At Galerie, Michelle Sinclair Colman reveals the contents of Toni Morrison’s 1,200-plus book collection at her Manhattan apartment, which is currently for sale. The details (and the photographs!) of the Beloved author’s personal library are a book lover’s dream: “Her entire multi-stack collection is alphabetized by the author’s last name. She edited as she read. She owned a beautiful, gold, illustrated copy of Song of Solomon with the bookmark on Chapter Four.” Colman continues, “The three books on her bedside table are Robert A. Caro’s Lyndon Johnson biography, David Maraniss’s Barack Obama: The Story, and Stephen King’s Revival. She had a few never-returned library books; the most interesting was a copy of her own book, The Bluest Eye, from the Burnaby Public Library, with copious notes, underlines, and cross-outs on every single page.”
For Sale: Toni Morrison’s Apartment and Personal Library
The PEN World Voices Line-Up
PEN World Voices, the great annual festival of International Literature, unveils this year’s lineup for the week of April 26, in New York and elsewhere. Highlights include Norman Rush, Patti Smith, László Krasznahorkai, Rodrigo Frésan, and Sherman Alexie‘s “Freedom to Write” lecture.
The Year of the e-Single
Some say 2012 was “the year of the e-single,” and Laura Hazard Owen is here to explain why. While on the topic, you might want to check out Epic Fail, which was our debut into the world of e-singles. Author Mark O’Connell recently sat down with Hazlitt to discuss the book – as well as Guy Fieri.
Jacqueline Woodson on the Joys of Reading Slowly
Moving in for the Kill
Killing off your characters is never an easy feat. At The New York Times, thriller writer Alex Berenson discusses his reservations on killing the hero of his spy series. “John Wells has markedly enriched my life — an impressive feat for a man who doesn’t exist.” The eighth installment, The Counterfeit Agent, just came out.
With A Grain of Salt
Charles Baxter doesn’t believe in writing routines, but he does have some odd superstitions. “I don’t like to spill salt. I throw it over my left shoulder. But if I spill salt in the morning, my day is fucked,” he told The Daily Beast.
Ken Jennings Debunks Space Myths
Because I Said So! author and Jeopardy all star Ken Jennings is debunking space myths all month over at Woot. In his first installment, he looks at just how much money was spent to develop NASA’s “space pen.”