Scaachi Koul’s childhood friend introduced her to Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events books candidly: “You’d probably like them,” she said. “They’re really depressing.” Now, in a piece for Buzzfeed, Koul explains how the works have helped her into adulthood. (Bonus: Koul’s forthcoming essay collection, One Day We’ll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter, made our Great 2017 Book Preview.)
“When you’re a kid, optimism is overvalued.”
Print Magazine Goes Digital
The fall issue of Washington Square Review is now available online, featuring new work by Morgan Parker, Ron Padgett, Mariama Lockington, and interviews with Year in Reading alumnus Nick Flynn, Jenny Offill, Jericho Brown, and Henri Cole. Pair with this Millions profile of Flynn.
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Addressing the Spider
Recommended Reading: J. M. Tyree’s new story at Guernica. “There’s a man on the bus sitting directly in front of you. He has a small brown spider crawling across his red shirt, near his left shoulder blade.” You could also watch our episode of The Book Report on Our Secret Life in the Movies by Tyree and Michael McGriff.
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Using Faulkner
Glen David Gold encourages young writers to “cultivate literary friendships”, but he’d like to add one thing: “for Christ’s sake, do not let them become transactional.”
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The Impossible, Part Deux
Last week, the artist Jason Novak did the impossible and sketched out Finnegans Wake. Apparently it wasn’t enough, though, because now he’s drawn In Search of Lost Time.
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Bro, Do You Even Read?
The Toast may be closing its doors soon, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t still putting out hilarious pieces. This week, it’s Vape Aficionado’s Guide to Finding a Token Lady-Writer, featuring such gems as: “Margaret Atwood: Because she’s good at Twitter and you forgot how to spell ‘Le Guin,'” and “George Eliot: Whoops, you thought George was a dude, didn’t you? Purely accidental, but it still counts!”
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