You may have heard that Haruki Murakami has a new book on shelves. Woody Brown reviewed it for The Millions last week. Over at Electric Lit, Lincoln Michel invites us to play Murakami Bingo, created by Grant Snider, once again. It might also be a good time to read Ben Dooley on 1Q84.
“Old Jazz Record!”
eBooks for the brain
By now we’re used to the age-old, tiresome books vs. ebooks debate: which one is cheaper, better-smelling, better for notes, better for authors, better for the Earth. But which one is better for the brain?
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Not What You Said Before
A couple weeks ago, Matt Ashby and Brendan Carroll argued in a Salon piece that David Foster Wallace, who wrote an essay about the television and irony back in the early ‘90s, presciently diagnosed the danger of snark in our own age. Now Peter Finocchiaro, a senior editor at Salon, argues instead that we need irony more than we ever have. You could also read A-J Aronstein’s notes from the DFW Symposium.
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Writer: The Game
Trying to get some writing done? Procrastinate with a game about trying to get some writing done without procrastinating.
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Take the Proust Questionnaire, Discover Your Secret Affinities With Creepy People
I can think of no more disturbing way to waste your time than to take “The Proust Questionnaire.” Celebrities most like me: Barbara Walters and Karl Rove.
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Next Up, the Auckland Teal
As part of their ongoing efforts to monopolize all kinds of waterfowl, the good folks at Penguin, headed by the editor Jonathan Bell, have dug up old covers from the company’s defunct imprint, Pelican. The Guardian set up a slideshow that lets you scroll through a selection.
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