Ulysses in Covers
The New Yorker on the TSA
The New Yorker posts its airport security cartoons, from 1938 to the present.
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Will Self Talks Influence and Prizes
Will Self, whose novel Umbrella was recently tapped for the Booker Prize Longlist, talks about his literary influences with The Browser. For what it’s worth, here’s Self’s take on writing with the specific goal of a literary prize in mind: “I don’t know any writers who are trying to be clever and get a literary prize. Who the fuck would bother with such a thing?”
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Tomas Tranströmer and Robert Bly
Robert Bly and Tomas Tranströmer discuss their lives and craft in a series of letters.
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I’d Like to Thank…
“It is not, however, fashionable to love acknowledgments, and for good reason: Most of them are numbingly predictable in their architecture, little Levittowns of gratitude.” In her last piece for The New York Times as a daily book critic, Jennifer Senior writes about her unabashed love for acknowledgements in books. From our archives: Henriette Lazaridis‘s essay on the same topic.
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.
Zen and the Art of Failing at the Tour de France
What if the Tour de France nearly ground to a halt due to fiction? Imagine the best bikers in the world reading themselves into injury. At The Morning News, our own Matt Seidel imagines the chaos, making clear what happens when professional athletes meet page-turners. You could also read Matt’s essay on Tim Krabbé’s book The Rider.
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“Crouching alone near some tiny ecosystem”
Recommended Reading: Laura Miller on Jeff VanderMeer’s Annihilation.
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