There are millions of pieces out there about how dating is the worst. This one from Alexandra Schwartz at The New Yorker which questions whether dating in the 21st century is even worth the effort is, if nothing else, worth the effort it takes to read.
E-Romance Me
An American Writer
"And now An American Marriage, with its ruminations on masculinity, married life, and what constitutes marital debt, manages the trick of arriving at the right time while also feeling utterly untethered to just one era." BuzzFeed News profiled writer Tayari Jones about her life, oeuvre, and fourth novel, An American Marriage. Pair with: Jones's 2017 Year in Reading entry.
Depravity’s Rainbow
The #AuthorSexts trending topic had us rolling the other day, and now you can revisit some of the best submissions thanks to Electric Literature.
A Beginner’s Guide to Drugs For Girls
Tasteless and horrifying--nay, even a sign of the apocalypse--or rather excellent advice for college-bound young ladies? You decide: Vice Magazine's "A Beginner's Guide to Drugs For Girls." (A taste: "Here are some pointers for the beginners out there so you can get high without becoming that girl slumped in the corner of the night bus with vomit all over your shoes and lockjaw so bad your teeth have all snapped in half.")
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Letters to Véra
David Lipsky writes for Harper’s about Letters to Véra, which collects Vladimir Nabokov’s letters to his wife of fifty-two years. As he puts it, “Companion, agent, live-in editor, bodyguard, and the dedicatee of almost all her husband’s books, Véra Nabokov, née Slonim, has reached a strange elevation in our cultural sky.”
Now I know my þ, ƿ, œs
There used to be 32 letters in the English alphabet, but that seems quaint when you consider the fact that iPhone users have access to 1,767 unique emoji. Then again, as Gretchen McCulloch explains, emoji aren't exactly a dire threat to the written word.
Dada in the Dark
Having trouble sleeping? Take a hint from Charles Simic and consider reading Dadaist poetry.
Picador’s Tumblr Makes Up For Lost Time
The Picador folks joined Tumblr recently (like we asked) and they're making up for lost time already. They've already instituted something called "Sunday Sontag," and they've posted a Spotify playlist comprised of 140 "contextually literary" tracks.
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Heisenberg’s Memoirs
Although we'll never get the chance to read Walter White's memoir, we'll get the next best thing. Bryan Cranston is writing a memoir due out next year. “With this book, I want to tell the stories of my life and reveal the secrets and lies that I lived with for six years shooting Breaking Bad," he said. While you wait, grab a book from our Breaking Bad reading list.
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