Heading to London in the near future? Stop by the British Library’s new Terror and Wonder, which bills itself as the UK’s biggest Gothic exhibition in history. To whet your appetite, you can read this Guardian piece by Neil Gaiman, in which the Sandman author names Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein the apex of Gothic fiction. Related: our own Hannah Gersen on Frankenstein and the “Year Without a Summer.”
Dark Imaginings
Brainy Summer Reading
The Atlantic has a great list up: “10 Essential Books for Thought-Provoking Summer Reading,” including The Late American Novel.
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The Perils of Book Lending
We’ve all been there, right? Your neighbor lends you a book, you don’t treat it very carefully, she complains, so you thrust a samurai sword inches from her face. It happens.
Penguin Postcards
If we were to buy ourselves a gift this year, it would be Penguin’s “One Hundred Book Covers in One Box” postcard set.
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Beginnings
Please welcome the newest Millions reader: August Hudson Magee, born Monday morning!
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Staying Sharp
“There tends to be this idea that every piece and every assignment and every gig is always something speaking from the soul. We think that about great writers, that they’re incapable of doing hackwork.” The Rumpus interviewed Michelle Dean about women writers, the research process, and her forthcoming book, Sharp: The Women Who Made an Art of Having an Opinion. Pair with: Dean’s 2016 Year in Reading entry.
Russell Hoban Dies at 86
Russell Hoban, a prolific author who created Frances, a girl who appeared in the guise of a badger in seven books for children (Bedtime was always my favorite), died on Tuesday in London. He was 86.
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A Sense of Danger
Recommended Listening: Renata Adler’s Longform podcast on writing routines and the need for acquiring a sense of danger.
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