It’s Labor Day weekend, a perfect time relax and center yourself after a particularly boring work week. What better way than with this helpful (and hilarious) collection of stress-relieving adult-coloring-book pages of things that stress you out, including everything from Taylor Swift and Tom Hiddleston’s “super aggro press tour” to awkward conversations on the subway.
Give Me a Break
Celebrating van Gogh
Celebrate van Gogh’s birthday (March 30, 1853) with this post from Brain Pickings on the artist’s meditations on the human pursuit of greatness.
●
●
OED Overload
If you’re eagerly anticipating the next edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, be prepared to wait until 2034. You can blame the internet for the delay, which has made research easier but also leads to information overload. There are so many new words that the dictionary would be 40 volumes if it ever makes it to print, but expect it to be only online instead. For more on the new OED, read a profile of new editor Michael Proffitt.
●
●
The Inventor
There’s a new biography of Angela Carter on shelves. Is it worth your time, even if you’re not a fan? In The New York Review of Books, Alison Lurie gives the book a thorough read.
Controversial Books
This week in book-related infographics: a look at the most controversial books of all time.
●
●
Color in Poetry
Recommended reading: “What is Color in Poetry” by Dorothea Lasky for Poetry. It’s a lengthy article but a thoughtful one, and, as a bonus, it includes some of Lasky’s childhood poetry. Pair with our earlier post about reading teenage poetry to crowds and you’ve got a theme for the day.
The State of the State’s Libraries
The state funds for California’s libraries have been dwindling for the better part of a decade, but now they face total elimination. Put into concrete terms: in the 1999-2000 fiscal year, libraries received $56.8 million from the state; in the 2008-2009 fiscal year, that number was down to $12.9 million; now they’ll receive $0.
●
●