesmyn Ward Two-fer
Electric Literature’s posted a story by Jesmyn Ward, author of the reigning National Book Award-winning novel Salvage the Bones, as part of their ongoing Recommended Reading series. It’s worth checking out. Likewise, I recommend getting your hands on the latest issue of Oxford American so you can check out Ward’s inaugural “Native Daughter” column.
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The Myth of the “Knausgaard-free Day”
Did Karl Ove Knausgaard’s autobiography become so popular in Norway that the country had to institute “Knausfaard-free days?” Casey N. Cep investigates.
I Am Jack’s Graphic Novel Sequel
Chuck Palahniuk dropped big news at San Diego’s Comic Con last week: he’s currently working on a follow-up to Fight Club… in the form of a graphic novel. “It will likely be a series of books that update the story ten years after the seeming end of Tyler Durden,” he told attendees. “It will, of course, be dark and messy.”
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Election Night in Chicago
I was lucky enough to attend President Obama's Election Night rally in Chicago, and wrote a diary of the evening for The Awl. "Let's Stay Together" played, Vivica A. Fox walked by.