Recommended Reading: Janet Maslin on Peter Carey’s Amnesia. You could also read our own Garth Risk Hallberg on Carey’s His Illegal Self.
Gough’s Tale
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Cities
The Atlantic asks, "Why do cities matter?" In its own way, n+1's City by City series can be read as a response.
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YA Tackling Racial Injustice
In The Atlantic Adrienne Green reviews the growing number of Young Adult novels tackling racial injustice and how this increase on the topic is no coincidence. "Coming out of the crucible of the past few years—during which young people have been integral to pushing conversations about the unjustified killings of black men to the forefront—the novels capture the many ways that teens of color cope with prejudice, whether through activism or personal accountability or protest."
Some things
Kate Atkinson's editor at Little Brown, Reagan Arthur, has posted at the LBC blog and there's some good Q & A going on in the comments.I just surreptitiously spy on people reading, but Ed - prompted by an idea from Sara - marches right up to them and quizzes them on their literary knowledge.Been enjoying a couple of new (new to me, anyway) book blogs recently: Using Books Weblog and BookLust.
Stark
Recommended Reading: A series of short pieces by Rumpus readers on the subject of "The Emperor's New Clothes."
Following Franklin
"Who am I in the face of the Universe if not just a bro who wants to get stuff done?" Tim Goessling tried living a day according to Benjamin Franklin's schedule listed in The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. What was his biggest takeaway? We should self-evaluate and set goals more.
He Just Keeps Going and Going and Going
As the publication date nears for Robert Caro's latest Lyndon Johnson installment, The Passage of Power, it's a good idea to brush up on your history of Caro's career. Enter Charles McGrath and his great portrait of one of the most prolific biographers of all time.