We’ve all heard stories about fans who root through the trash of Hollywood celebrities. But what about those rare birds who root through the trash of famous authors? Herewith, Adrienne LaFrance relates the story of Paul Moran, a Salem, MA resident who picked through John Updike’s garbage. It’s probably a good time to read our review of Adam Begley’s biography of Updike.
Trash Collector
The Graphics of Storytelling
The New York Times asked graphic artists if “the power of storytelling could be communicated in one panel,” and they responded in comics, of course. For more comics, read Paul Morton’s essay on the 25th anniversary of Drawn and Quarterly.
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Beware of the Dog
This week in book-related news: a new coffee table book devoted solely to Marc Jacobs’ bull terrier, who happens to be an Instagram celebrity.
Deja Moo: I’ve Heard This Bull Before
The fuss is currently over John D'Agata and Jim Fingal's clashes over factual accuracy, but frankly I'm tired of hearing about it. Maybe it's because it sounds so reminiscent of David Shields' Reality Hunger (2010). Or, better yet, maybe it's because it sounds so reminiscent of David Sedaris' Naked (1997).
Happy Ministries
Fans of Arundhati Roy are celebrating at the news that the author will publish a new novel, her first in 20 years, reports Electric Literature; The Ministry of Utmost Unhappiness is scheduled for release in 2017. Our own Garth Risk Hallberg maaaaay have poked a bit of fun a few years back at the title of Roy's first novel, The God of Small Things, but that was all in good fun.
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Blogging the Caine Prize
The first installment in a series of bloggers reading through the shortlist of the Caine Prize for African Writing, Aaron Bady looks at Rotimi Babutunde's Bombay Republic [pdf]. A full list of participating bloggers is available at the bottom of Bady's post.
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PEN Literary Award Longlists Released
The final PEN Literary Award Longlists are posted today! Check out all of the lists here. Longlisters include Angela Flournoy (whom we interviewed, and who has written a Year in Reading for us), Marilynne Robinson (who is known for her singular vision), Renata Adler (about whom we have made six possibly true observations), and David L. Ulin (whose Year in Reading is here).
Nothing Is Not Like Nothing
Robert Krulwich takes on two very different types of "nothing." As he illustrates through the invocation of Willem de Kooning, Robert Rauschenberg, and outer space, "nothing" is a lot more complicated than you might initially believe.
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Harper Lee’s Sister Tells Some Stories
Harper Lee's sister, Alice Finch Lee, gives some insights about the reclusive To Kill a Mockingbird author's life. Apparently Lee's as big a fan of the presidents as our own Janet Potter.