Not every Craigslist ad is noteworthy, but this property listing, titled “Gorgeous Rural Mountain Acreage” and hailing from Kentucky, is a notable (and sobering) exception. Full-Stop republished the whole thing, which includes warnings that “bears are known to be about” and “beautiful water seeps.”
“A history of fire flooding and water flooding”
Tweet Tweet
On the tiny island of La Gomera, the residents had a problem communicating across the ravines. What did they do to resolve this, you ask? Simple: they invented a whistle language. (h/t The Rumpus)
It’s all about the characters
In the world of selling books, it’s not all about the sentences. At Ploughshares, agent Eric Nelson argues: A fresh plot matters and unusual characters do, too. “The most interesting books have characters who do the opposite of what we’d do… Imagine Hamlet, if Hamlet took decisive action. Horror movies wouldn’t exist at all without the idiot who always suggests they split up.”
●
●
You Don’t Shoot the Beard!
The Observer profiles Baumbach père: Jonathan, that is, whose new novel, Dreams of Molly, is out in May from Dzanc books.
Station Eleven Preview
A. A. Knopf posted the first chapter of our own Emily St. John Mandel’s new novel, Station Eleven, on Scribd for all to see and enjoy.
●
●
Tastes Like Nostalgia
“Titles hitting shelves in the coming months are both updating heirloom recipes for a modern age, and modern kitchens, and bringing untouched dishes back into the spotlight.” Publishers Weekly highlights the resurgence of retro cookbooks as well as upcoming titles that put contemporary spins on vintage recipes. From our archives: Hannah Gersen‘s list of literature masquerading as cookbook.
Invisible Translators
“One is less likely to overlook or be unfairly harsh to a translator if one has been a translator, and one is less likely to fault an original writer for weaknesses in translated prose or poetry if one has a sense of the pitfalls into which a translator can stumble—a sense I am still developing after years of translating poetry and prose.” Over at Asymptote Journal, Sue Burke and Maia Evrona look at reviews of books in translation.