At BookExpo America, conservative publishers worry about future. If you think speed-dating is tough, try selling your book to an editor in three minutes. Scholarly presses offered catalogs and the occasional bowl of tiny candy bars. None of the publicists were dressed as life-sized cartoon characters. Imagine, if you will, walking into a hall with displays of thousands upon thousands of books...
Waxing philosophical, booksellers face the digital: John Updike would not be pleased. Bound miniature books were common in medieval and Renaissance times as illuminated manuscripts, and in the 18th and 19th centuries as everything from alphabet primers to novels. Literary festivals used to be humble gatherings of authors and fans. But now they are undergoing a boom, with new events opening and everyone from politicians to pop stars getting in on the act. Fighting talk: How Chuck Palahnuik became the Marilyn Manson of the literary circuit. An article on literary love: What happens when the writer you admire most becomes your friend? Why do the archives of so many great writers end up in Texas?
From CT, an article on Remembering Auden: And learning how to make sense of his renunciations. Almost 70 years after her first publication, Nadine Gordimer is still breaking new ground as a writer. No difference between politics and art: A review of Touchstones: Essays in Literature, Art and Politics by Mario Vargas Llosa (and more). A review of Fathers and Sons: The Autobiography of a Family by Alexander Waugh. From The New Yorker, Marie Micheline: A life in Haiti by Edwidge Danticat.
A review of From a Cause to a Style: Modernist Architecture’s Encounter With the American City by Nathan Glazer. A review of Contested Waters: A Social History of Swimming Pools in America by Jeff Wiltse. A review of Leaving Dirty Jersey: A Crystal Meth Memoir by James Salant; Another Bloody Love Letter by Anthony Loyd; Wasted by Mark Johnson; and All of Me by Patsy Palmer. A review of Shroom: A Cultural History of the Magic Mushroom by Andy Letcher (and more). A review of The Strange World of David Lynch: Transcendental Irony from Eraserhead to Mullholland Dr. by Eric G. Wilson.
From The Believer, Ker-Chunk! A hit making keyboard made of 8-track car stereos? Meet rock's rarest instrument. Wouldn't it be ironic if you could download a song using an umbrella? It's a not-too-far fetched prospect. A review of The Horse God Built: The Untold Story of Secretariat, the World’s Greatest Racehorse by Lawrence Scanlan. The Lack of the Irish: Long before baseball ruled, the quirky sports of Gaelic football and hurling provided Irish arrivals with a vital link to their homeland. But now, with fewer and fewer legal - and illegal - immigrants washing ashore, these Gaelic games are in the fight of their lives.
The man who discovered flight (and his name isn't Wright): Almost 200 years ago, George Cayley pioneered aviation; and flying is a simple idea, but hardly anything's as complex as a jet – or as difficult to restore to its natural state: airborne. An interview with Eduardo Xol, author of Home Sense: Simple Solutions to Enhance Where and How You Live. A review of The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick) by Seth Godin. A review of U-Turn: What If You Woke Up One Morning and Realized You Were Living the Wrong Life? by Bruce Grierson. A review of Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys: True Tales of Love, Lust, and Friendship Between Straight Women and Gay Men.
