How many writers actually know how a word processor functions? Chances are the answer is: not many. At Page-Turner, our own Mark O’Connell examines this odd state of affairs, which he became more cognizant of after reading Vikram Chandra’s new book, Geek Sublime.
Thoroughly Modern Dilemmas
The Long Birthday
On this day 124 years ago Raymond Chandler, hardest of the hard-boiled, was born. To celebrate the father of Philip Marlowe see these letters Chandler wrote to some of his contemporaries, listen to Chandler’s interview with Ian Fleming, and enjoy a couple classic Chandlerisms. Most importantly, read “The Simple Art of Murder,” the greatest essay about the mystery novel ever written.
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P.D. James Passes Away
Author P.D. James, “the Queen of crime writing” and subject of one of our Post-4o Bloomers essays, has passed away, reports the BBC.
Visiting Main Street
What happens if your town’s reputation was made by an author who hated it? Sinclair Lewis grew up in Sauk Centre, Minnesota and scathingly satirized it in Main Street (our Modern Library Revue of it), but it’s the town’s only claim to fame nearly a century later. At The Morning News, Matt Ray Robison visits.
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Books for a Post-‘Game of Thrones’ World
What should you read to get your Game of Thrones fix now that the TV series is over? N.K. Jemisin, Nnedi Okorafor, and Kirstin Downey for starters.
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Bookstore Boon
The shuttering of Borders locations across the country, an “unusually vibrant selection” of new releases, and “customers who seem undeterred by pricier titles” have contributed to “surprisingly strong sales for many bookstores” across the country.
Tuesday New Releases
A big week for new fiction. Ian McEwan’s latest novel Solar is out. Kakutani just called it his “funniest novel yet.” Also now apparently available (despite its late April pub date) is the latest in the long line posthumously published works by Roberto Bolaño, Antwerp, a slim volume that has been described as both a prose poem and a crime novel. Deborah Eisenberg’s big new volume of collected stories is also out today, as is Rachel Cusk’s The Bradshaw Variations. Hilary Mantel is a fan of the latter. And finally, The Lotus Eaters, a debut novel from sometime Millions contributor Tatjana Soli.
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