Recommended listening: David Naimon interviews David Mitchell about “time, maps, cats,” and The Bone Clocks (which we reviewed here) for Between the Covers.
Two Davids and The Bone Clocks
The Dangers of Overwriting
“I am not at all sure—convinced, certain, persuaded—that creative-writing courses are a good idea unless they prevent people from writing sentences like this one, where adjectives—useful, helpful, intensely descriptive words—are stacked upon one another as Pelion used to be piled upon Ossa.” Alexander McCall Smith on the dangers of overwriting.
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Make it a Ben Ehrenreich Sunday
Recommended Reading: Ben Ehrenreich’s story “Everything You See is Real”
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McCann: Reading, Writing and Soccer
The New York Times interviewed Colum McCann about what and who he’s reading, and if you’re looking for a book recommendation this piece is full of them. For more from McCann, be sure to check out his Year in Reading, our review of his novel TransAtlantic, and this reading of his soccer poem.
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The Best of the Best of the Best
Lots and lots of great stories populate Longform‘s “Best of 2011” list.
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Nein, nein!
Bad news, guys: the longest word in the German language is officially no longer a word.