Fun fact: Up until the late 1940s, science fiction novels really didn’t exist. Andrew Liptak writes about the rise of the paperback novel and the evolution of science fiction for Kirkus Reviews. Pair with Nichole Bernier‘s Millions essay on “The Point of the Paperback.”
Science Fiction and the Paperback Novel
New Directions in The Coffin
The Coffin Factory, a “magazine for people who love books,” interviews New Directions’ Barbara Epler and Tom Roberge about “publishing and finding bold, new experiments in literature from around the world.” (via)
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Slouching Towards Summer
From “A Prayer For Maintaining At Least A Tenuous Hold On My Sanity” to “A Prayer for My Wrecked Bladder,” here are five prayers whispered by a first-year teacher as the school year slouches to a finish.
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Resting On One’s Imaginative Laurels
Etgar Keret is a rising (if not risen already) literary star, but these days, following the publication of his new collection Suddenly, a Knock on the Door, “he seems to be growing complacent, bored even, with his talent,” writes Joshua Furst.
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Mindwiping Technology
This week in book-related infographics: a look at the future according to science fiction.
Blursing In Disguise
“A dictionary is just a book, a product, no different from Fifty Shades of Grey and only slightly better written.” A few rules for making up words.
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Voting is open for the 3QD Prize
Voting is open for the 3 Quarks Daily Literature Prize! We are proud to tell you that nine essays from The Millions have been nominated, alongside over 50 other worthy contenders. Take a look, and don’t forget to cast your vote!
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n+1 Podcast with Sam Lipsyte
You can stream n+1‘s podcast with Sam Lipsyte. It “chronicle[s] Lipsyte’s journey from his role as ‘Lead Screamer’ for the punk-rock band Dungbeetle to the publication of his third novel, The Ask.”
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We Read No More
Victor Hugo, when asked about the other parts of Dante’s Divine Comedy that aren’t the widely-read Inferno, had this to say: “The human eye was not made to look upon so much light, and when the poem becomes happy, it becomes boring.” Ouch. Is this why so many of us haven’t even read Dante, despite his being a kind of cultural icon?
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