“None of us made love, we had only reproaches for one another. I hated that dependency and yet I couldn’t live without it.” This short piece by Mercè Rodoreda from the new issue of Harper’s Magazine is brutal and surprising. The piece is an excerpt from Rodoreda’s War, So Much War, out later this month.
What About Your Head?
A Community of Introverts
“What I want to know is, since when does making art require participation in any community, beyond the intense participation that the art itself is undertaking? Since when am I not contributing to the community if all I want to do is make the art itself?” Meghan Tifft gives voice to the struggle of the introverted writer in an essay for The Atlantic.
Join David Bowie’s Book Club
David Bowie was quite the avid reader. In his honor, his son, Duncan Jones, has launched an online book club that will focus on books Bowie enjoyed. The first book is Hawksmoor and the discussion is on February 1st. Will you be participating?
“Give him a mask and he will tell you the truth.”
At Electric Literature, Jim Shepard discusses imagining one’s way into history.
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Remnick on Obama: The Bridge
New Yorker editor David Remnick‘s biography of President Obama will be released April 6, with a first printing of 200,000. Details at PW.
What’s Wrong with Books?
Jenny Slate and Gabe Liedman explain what’s wrong with books: “They’re heavy…the shit in them is dumb…”
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The Power of Awwwws
Let’s all take a momentary break from literary coverage so we can watch a wedding proposal so sweet and wonderful, it’ll make you totally forget how much you hate its accompanying song.
Someone Should Try This on Jeopardy
No wonder trivia night at the local bar is such a hit. A new study finds that “drinkers got more test questions right and were quicker in delivering the right answers” after they’d had a few beforehand.
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