The al-Qarawiyyin library, the oldest library in the world, has just reopened after years of renovations. Take a look inside. Andrew Pippos writes about private libraries and what they reveal about their readers.
Library Tour
Happy 10th Birthday, Melville House
Melville House turned 10 years old this week, and one way to celebrate the occasion is by reading this lovely profile of the indie publisher’s founders.
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Capturing Appalachia
“Of all the work produced from this region no one observer gets the place or the people completely right,” Rob Amberg writes about his 40 years spent photographing Appalachia. His photo essay “Up the Creek” is part of The Oxford American’s “Portraying Appalachia” Symposium.
This Would Make a Great Story
One of the struggles of being a writer is that everyone else is trying to turn your life into a story. Rebecca Makkai comments on well-intentioned friends who suggest story ideas at Ploughshares. Read a piece of her story (or screenplay) below:
“WRITER: So I was like, ‘Excuse me, are you with the Secret Service?’ and she’s like—
NEIGHBOR’S BOYFRIEND: Wait, wait, have you written this down? Aren’t you a writer? This would make a great story!”
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The Noughtie List
Kottke.org has taken on the daunting task of rounding up all the “Best of the 2000s” lists out there. Related: Fimoculous is rounding up all the “Best of” lists for 2009.
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Killing a Zombie
Here is a not-quite list of eighty books no woman should read–in which Rebecca Solnit, badass feminist and author of Men Explain Things To Me, attempts to kill the “internet zombie” that is Esquire’s “The 80 Best Books Every Man Should Read” list.
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RIP Daisy
If at some point in your life you lose a beloved pet, and if, while mourning, you decide to write an obituary, know this — whatever you write will not be as good as E.B. White’s tribute to his dog. (You can read more pieces like it in the perfectly-titled E.B. White on Dogs.)
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On Genre
Recommended Reading: On the tricky topic of genre. Kate Axelrod writes about her experience when her adult novel was marketed as YA. You could also read our article about why many authors are writing genre fiction.