Of course this is always an ongoing discussion about which books will endure, and which books are the best. Such talk is fueled by annual “Best Of” lists. But what did that conversation sound like… in 1898?
Ye Olde Best Books
The Mirror Stage
These Lacanian jokes will have you looking in the mirror and contemplating your existence.
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Does NASA Use Emoji?
You can sign up to receive a text alert from NASA notifying you when the International Space Station is scheduled to fly over your house.
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Drawing Autism
April is Autism Awareness Month, and a new paperback edition of Drawing Autism displays artwork created by artists all along the spectrum. You can take a look at some examples over here, and New Yorkers can hear from the book’s editor at the United Nations on April 2nd.
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Not at All Exaggerated
In 1913, Ambrose Bierce, at the age of seventy-one, rode a horse from California to Mexico, where he planned to cover the ongoing Revolutionary War. At some point, he disappeared and died, though accounts vary as to what exactly killed him. At The Paris Review Daily, Forrest Gander recounts the many deaths of the Devil’s Dictionary author, which include a public burning, death by disease and executions at the hands of Mexican soldiers.
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American Experience: Jesse Owens
The Summer Olympics begin in exactly one month, so I recommend checking out this 52-minute American Experience episode on Olympic legend Jesse Owens to set the tone.
The Long Birthday
On this day 124 years ago Raymond Chandler, hardest of the hard-boiled, was born. To celebrate the father of Philip Marlowe see these letters Chandler wrote to some of his contemporaries, listen to Chandler’s interview with Ian Fleming, and enjoy a couple classic Chandlerisms. Most importantly, read “The Simple Art of Murder,” the greatest essay about the mystery novel ever written.
Kurkov’s Penguins
Anthony Olcott takes a look at the crime fiction — and penguins — of Andrey Kurkov.
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Commence Griping Now
The first images from Joe Wright’s Anna Karenina motion picture adaptation are now online. Behold Keira Knightley as Anna, and Jude Law as Alexei! The film will release in the UK on September 7th.