That ol’ rascal Dave Eggers has got (as broken down by a user comment on this site) a book coming out that’s a novelization of a movie that is based off a book. Or something along those lines. Either way, you can preorder the book starting now.
- On his blog, Tao Lin reviews Werner Herzog’s Land of Silence and Darkness.
- Moby-Dick is #1, The Bell Jar #4, Walden #12 (me: “wtf, #12? That’s it?”), and The Crucible is #43 in a poll of “The 100 Essential New England Books” poll.
- Bowerbirds write some spooky/beautiful/awesome dark folk songs that could work as the soundtrack to some of those New England books. MOKB has one of the tracks from their upcoming (July 7th, on Dead Oceans) album Northern Lights.
- Last week, Jeff Hobbs of The Millions wrote an open letter to Kanye West addressing the rapper’s forthcoming book Thank You and You’re Welcome and recent admission that he doesn’t read them (books, that is). Often I find open letters too rant-y, but this one is funny and quite smart. It ends up a rumination on the art of the novel, the importance of reading, and flyness.
- James Franco is fast becoming this generation’s coolest cool kid. In a choice indicating neither conformity nor rebellion, Franco has directed a homo-erotic short. (Because who makes short films anyway?) In it, he wears glasses oddly reminiscent of those found on our own Brooklyn Vol. 1 logo. Coolest cool kids, just sayin’.
- Classic albums (Joy Division, Beastie Boys, Stereolab) re-imagined as Penguin paperbacks