“Sometimes I think I’ve lost my nerve a little bit. I think it’s growing older, and a certain reservoir of anger literally runs out.” The Guardian interviews James Wood, author and book critic at The New Yorker, about his craft, his forthcoming novel Upstate, and the landscape of today’s literary criticism. Pair with: an essay about the greatness (and great influence) of Wood on a fellow novelist.
A Critic Turned Novelist
Writerly Pets, cont.
And now, Writers and Kitties, untrammeled delight. Via The New Yorker Book Bench.
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The 7 Habits of Self-Help
“I have learned to consume them in secret, in my own home, reading them the way you would eat a bag of M&M’s that you keep stashed behind the kale chips.” Jake Tobin Garrett for Electric Literature about the allure of self-help books. See also:“Unleashing the Essence of Self-Help Books in Three Simple Steps.”
It Spaketh
You might think the signs would be obvious. The buildings are organic, the sky is filled with dragons, and everyone you talk to speaks languages you’ve never heard of. But you may still need some help figuring out your environs. Herewith, a few ways to tell if you’re in a high-fantasy novel.
Wyatt Mason on Lipsky/Wallace
The David Foster Wallace interview, Although of Course…, comes under the scrutiny of one of Wallace’s most attentive readers, in the NYRB.
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New from Neil Gaiman
Exciting news, Neil Gaiman fans! The author will release The View from the Cheap Seats, a collection of his non-fiction work, this May. For more Gaiman, check out our own Tess Malone’s review of The Ocean at the End of the Lane.
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The Chart Artist
Ben Greenman, New Yorker editor, author, chart artist? The Observer explains.
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