Apocalyptic literature is nothing new, but it may, according to Grayson Clary, be entering a new era. In Bookforum, he argues that Benjamin Percy’s The Dead Lands ushers the genre into its mannerist phase. Sample quote: “The Dead Lands is really the stripped, buffed skeleton of a road story, set up to show off—attractively—an enormous quantity of decorating tropes.” You could also read our interview with Percy.
Not Dead Yet
My Ironic Valentine
Regardless of your Valentine’s Day plans, do not take advice from Nate Piven, the protagonist of Adelle Waldman’s The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. Ron Charles asked Waldman to write another scene of Nate’s romantic saga. “He decided it would be best to hedge his bets by getting her something ‘ironic.'”
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It Was A Dark and Stormy Night
What have you found in your grandparents’ attics lately? Bet it wasn’t a signed copy of Frankenstein.
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The Mojo Spot
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Another “Mildred Pierce”
Are you a Mildred Pierce fan? James M. Cain’s recently discovered manuscript will be released next year by Hard Case Crime.
Dudley’s World
I’ve always wanted to read Dudley’s World. And by “always” I obviously mean ever since I first saw The Royal Tenenbaums. Criterion’s got a slideshow of all of the film’s fictional titles.
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The Bookstore-Hostel
Love reading and sleeping? Then we’ve found the perfect vacation destination for you: a bookstore and hostel combination in Tokyo, Japan.
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Around the World with Books
Bibliophiles will rejoice at The New York Times‘s current travel section, which is entirely book-dedicated. The staff lead with “Temples for the Literary Pilgrim,” which profiles jaw-dropping bookstores, cafés, and restaurants around the world; Ann Patchett provides a U.S. based bookstore pilgrimage; seven writers, including Geraldine Brooks and Ta-Nehisi Coates, reflect on their personal favorites; and Jennifer Moses writes about traveling as a bookworm. Might we also recommend this literary travelogue by Kate McCahill from our archives?