James Gleick, photo by Phyllis Rose for the New York Times A visit to Google’s campus in Silicon Valley has become a necessary stop on authors’ book tours. Since 2005, the Googleplex has hosted more than one-thousand author talks, including readings by Tina Fey, Christopher Hitchens, and novelist Junot Diaz. Recently, technology writers James Gleick (The Information) and Evgeny Morozov (The Net Delusion) made appearances, the latter author making an unpopular argument about “the dark side of Internet freedom,” while sitting in the heart of the techno-utopians’ home field. We hope that Siva Vaidhyanathan will be invited to the
Michael Kimball Who are the real book critics, the paid professionals or the dedicated Amazon amatures? Historian Morris Dickstein, author Cynthia Ozick, novelist Hervé Le Tellier, and Danish novelist Carsten Jensen discuss, with Dickstein opining that “Raw opinion, no matter how deeply felt, is no substitute for argument and evidence. The democratization of reviewing is synonymous with the decay of reviewing.” Susie Bright reveals the “terrible secret” of women’s memoirs. Tomorrow night at KGB bar, Sam Lipsyte will read with Michael Kimball, who is known for his ability to write a person’s entire biography on a postcard, and whose
Susan Sontag At NYRB, Tim Parks has written an insightful and entertaining blog post about why Swiss author Peter Stamm is interesting to people outside his native country, and why Jonathan Franzen is not. “For the American reader there is the pleasure of recognizing the interiors Franzen so meticulously describes. Not so for the Italian, or German, or Frenchman, who simply struggles through lists of alien bric-a-brac.” Conde Nast and Hearst have both made deals with Apple to sell magazine subscriptions in the iTunes store. But “why isn’t Time Inc. on board yet?” Sorry for participating in “human database”
Ellen Willis listening and typing in her apartment on Waverly St., early 80s. Photo from the Ellen WIllis tumblr archive. Critic Caleb Crain has written a fascinating blog post about a photo that captures President Obama, Hillary Clinton, and other White House officials as they receive an “update on the mission against Osama bin Laden.” Crain argues, however, that it is possible, even likely, that they are in fact watching bin Laden’s death. The post enlarges four faces from the photo and analyzes them in minute detail: Robert Gates’s “mask of confidence,” Obama’s “grim mouth” and “hungry eyes,” Clinton’s
Elizabeth Alexander President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama have organized a poetry night at the White House, scheduled to take place on Wednesday, May 11. Readers and performers include Elizabeth Alexander, who read at Obama’s inauguration; former U.S. poet laureates Billy Collins and Rita Dove; musicians Common, Aimee Mann, and Jill Scott; and conceptual poet Kenneth Goldsmith, whose 2007 book Traffic transcribes twenty-four hours of traffic reports from New York AM radio station 1010 WINS. The participants will also offer a workshop for students. The Baffler is back. Thomas Frank, who co-founded the magazine in 1988, will step
Justin Vivian Bond, whose new record is out now and whose memoir Tango will be released in the fall, is not happy with Carl Swanson’s new profile of him in New York magazine.”Wow,” Bond writes on Facebook. “I can’t even begin to find words about how offensive the Carl Swanson piece in NY Magazine turned out to be. I had him in my house -time to bring out the bleach. I’m so grossed out.”
Jersey Shore gone Wilde. Playbill presents Jersey Shore as written by Oscar Wilde. This summer, Simon Schuster, the Penguin Group, and the Hachette Book Group will become partners in a “one-stop-shopping” website called Bookish.com. The site will provide comprehensive literary coverage (including reviews, author profiles, and more) and have books for sale. (The AOL Huffington Post Media Group will help sell ads and generate traffic.) According to a story at the New York Times, the site will do for books what imdb and Netflix have done for film, and Pitchfork for music. Question: If Bookish.com is owned by three
William T. Vollmann This year, the Columbia Journalism School will give its prestigious award to Al Jazeera English. Says CJS dean Nicholas Lemann: “Al Jazeera English has performed a great service in bringing the English-speaking world in-depth coverage of the turmoil in the Middle East. We salute its determination to get to the heart of a complicated story unfolding in countries where news has historically been difficult to cover.” Minnesota legislator Matt Dean apologizes for calling Neil Gaiman a “pencil-neck weasel.” Dean was moved to apologize because his mom “was very angry this morning and always taught me not
Neil Gaiman During a tirade against funds given to public radio and arts programs, Minnesota House Majority Leader Matt Dean complained that American Gods author Neil Gaiman is a “pencil-necked little weasel who stole $45,000 from the state of Minnesota.” [Via Galleycat] Laura Miller explains how a Los Angeles podiatrist sign became an inspiration to authors Jonathan Lethem and David Foster Wallace. Elif Batuman tells you why she doesn’t read reviews of her work. Carmela Ciuraru’s new study of pseudonyms, Nom de Plume, gets the book-trailer treatment. Francisco Goldman on Say Her Name, his turbulent novel of mourning for
Emma Forrest From the 2011 PEN World Voices Festival, recommended titles in six categories from the NBCC’s stand-up critics. Michiko Kakutani’s survey of books about bin Laden. Though the Los Angeles Review of Books is still a work in progress, they are already publishing some engaging articles, including a new piece by David Shields, author of last year’s much discussed book Reality Hunger: A Manifesto. In the LARB, Shields takes on Jonathan Franzen, providing this acerbic take on Franzen’s New Yorker article about solitude and the death of David Foster Wallace: “Franzen is horrified on behalf of all of
