“For American readers, literary evocations of Korea have come, for the most part, in the form of dystopian novels written by people without any direct connection to the country.” Ed Park on reading Dalkey Archive Press’s series Library of Korean Literature, launched in collaboration with the Literature Translation Institute of Korea.
Dispatch from Korea
“The meteor brought them into the mainstream”
If you’re like me, you thought three quick thoughts when you heard about the Chelyabinsk meteor: 1) I hope everybody is okay; 2) I hope The Possessed author Elif Batuman finds time to write about this; and 3) Thank goodness for Russian dashboard cameras.
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Live fo Ecruos
I’ve recommended a couple of articles in recent weeks about the new novel by John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats. Unfortunately, as Liam O’Brien explains at the Melville House blog, it may not be a good idea to read it, especially if you’re impressionable. Why? The book contains a hidden trove of Satanic messages. (h/t The Rumpus)
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“First Reads with James Wood”
The Faster Times recaps James Wood's recent lecture on David Foster Wallace's Brief Interviews With Hideous Men.
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Mark It Up
Recommended Reading: Laura Miller’s argument for writing in books. You could also read Sam Anderson's marginalia in Dan Brown's Inferno, as well as his Year in Marginalia from 2010.
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More Top Books for 2009
More lists of the top books of 2009 are coming out. Now up: Amazon's favorites. Tops on their list is Colum McCann's Let the Great World Spin, recently named a National Book Award finalist.
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In the Dark (of Space)
Originally, the film 2001: A Space Odyssey included more narration by co-writer Arthur C. Clarke, whose short story "The Sentinel" was the basis for Stanley Kubrick's script. At the last minute, Kubrick decided to cut them out, which led to Clarke leaving the US premiere halfway through. In a piece for The New Statesman an old friend of Clarke's explores his side of the story. You could also read Ted Gioia on a weirdly predictive '60s sci-fi novel.
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The Age-Old Tradition
Scientists are using x-ray to read fragments of 1,300-year-old manuscripts that have been reused as bookbindings. Pair with this Millions essay on private libraries and what books reveal about their readers.
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Merry Plashing Sounds
“What a nice fire,” he said to himself. It certainly was. Kept him very warm, too." That inspired bit of writing was Jack London's short story To Build A Fire as summarized by someone who hasn't read the book. Don't worry, there are plenty more where that came from.
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