Recommended Reading: Karl Ove Knausgaard and Sheila Heti discuss literary ambition and the price of success.
Writing About Oneself
Did You Pack Those Books Yourself
“This test protocol was designed so X-ray operators could have a clearer view of carry-on baggage at checkpoints. Like many tests TSA performs at checkpoints around the country, we collected valuable data but, at this time, are no longer testing or instituting these procedures.” Inside Higher Ed reports that the U.S. Transportation Security Administration has abandoned a program that required passengers to remove books from their carry-on luggage during security screenings. And we have just the reading recommendations for flying for you, too.
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On Yesterday’s Earthquake
In both pizza and geological terms, the East Coast is known for its thin crust.
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“Post-Skynyrd”
Recommended Reading: Bronwen Dickey on Ben Metcalf’s Against the Country.
The Kids Don’t Stand a Chance
(Reluctantly) Recommended Reading: On the surprising racism of children’s books.
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Sometimes It’s Obvious
Why They’re Single is a “tribute site to excellence and failure in online dating.” And what better date for it to go live than on Valentine’s Day? (Related: OK Stupid: The Horrors of OK Cupid.com)
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After the Storm, a Novel
“What stereotypes will they critique, destroy, or create? What, in other words, will the post-earthquake novel reveal about Haiti’s most recent losses, obstacles, and hopes for the future?” Patti Marxsen on the post-earthquake Haitian novel, over at The Critical Flame.
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“Style is the writer”
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Thees and Thous
Recommended reading: a new, previously undiscovered story and accompanying poem by Charlotte Brontë. The story is rife with flogging and embezzlement–all the good stuff! Here’s a bonus piece on how Charlotte is at least partly responsible for the success of the Bronte sisters as a whole.