Bites: Dave Eggers preorder, Tao Lin tackles Herzog, New England lit. Bowerbirds, reading rappers, James Franco, classic albums


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.

  • 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’.