It’s hard to resist reading others’ diary entries, especially when the diaries in question belong to famous writers. Now that a selection of Jack Kerouac‘s journals is being released from The New Yorker archives and made available online, resistance is more or less futile. Originally published in 1998, these journal entries span the years from 1948 to 1950, from just after the long drive that inspired On the Road to the publication of Kerouac’s first book, The Town and the City.
Jack Kerouac’s Journals
A Sordid Affair
Has there ever been a decent television show about book publishing? Not yet. Liam O’Brien at Melville House explains how Showtime’s The Affair is the best one we’ve got–and by “best,” he means impossible and hilariously unrealistic.
Reading Lists Amended
Remember when Esquire released their not-so-great list of eighty books every man should read? Well, they have amended their list to eighty books every person should read, asking advice from “eight female literary powerhouses” including Roxane Gay, Michiko Kakutani and Lauren Groff. Our own Janet Potter recommends twenty-eight books you should read if you want to.
●
●
Argentinian Pension Plan for Writers
Argentina may be offering a $940/month pension plan for writers. Eligibility requirements include 20 years of work in “literary creation” and five published works with ISBN numbers. This bill was proposed amidst the festivities of the Buenos Aires International Book Expo, one of the biggest book expos in the world.
●
●
Not Quite a Novel, Not Quite a Tweet
Melville House’s “Art of the Novella” series gets some major, major love from Joe Fassler in The Atlantic.
●
●
I Prefer Not To
Just in time for Labor Day, Electric Literature has a list of 11 lousy jobs from literature that will make you feel better about your own; or you could celebrate the long weekend by writing a novel in three days, like they do in Canada.
●
●
One comment: