This independent bookstore in Alabama has a novel concept–selling only signed copies of books. Alabama Booksmith is just one of many independent bookstores looking for new ways to survive in the world. This Millions interview with Janet Geddis, the founder of Avid Bookshop in Athens, Ga, is both hopeful and inspiring.
The Little Bookstore That Could
The Future by Philip K. Dick
"Still, what he captured with genius was the ontological unease of a world in which the human and the abhuman, the real and the fake, blur together." An essay in the Boston Review argues the importance of Philip K. Dick's literature— where the real and fake intersect and collide — and the world we live in today. From our archive: on the pleasures of Dick's sometimes awful prose.
Afghanistan Video
Lukas and Salome Augustin's breathtaking video of Afghanistan is worth a full-screen viewing. (via)
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Was a National Book Award Rigged?
“Percy’s victory set off a controversy that involved the most powerful man in publishing, a famous journalist eager to take credit for the award, and a cub reporter who would go on to become one of the most celebrated writers of our time.” Benjamin Hedin delves into the mysteries of a controversial award.
“Everybody thinks they’re worth more than they’re being paid”
"I can’t imagine how difficult it would be to jauntily denigrate 27.8 million—that’s the number of American workers who make less than $10.10 an hour," yet, in The Morning News, a close reading of a few hundred letters to the editor about the minimum wage shows other Americans doing just that.
Between Mind and Feet
Ferris Jabr writes for The New Yorker on the "profound relationship between walking, thinking, and writing," and cites books such as Ulysses and Mrs. Dalloway as evidence this "curious link between mind and feet" is a serious literary force. After you've finished reading Jabr's piece, be sure to check out Michelle Huneven's essay "On Walking and Reading at the Same Time," and then perhaps go for a little stroll with a good book.
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Epistolary Criticism
Full Stop’s book club is discussing the stories of Clarice Lispector throughout this week in an in-depth email exchange conducted by contributors Becca Rothfeld and Nathan Goldman. Pair with Magdalena Edwards‘s Millions review of the collection.
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