The Scene at this weekend’s LA Times Festival of Books From n+1: Richard Beck’s report from the Ground Zero celebrations after Osama bin Laden’s death was announced: “Obama got Osama! Obama got Osama!” Former SEAL sniper Howard E. Wasdin, who was recently a member of SEAL Team Six, the special Navy unit that killed bin Laden, has a book being published in late May. Salman Rushdie writes of bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan, incredulous that the country’s security services (supposedly a US ally) did not know where the most wanted man in the world was hiding for the past
Believer Book Award winner James Hynes From the New Yorker, Dexter Filkins (author of The Forever War) asks a key question about Osama bin Laden’s death: Did Pakistani officials know where bin Laden was hiding? Lawrence Wright (author of The Looming Tower) ponders al Qaeda’s future, and from the Bookforum archives, Hannah Bloch reviews Steve Coll’s biography of the bin Laden clan. Meanwhile, the New York Times published an unfortunate headline/photo combo this morning on their iPhone app. Next by James Hynes has won this year’s Believer Book Award; the magazine has also published its list of top twenty
Will Oldham AdWeek gives a summary of the New York Times Company’s annual meeting, at which chairman Arthur Sulzberger Jr. claimed that the company needed to approach its new paywall with “constant innovation,” and argued that “dangerous and complicated stories are worth paying for.” CEO Janet Robinson pointed out that the company’s 2010 profits were on the rise, but some shareholders remained skeptical: One asked why dividends, which were frozen in 2009, have yet to be reinstated. Malcolm Gladwell explains his method for keeping up with the news. The Blink author reads newspapers—in their print versions. “At this point,
Martin Amis New Yorker editor David Remnick offers his take on Donald Trump’s “race-baiting.” Harper Lee speaks: The tight-lipped author of To Kill a Mockingbird has released a statement refuting the claim that a forthcoming book by Marja Mills, The Mockingbird Next Door: Life with Harper Lee, was “written with direct access to Harper and Alice Lee and their friends and family.” According to Lee, “I have not willingly participated in any book written or to be written by Marja Mills. . . . Any claims otherwise are false.” Brooklyn author and editor Christian Lorentzen talks to Jennifer Egan,
Hervé Le Tellier Graywolf Press editor Ethan Nosowsky has announced that novelist and critic Joshua Cohen has signed a book deal with the outstanding indie publisher. How did Elif Batuman’s mom end up with a large mahogany replica of a B-52 “flying fortress” bomber in her living room? An amusing email thread that begins with Lorin Stein and goes through Batuman and Hilton Als explains. Eileen Myles writes about her “first real poetry teacher” Paul Violi, who passed away earlier this month. The PEN World Voices festival continues today with a slate of outstanding events, beginning at noon with
Matthew Stadler What was life like for successful writers such as Jennifer Egan, Ted Conover, Siri Hustvedt, and Sam Lipsyte before they made it? The blog Days of Yore conducts interviews with first-rate authors about their up-and-coming days. Tonight, the Fales Library at NYU is hosting its annual Lecture in English and American Literature, presenting Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Paul Muldoon on “The Missives of Robert Lowell and Elizabeth Bishop.” On Thursday, April 28, Publication Studio—a self-described “experiment in sustainable publication”—will be introducing its 2011 releases to New York City at a fashion show at Heather’s Bar, with authors walking
William Deresiewicz The PEN World Voices Festival starts in New York tonight with an event titled “Written on Water,” held at the Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers, and featuring a full line-up of international literary luminaries. The festival continues with events throughout the city all week. The annual Book Expo America conference is gearing up for a return to New York’s Javits Center on May 21. Publishers Weekly offers a preview, including a look at some of the important titles that will be highlighted at the expo, and the best places to eat. William Deresiewicz, a critic and the author
Philip Larkin Christopher Hitchens on Philip Larkin, the “impossible man.” In The Guardian Elif Batuman writes about a recent trip to New York, in which she attends the NBCC award ceremony, hangs out with Jonathan Franzen, and reflects on life as a newly-minted bestselling author: “I noticed a while ago that many writers of my acquaintance tended to leave the country after a successful first book. I didn’t understand this at first, but now I do. Moving abroad lets you keep, in some degree, an aesthetics of bewilderment.” Penguin art director Paul Buckley discusses seventy-five years of great cover
Morrissey: memoirist. Tao Lin weighs in on the recent history and future of the novel. The attacks against (and defenses of) Greg Mortenson’s book Three Cups of Tea, in which the author recalls his philanthropic work in Afghanistan, are quickly accumulating. 60 Minutes ran a segment alleging that parts of the book (including a scene in which the writer is kidnapped by the Taliban) are fabricated, and that the author mishandled funds. Jon Krakauer has written an 89-page article (title: “Three Cups of Deceit”) attacking the book. MobyLives calls Mortenson’s defenses of his behavior “insane.” The Christian Science Monitor