Recommended Reading: This important essay from Gayle Branedis at The Rumpus on our cultural obsession with women’s thighs.
Thunder Thighs
The Mythical Susan Sontag
Benjamin Moser's new book, Sontag: Her Life and Work, shows the ways Susan Sontag fled into her own mind to escape an awful reality.
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Like TED for books
The annual Edinburgh World Writers’ Conference wrapped up earlier this week, but, thanks to the wonders of the internet, you can relive the magic: Transcripts and videos of notable speeches are available on the conference’s website, including the concluding talk on the future of the novel by China Mieville.
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The Guesthouse of Mirth
Edith Wharton is known as a novelist but she was also a wonderful hostess, whose guests (including Henry James) remember her as “kindness and hospitality incarnate.” Kate Bolick has turned Wharton’s life-long attempt to master “the complex art of civilized living” into an entertaining guide, “The Guesthouse of Mirth,” just in time for those last few summer parties. Pair with Roxana Robinson‘s reflections on Wharton’s life and works, including the original The House of Mirth.
Working Title
Recommended Reading: Anna Aslanyan on the challenges of translation and the nonliteral titles of Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels. Pair with Janet Potter’s Millions guide to finding the perfect title for that book in your drawer.
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Flowers of Evil
“Life is worth less than a line of Baudelaire’s poetry.” These two lyric essays by Chen Li over at Asymptote Journal are economical and well-worth the read. Though Chen Li is from Taiwan, he writes in Chinese; this syllabus of Chinese writing and the “New China” from Casey Walker at The Millions pairs quite nicely.
Obrigada, Senhora
Read a lot of Granta? Want to hang out with Brazilians? The magazine is hosting a number of events to celebrate its cool new collection.
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A Presidential Conversation Continued
We highlighted the first installment of President Obama’s conversation with Marilynne Robinson, published in The New York Review of Books. Part II is now here. We have a few pieces on Robinson to pair with it.