Amazon collected some of the funniest, top-voted reviews from customers on its website. “Occasionally customer creativity goes off the charts in the best possible way,” they said. Of course, there are also plenty of examples of customers going off the charts in the worst possible ways, too.
“Has anyone else tried pouring this stuff over dry cereal? A-W-E-S-O-M-E!”
Paul Harding’s Book Notes Playlist
Enon author Paul Harding made a playlist to accompany his latest book, which was recently reviewed on our site by Joseph M. Schuster.
Self-Published, Self-Promoted
Four days ago, The New York Times exposed the practice of purchasing five-star reviews on Amazon. So far, few have offered solutions. A Reddit user explains how to properly read Amazon review graphs through the cloud of purchased hype. Erin Keane calls for independent writers to hold themselves to higher standards.
Previews, Ctd.
If our own lengthy book preview wasn’t quite enough for your appetite, you might like the preview at Writers No One Reads. (It probably doesn’t hurt that their list includes Beckett and Borges.)
On Packing a Library
“Many times, I’ve found that a book I once held in my hands becomes another when assigned its position in my library.” In The Paris Review, an excerpt on the art of packing (and unpacking) a library from Alberto Manguel‘s upcoming book, Packing My Library: An Elegy and Ten Digressions. Pair with: an essay on reorganizing one’s personal library.
The Life and Times of James Lloydovich Patterson
In 1932, several black Americans – including Langston Hughes – traveled to the Soviet Union to shoot a propaganda film about the “evils of racism in the United States.” One of those travelers, Lloyd Patterson, would never return. Instead, Patterson married an Ukrainian woman, and the pair had two children. The firstborn, Jim Patterson, was at one time the most famous black resident of the USSR – and his appearance in The Circus even drew the admiration of Joseph Stalin. After World War II, Patterson served as a Soviet naval officer aboard a submarine in the Black Sea. From there he went on to the Soviet Writers Union in 1967. If you think this sounds far-fetched, I encourage you to read more here.