Writing about a foreign country is always a dodgy proposition, but it seems to be especially thorny when English people and Americans take on their transatlantic brethren. Looking over two contributions to the genre by English writers — Terry Eagleton’s Across the Pond and A.A. Gill’s To America With Love — Carlin Romano concludes that neither manages to “teach us something new about ourselves.”
Uncommon Language
Tuesday New Release Day: Gaiman, Hage, Bell, Delijani, Calvino, Peach
New this week: The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman, Carnival by Rawi Hage, In the House upon the Dirt between the Lake and the Woods by Matt Bell, Children of the Jacaranda Tree by Sahar Delijani, the collected letters of Italo Calvino, and the seventh issue of McSweeney's food mag Lucky Peach.
Curiosities
The Economist's nifty, new(?) culture mag More Intelligent Life is putting together guides to the best critics, including those who cover books; film; dance, art, and classical music, and rock music. Scott has performed a similar exercise for book reviewers, as well.Polite magazine: "Where Are They Now? A visit with Encyclopedia Brown"The estimable New York Sun books section follows our lead in adding a review archive.Nextbook asks: Where have all Bernard Malamud's readers gone?Vroman's, a legendary Southern California independent bookstore and the employer of Millions contributor Patrick, has been named Bookseller of the Year by PW.Richard Russo:"My fictional Eliot [Spitzer] would be complex, would contain paradoxes. He would not be a hypocrite. My Eliot would believe with his whole heart in his crusades against the corrupt and the powerful and the privileged, even as he worked studiously to undermine his legacy. Fiction can accommodate such paradoxes, provided they're explained."An open letter to Steve Jobs pleading for Apple to create an iPod optimized for "a best-of-breed reading experience." (via)One of our most anticipated books, Jonathan Littell's novel Les Bienveillantes won't be out in English for a while yet, but a new translation into German offers an opportunity for another review to trickle out.There are 1,000 Places to See Before You Die and 1,001 Books You Must Read Before You Die, but forget all that and "Read this column before you die."
Dubai: The Richest Playground on Earth
The third installment in Richard Bentley’s sweet Dubai timelapse video series is live for your viewing pleasure. (And here are parts one and two in case you missed them.)
God, CEO of Heaven
Here’s the story of one entrepreneur so intent on disrupting the antiquated status quo within his industry that he quit his organization and set out to found his own start-up. You’ve heard this story before. It’s John Milton’s Paradise Lost, and supposedly it can help your career in ways you haven’t even realized.
●
●
Russian Literary News
Russian literary news and awards -- i.e. winners and runners-up of Russia's Big Book Award -- at Lizok's Bookshelf.
●
●
Trouble with Names
When your first name is interesting or just plain weird, you learn how not to get sick of explaining what your parents were thinking. Fortunately for Brevity editor Dinty Moore, his name is “more a gift than a burden.”
●
●