At A.V. Club: After years of playing the same sad sack misanthrope we’ve all come to know and love, John Cusack will play Edgar Allan Poe.

• At Harpers:  The most expensive BBQ ever.

• At Jacket Copy: 12 literary oddities available on Ebay.

• At Impose: Julia Holmes tells us what she’s read recently.

• At The Faster Times: Lincoln Michel weighs in on the NY Times love of white dudes issue.

• At HTMLGIANT: Jimmy Chen is on a roll.  First it was Harold Bloom’s hair over 4 Charlie Rose appearances, now it’s an “exclusive transcript” of Terry Gross talking to Jonathan Franzen of Fresh Air.

• At The Daily Beast: America’s Brainiest Cities.

• At Politics Daily:  Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, Lady Gaga?