Recommended Reading: Joseph Fasano’s “Coda,” which is The Missouri Review’s poem of the week. “Now he is listening for beginning./Now he is lying/among that sinew,/asking, as a boy would, where his song goes.”
Earth’s Song
Your Literary Superpower
Does reading a novel for a few hours make you feel smarter? You’re not alone: a new study suggests that reading novels heightens activity in the left temporal cortex, also known as the part of the brain associated with receptivity to language. The best part? The changes last for five days.
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Spy Fever
With the full trailer out for the upcoming James Bond release, Skyfall, I have to confess I’m totally obsessing over British spy stuff of late. Luckily there are some supplements to scratch that itch: Tina Rosenberg’s new story for The Atavist, D for Deception, about a real British spy writer who became a spy himself; Bee Wilson’s fascinating review of Ben MacIntyre’s outrageous but true investigation of WWII double agents, Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies; Alexander Cockburn’s recap of the time George Orwell supplied “a list of the names of persons on the left who he deemed security risks” to the IRD; the story of Ernest Hemingway’s lousy espionage; and the video Her Royal Majesty’s recent skydiving escapade with 007.
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#ManlyBookClubNames
Literary Twitter has been on fire with #ManlyBookClubNames since The New York Times style section reported that apparently men have book clubs, too. “Perhaps because participation in reading groups is perceived as a female activity, some all-male book clubs have an outsize need to proclaim the endeavor’s masculinity.” If you’re looking for a book club, consider joining Adam Boretz’s Football Book Club.
Emerging Writers Fellowships — Asian American Writers’ Workshop
Emerging writers, check it out: the Asian American Writers’ Workshop is accepting applications for TWO emerging writers’ fellowships (fiction and nonfiction), $5000 plus mentoring and work space. May 16 deadline, more info here.
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Mindwiping Technology
This week in book-related infographics: a look at the future according to science fiction.
Tuesday New Release Day: Hashimi; Torné; Leo; Bullough; Warren
Out this week: A House Without Windows by Nadia Hashimi; Divorce Is in the Air by Gonzalo Torné; The Gentleman by Forrest Leo; Addlands by Tom Bullough; and Liberty Street by Dianne Warren. For more on these and other new titles, go read our Great Second-Half Book Preview.
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Entourage v. Mad Men
Is “Entourage” just “Mad Men” set in modern times? This article, of course, must be paired with Carles‘ Grantland piece, “I Don’t Want to Bro Up, I’m an ‘Entourage’ Kid.”