It may not surprise you to learn that Neil deGrasse Tyson wishes he’d met Oscar Wilde. As part of the By the Book series in the Times, the astronomer talks about his favorite writers, including Carl Sagan, Bill Bryson and Jonathan Swift.
On Dr. Seuss and Pluto, Etc.
Your X-Man Mutation: Advanced Reading Abilities
Does stereoblindness caused by amblyopia (“lazy eye”) grant “superpowers” to avid readers? Giovanni Garcia-Fenech’s ophthalmologist seems to think so.
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N+2.0?
N+1 takes the brave step of making all more of its content available online, at a snazzily updated website. You might start with Mark McGurl's knockout piece on Zombie novels, a fitting companion to our own Emily W.'s recent work on vampires. Remember, though: subscribing "is the right thing to do."
Translation by the Numbers
Three Percent crunches the numbers on all the translated fiction and poetry published in the U.S. in 2009. The overall numbers were down in 2009 from 2008. The top language to be translated? Spanish, followed by French, German, Arabic, and Italian. (Thanks, Laurie)
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Breaking Out
As part of a collaboration with several international magazines, Full-Stop is publishing Babelsprech International, a series of articles on poetry around the world. In the latest edition, Karel Piorecký writes about contemporary Czech poetry, drawing a line between the pre- and post-Communist periods. Related: John Yargo on the Czech writer Bohumil Hrabal.
Plus He Took a Selfie
We’re not the only ones looking back on favorite pieces of the year. At The Paris Review Daily, a Gchat (yes, Gchat) with George Saunders, who corresponded with Katherine Bernard on Valentine’s Day.
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Tuesday Means New Releases
Two hotly anticipate works by literary masters hit shelves this week. Both were "most anticipated books." We have The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood and Nocturnes by Kazuo Ishiguro. The latter was written about persuasively by Lydia in recent weeks.
I Hope Not
Is it time to tax the internet?
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