The Catcher in the Rye is 63 years and 1 day old today and PBS has published an infographic tracing the novel’s complicated route to publication. Pair with Millions essays about rereading Salinger and his three leaked stories.
63 years and 1 day
“Aftermath and Armageddon”
"There is something terrifying but also fascinating about contemplating the end of humanity," and on Oct. 25th our own Edan Lepucki and Emily St. John Mandel (whose novel Station Eleven was just shortlisted for the National Book Award) will be discussing their recent apocalyptic fictions at the Texas Book Festival.
Perfectly Inexplicable
Last week, I wrote about Kathryn Schulz’s innovative interview with David Mitchell, which took place on a walk along the Irish coastline. Now, in a nice complement to our own review from today, Pico Iyer reviews the author’s latest. Sample quote: “A perfectly matter-of-fact, unvarnished evocation of how regular folks speak, married to a take-no-prisoners fascination with all that we can’t explain.” Our review of The Bone Clocks was published today.
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Every height of brow
Putting aside for a moment the racist phrenological roots of the terms "highbrow" and "lowbrow," here's an interesting conversation on what the difference between them means for literature now. For a historical take, check out this graphic from a 1949 edition of LIFE magazine, which taught me a real gentleman wears fuzzy tweed, and iceberg lettuce is never in style.
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Tuesday New Release Day: Walker, Somerville, Towles
Karen Thompson Walker's The Age of Miracles is out today, as is This Bright River by Patrick Somerville. And The Rules of Civility by Amor Towles (reviewed here) is out in paperback.
“You call that nice? // I call it haiku.”
Recommended Reading: Two new poems by Just Saying author Rae Armantrout.
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Reading As Punishment
First a judge ordered a man to write a book report, and now Brazil is offering inmates sentence reductions for every book they read. When did reading shift from pleasure to punishment?
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On Cocktails, Camaraderie, and Chaos
Times drink columnist Rosie Schaap discussed Drinking With Men in the pages of The Observer. Meanwhile, Derek Brown has some advice for bartenders across the country: for the love of all that is holy, stop inventing so many new, wild drinks!
McSweeney’s Column Contest
You have until 8/20 to enter the 4th Annual Column Contest at McSweeney's.
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