“Have you guessed who I am? Sometimes I think you have.” Is this Dr. Seuss or Bret Easton Ellis? The Awl has a quiz to see whether you can differentiate between sociopaths and the Cat in the Hat.
How Patrick Bateman Stole Christmas
Kurt Vonnegut’s Doodles
When Kurt Vonnegut wasn't writing, he was drawing. "The making of pictures is to writing what laughing gas is to the Asian influenza," he said. The New Yorker has a slideshow of 10 of his cubist sketches. You can find more of his doodles in the new book Kurt Vonnegut Drawings.
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The New Republic’s New Reader
The New Republic, which was recently acquired by Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes, has started a super clean, neat little news reader.
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The Graphic Novel Warhorses
Alexander Chee posts the list of texts he used to teach his seminar on the graphic novel at Amherst - the graphic novel “warhorses,” as he calls them - and explains why they are the essential books for those interested in getting to know the form. (via The Rumpus)
The AOL Layoff Carnage
At The Awl, a former AOL freelancer reports on the layoff carnage there in the wake of the HuffPo acquisition.
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Not for Everyone
Ultra-niche magazines operate a bit differently than their larger and more mainstream cousins. Magazines like Donkey Talk, which caters exclusively to donkey hobbyists, aim for tiny audiences of a few hundred to a few thousand readers. They also cultivate their own jargon -- one magazine, The Mountain Astrologer, tosses the word “quincunx” around as casually as “email.”
Only Thwack a Little
"WHAT DO YOU DO? If you go to the elder debate and support gay marriage because all members of your village should have the right to a love that’s recognized by the State, close the book now. You will not impress the elders whose support you will so desperately need on your journey. Instead, your bravery will be met by an angry horde who throws you into Deadman’s Bog. If you oppose Zylorg’s marriage until a more politically opportune time — perhaps, after several gay bogmen sitcoms become popular — then congratulations, advance to page 38." These excerpts from Hillary Clinton's imagined, dystopian, choose-your-own-adventure YA novel are enlightening.