At The Atlantic, Sara Polsky wonders if library cards are dying and discusses their history and evolution. Pair with this Millions essay on private libraries and what books reveal about their readers.
The Body in the Library
Tuesday New Release Day: Vonnegut, Russo, Wood, Springsteen, Donoghue
Even as much of the Eastern U.S. is lashed by a massive storm, we have new books this week, skewing mostly to non-fiction, including Kurt Vonnegut's collected letters, Richard Russo's memoir Elsewhere, James Wood's collection of essays The Fun Stuff, and Peter Carlin's authorized biography of Bruce Springsteen. On the fiction side is Emma Donoghue's Astray.
Meet Carey Mulligan
An Education opens this weekend in theaters. Newcomer Carey Mulligan stars and her performance has generated a lot of buzz at Sundance and Cannes. Also starring Alfred Molina, Olivia Williams, Emma Thompson, and Peter Sarsgaard.
Putting the Fiction in Nonfiction
While researching In Cold Blood, Truman Capote took pains to get the story right, so much so that the final product was, he claimed, “immacutely factual.” The tale of his labors is so well-known that Bennett Miller used it as the basis of his movie Capote. So when allegations surface that the author made deliberate errors, the story gets a little bit... awkward.
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A Tale of Two Daredevils
In The Guardian, our own Mark O'Connell reviews TransAtlantic, the new novel by Year in Reading alum Colum McCann. If you'll recall, we featured the book in our Great 2013 Book Preview.
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On Colors and the Mind
Here’s a fascinating article by Aatish Bhatia about “how we gave colors names, and it messed with our brains.” Grab a seat; this is a good one.
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The Mask
Considering his experience as a musician and comedian, it makes sense that Jacob Rubin wrote his new novel about a performer. The Poser depicts the tumultuous career of a talented impressionist. At Bookforum, Rubin talks about the novel, his career as a screenwriter and his knack for impressions as a child. You could also read his interview with Reif Larsen here at The Millions.
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