In response to the rise of author productivity apps—like the ominous “write or die,” which deletes words if you stop typing for more than 45 seconds—Jenny Diski makes a case for slow writing.
Grappling with the fact that “much of the great old children’s material, like so much of the great old adult material, is either racist to the core or at least has seriously racist bits,” Stephen Marche wonders if there’s an acceptable way to read these books to your kids.
Goodreads tracks the “anatomy of a book discovery," through the Goodreads stats of Charles Duhigg's book The Power of Habit. The editors follow the book from its February 28 publication date to Duhigg’s appearance on NPR to its spike in popularity after receiving editorial attention. They conclude that well-timed ads, word of mouth, and getting early reviews are crucial to a book’s success.
Bloomsday was Saturday, and in honor of the Joycean holiday, Colm Toibin revisited Joyce’s Dublin, while the The Economist praises Gordon Bowker’s new biography of the Irish author.
Here's a short scene from the forthcoming adaptation of Yann Martel's 2001 novel, The Life of Pi.
New Hampshire has shot down a bill inspired by J. D. Salinger that would protect an individual’s privacy rights after their death. The bill, which was crafted in part by Salinger’s son Matt, would have allowed individuals to control the commercial use of their identity for seventy years after their death.
The Awl offers a brief history of the decline of book reviewing, spanning Pope to Melville to Connolly to Bloom, and ending on Elizabeth Gumport’s recent n+1 essay: “It is time to stop writing—and reading—reviews. The old faiths have passed away; the new age requires a new form.”
