“In its clumsy, ad hoc way, Facebook has brought death back into the public sphere in a way death hasn’t been for more than 100 years.” To celebrate Facebook’s 10th birthday, The Missouri Review has unlocked its Alexander Landfair essay on how we deal with death on Facebook. For another look at Facebook, read our essay on how the timeline changes the way we tell stories.
Digital Death
Curiosities: The Aerosol Ebook Enhancer
One way to go green: the San Francisco Public Library is making library cards from corn.The New York Times mines the data from its integrated dictionary feature to find the words its readers most frequently look up: sui generis, solipsistic, louche...Bill Simmons talks basketball with The New Yorker (via)Inspired by the attention surrounding J.D. Salinger's lawsuit to block an unauthorized sequel to The Catcher in the Rye, Patrick Brown at Vroman's has put together an impressive, involved post cataloging and discussing literary remixes.It's not too late to get in on TMN's "Infinte Summer," a summer-long group read of David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest.For those ebook fans who miss that "new book smell."Speaking of enhancing ebooks, what happens to book signings in the age of the ebook? Sign the Kindle?!Sonya Chung's thoughtful take on Dan Baum's Twitter essay about being fired from The New Yorker, including a comment from Baum himself.Mark Sarvas says don't fear the Kindle at HuffPoCarolyn Kellogg shares some satire for the bookish set.The Millions' Collaborative Atlas of Book Stores and Literary Places has now been viewed over 500,000 times!From TMN, "A Terrifically Bad Idea: 10 cafes, 10 macchiatos, one morning, by bike."High concept fun from The Washington Post: "We asked authors which book character they would like to accompany them for a day on the beach." (thanks Arna)Wikipedia find of the week: List of child prodigies.Further Reading: Jeff Hobbes' "Open Letter to Kanye West" generated many supportive comments from other proud readers.
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Threat Level Seven
It's hard to know exactly what North Korea will do these days, but if you're looking for context, The Morning News published a cartoon guide to recent history.
Top Five Desert Island Poems
For all you High Fidelity enthusiasts out there: the hidden world of literary record collecting.
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The Real 24-Hour Bookstore
At one point, the only 24-hour bookstore was in Robin Sloan's Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore, but Beijing has the first real 24-hour bookstore. The Sanlian Bookstore will be open around the clock for book lovers and insomniacs alike.
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It Never Leaves You
The English major is more than just a common course of study, friends. The English major is a way of life. (via Arts and Letters Daily)
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Werewolves Etc.
Reading Proust
For the Atlantic, Sarah Boxer recounts her experience reading In Search of Lost Time on her cell phone. Pair with Hannah Gersen’s year of reading Proust.