From Slate comes an answer to the question: “Why did it take so long for The Great Gatsby to be recognized as a masterpiece?” Pair with our own Sonya Chung‘s review of the novel.
The Great Delay
A Girl Is a Fully-Formed Thing
“The things I do not want to write about become the things I write about.” Year in Reading alumnus Eimear McBride talks to The Guardian on the occasion of her second novel’s arrival. The Lesser Bohemians follows upon her hugely successful debut, A Girl Is A Half-Formed Thing, which we reviewed back when it came out in the U.S.
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My Body Shall Be All Yours
“I am nostalgic for letters. There’s a craft that’s been lost in expressing some kind of desire or passion or bodily experience for someone else.” From James Joyce to Frida Kahlo, The Guardian collects bits of great artists’ erotic missives to one another. And speaking of literary love letters, how about Nicholson Baker‘s Vox [ed. note: it makes a great Valentine’s Day gift]?
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Love in the Archives
“‘Are you wearing lipstick to the archive?’ my husband asked, peering over his coffee.
‘I always wear lipstick to the archive,’ I said.” On falling in love with F. Scott Fitzgerald in the archives.
Morgan Jerkins on Exposing History’s Omissions
Morgan Jerkins reflects on the importance of researching and telling her family's story, a project she set off on for her book, Wandering in Strange Lands.
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Olivia Laing Conjures Up Complicated and Difficult People
Olivia Laing discusses her new book, Everybody: A Book About Freedom, and why she chose the idiosyncratic Wilhelm Reich as its central figure.
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Amanda Shapiro on Cookbooks as Comfort Reading
Amanda Shapiro makes a case for reading cookbooks for more than just their recipes, especially during a quarantine.
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