Claire Vaye Watkins’s essay on pandering has gotten a lot of responses, including one from Man Booker Prize winner Marlon James. Over at NPR, they discuss the issues of sexism and racism in publishing, cultural ventriloquism, narrative authority, and more.
A Voice of Gravitas
New Music
The Beatles‘ remastered catalogue is probably the hottest rock release of the moment, but there are other notable new releases this month: The Stone Roses‘ 20th anniversary re-release double CD and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (recently written up at The Millions)’s second full length EP, Higher Than the Stars.
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Fleshing Out “The Man”
Luke Epplin examines the life and legacy of Stan “The Man” Musial, who died last week. In particular Epplin takes issue with how well-intentioned biographers have, over the years, “effectively turned Musial into a cardboard cutout, a bygone era’s one-dimensional paragon of constancy, stability, community fealty, and humility, devoid of the temperamental shadings that humanize public figures.”
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The Rooster Culminates
If you haven’t been following The Morning News Tournament of Books, now is the time to catch up. There’s been ample drama and the always insightful commentary from the booth. The finalists are set – Wolf Hall and The Lacuna – and the champion will be revealed on Monday.
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End of an Era
The final installment of Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Novels, The Story of the Lost Child, hits shelves next week. Emma Adler at Electric Literature has compiled a helpful Ferrante Study Guide if you’re feeling a bit lost. Cora Currier’s Millions essay on “reading Italy” through Elena Ferrante’s body of work is an ideal complementary read.
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Granta Redux
This week, Granta redesigned its website, which now boasts a spiffy black-and-white aesthetic. If you’re looking for an excuse to check it out, you could do worse than reading Year in Reading alum Hari Kunzru’s “Drone,” a story which appears in their India issue. (They’re also highlighting great pieces from their archives, among them the story “Night” by Alice Munro.)
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Basically, Salman Rushdie is the man.
“Writing’s too hard, and most of the time you feel dumb. It’s so difficult, you don’t have time to worry about being famous. That just seems like shit that happens outside.” Cheers to that, Salman Rushdie.
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Uber Modern Bookstores
The ideal bookstore is hard to pin down. Until recently the consensus seemed to lean towards old, slightly dusty and pleasantly chaotic, but these modern bookstores full of sleek white cases and clean lines have us reconsidering.
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