The Root of Suffering
Book Burning Reimagined
“In an ironic twist, Super Terrain, a publisher in France, has created a new edition of Bradbury’s classic that actually requires extreme heat in order to be read.” The prototype copy of Fahrenheit 451, which looks fully blacked-out until you apply heat, may be available to the general book-buying public in 2018. Check out: an essay about Ray Bradbury from our archives.
The Pulitzer Bump
Just how much does winning a Pulitzer Prize help sales? Quite a lot, it seems. When Viet Thanh Nguyen’s The Sympathizer won the Pulitzer, it was ranked #27,587 overall in book sales on Amazon. As of this morning, it is sitting pretty at #61.
Curiosities: Return to the Monkey House
The Walking Tour is drawing ever nearer! Get all the details and RSVP if you want to be notified of any schedule changes.In the NYRB, Mark Danner examines the politics of torture, and J.M. Coetzee gets deep inside Samuel Beckett’s head.James Wood finger-drumming on YouTube is just the most weirdly hypnotic thing we’ve ever seen.Typewriter-part art. (via The Rumpus)A new front runner in the coolest bookshelf contest. Think of it – geographic classification! (for American lit only)”Geoff Dyer book unlikely to win Bad Sex Award“Jane Austen got rejection letters too.Wow. A new Kurt Vonnegut collection is on the way. Amazon has it listed.A glimmer of good news in the newspaper business?Audrey Niffenegger is having a pretty good recession.Further Reading: Kevin’s list of families and fiction has garnered many additions from readers in the comments.
My Dear Antlers
Ladette Randolph began the Writers and their Pets series on the Ploughshares blog in large part to celebrate her beloved dog Sally. It didn’t take long, however, for the series to expand, which eventually led to this week’s entry about Nina Mukerjee Furstenau’s pet elk.
And She’s A Mary Ann
“You heard me: I said, Ann M. Martin is queeeeer.” A longtime Baby-Sitter’s Club fan gets her mind blown. Pair with this celebration of Martin’s oeuvre.