It turns out even a museum exhibit of Shakespeare’s works can make for a dramatic experience. At The Daily Beast, Helen Anders demonstrates that there’s a little bit for everybody at the “Shakespeare in Print and Performance” exhibition at the University of Texas. We’ve brought you a bit on the Bard before.
Exit, Pursued by a Bear
Ersatz Intellectualism
My favorite part of my apartment is my wall-length bookshelf. When I look at it, I think of all the time I spent reading and accumulating its contents. I feel I’ve earned it, which is why I’m slightly insulted by Juniper Books’ $3,000-$100,000 “collection-development service,” a program designed for “people who want a library but haven't had the time or inclination to amass a collection of books.”
What your next-beach-umbrella neighbor is reading
Yes, but what's everyone else reading this summer? Bookstores in beach towns know better than to stock "business, personal finance, or diet" books--though poetry does pretty well--but they are looking forward to these bestsellers. The print-disinclined can take heart that there are even a fair number of literary movies coming out soon. (Related: our own recommended summer reading list, also blessedly personal finance-free.)
●
●
Robert McCrum on books
Would you rather have a long literary career, or write a brilliant, successful one-off? Robert McCrum considers the literary career arc.
●
●
People Truly Engaged in Life Have Messy Houses
The Guardian interviews Year in Reading alumna Ottessa Moshfegh about her writing life, noir fiction, and her novel Eileen. As she puts it, “I’m interested in taking establishment genre and turning it on its head. I didn’t really set out to write a noir novel and I don’t know if I exactly have.”
●
●
Appearing Elsewhere
Over the past week, the work of three Millions staffers has been shown off for other publications: Mark O’Connell talks Lethem, Dyer and Batuman for Slate; Emily St. John Mandel talks noir for Beyond the Margins; and Garth Risk Hallberg names his selection for this year’s Pulitzer-less Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.