Out this week: Time and Time Again by Ben Elton; According to Yes by Dawn French; The Penguin Lessons by Tom Michell; and What Is a Garden? by W.S. Merwin.
Tuesday New Release Day: Elton; French; Michell; Merwin
Death and Dishonor
At Granta’s website, the novelist David McConnell explains his fascination with the “honor killing,” a hate crime targeted at gay men that inspired his latest book.
So Oldman, Walken, and Lithgow Walk Onto a Stage…
Here’s the perfect example of something you didn’t even know you wanted: Gary Oldman doing a dramatic reading from R. Kelly’s memoir, Soulacoaster: The Diary of Me. This performance will surely join the pantheon of great pop culture readings alongside Christopher Walken’s reading of Lady Gaga’s “Pokerface” and John Lithgow’s reading of Newt Gingrich’s “florid” and “overwritten” press release.
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The Art of the Recommendation
Laura Miller at Salon reports on the fine art of recommending books – “too delicate a task to leave to e-commerce robots” – and the literary types who are now stepping in to offer their advice.
Mr. Roth
“Who wouldn’t want to read dirty books with Philip Roth?” At The New York Times, Lisa Scottoline writes about taking a class with Roth in the ’70s. If you didn’t get a chance to take a class with Roth, here are 10 lessons you can learn from him.
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The Yeti’s Back
Recommended Reading: Megan Garber on the resurrection of Skymall.
Four Legs Good
This week in book-related infographics: a look at “Memorable Animals from Literature” ranging from Moby Dick to Snowball to Jonathan Livingston Seagull. After all, lest we forget, “four legs good, two legs bad.”
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