Over at Vulture, twenty-eight authors including Alexander Chee, Margo Jefferson, Colum McCann, and Eileen Myles write about the books that changed their lives. Pair with our article in which six authors reflect on their childhood reading.
Essential Reading
Not Halloween, Halloween-ish
At The Hairpin, Edith Zimmerman tries her hand at spooky short fiction.
Significant Thinking
"Over the course of our conversation, I’ve come to understand that he has not written (Thomas Jefferson Dreams of Sally Hemings) to provoke or to engender a self-serving sense of shock; he has written with a belief in the possibilities of liminal space and in the revelations that occur at the point of tension. The result is a book that jars, unequivocally, and that disquietingly brings to the surface the anguish of past and present America." Stephen O'Connor's poetic reimagining of the relationship between Thomas Jefferson and the enslaved Sally Hemings has certainly raised some eyebrows. This interview with Melody Nixon at BOMB gives O'Connor a platform from which to explain his idea.
●
●
A History of Pen Names
This week in book-related infographics: "A History of Pen Names," from Robinson Crusoe to Dr. Seuss to Toni Morrison.
●
●
You’re Invited
We have discussed the gender gap in literature more than once. At McSweeney’s, you’re invited to an all-male, all-white literary panel. Sounds fun.
●
●
Virtual Fictitious Reality
"In his column, Manjoo goes on to call out virtual reality for being 'a lonely, anti-social affair'—but, hey, isn’t that what reading a novel used to be? I mean, before we figured out how to make books ping and arouse competitive instincts by flagging favorite passages of readers who got there before we did. (I don’t mean to harp on Farhad Manjoo or to denigrate his excellent work; his reticence is shared by others in both legacy and new media cautioning against VR.)" It looks like VR is in desperate need of good storytellers.
Spalding Gray’s Secrets
Nell Casay, editor of The Journals of Spalding Gray, takes readers through the tortured life of the famous actor, playwright, and monologuist.