Posted by Jason Diamond I’ve written and read my share of year-end lists, and I’m at the point now where I’m not totally sure what sort of purpose they serve, but I continue to read and write them anyway. I’m not trying to sound jaded about peoples roundups of the year that was, in fact I rather like them and really enjoy doing my own. I guess my issue tends to be more of the way you’ve got to dig […]
Why do I fantasize about Joan Didion?
By Jen Vafidis Often in Blue Nights Joan Didion talks of treating her daughter like a doll, like the perfect child. Ultimately this is how I treat Joan herself in my mind. She needs to be perfect. She needs to be Joan Didion, Proper Noun. As far as I’ve read, no one ever writes “Didion-esque” because the thought is ludicrous; the whole point of her celebrity is that there can only be one of her, one against the rest, even when she was in a partnership. And […]
Afternoon Bites: Writers’ Ghosts, Granta, Joan Didion, and more
Lisa Fetchko on José Donoso’s The Lizard’s Tale: “Donoso is at his best when exploring our most twisted emotions. His male characters have hopelessly complicated feelings about women; his upper-class characters are consumed with guilt as they cling to privilege; many of his protagonists are trapped in paralyzing cycles of envy, doubt and insecurity.” At Full Stop, Nika Knight takes a seasonally-appropriate view of writers’ ghosts. Leslie Jamison on Joan Didion’s Salvador, in The Paris Review. Granta is having a […]
Morning Bites: Murakami is God, Didion in New York, Harper Perennial, bullfighters, Neal Pollack, Youth Lagoon, and more
Joan Didion isn’t interested in people, Murakami’s new book is gonna be bigger than Jesus, Neal Pollack, and much more.
Morning Bites: Didion changing lives, Zachary Schomburg’s sells mad poetry, Emily Books, and more
“If there’s ever a time in your life to read early Joan Didion, it’s when you’re young and thoroughly disenchanted with a place.” – S.J. Culver at The Millions. At The Hairpin, Edith Zimmerman talks with Emily Gould and Ruth Curry about Emily Books. Zachary Schomburg’s two books of poetry on Black Ocean sells 10,000 copies. That’s a lot of poetry. Books “about secrets and other scary stuff” review over at Rookie.
Morning Bites: Joan Didion pictures, Andrew Bird on film, Henry Rollins with long hair, and more
Andrew Bird on film. At The Awl: Daniel D’Addario on pictures of Joan Didion. Nobel Prize winner Tomas Tranströmer is a hero to somebody. Pictures of a young Henry Rollins when he had long flowing locks. Makeshift shrines for Steve Jobs pop up at an Apple Store.
Morning Bites: Downton Abbey, Colin Meloy on NPR, Hitchens on Didion, St. Marks in the NYT, post-Borders, and more
Just what makes Downton Abbey the most popular costume drama in years? Colin Meloy of The Decemberists/writer of The Wildwood Chronicles, Book 1, was on this week’s Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! Do you have what it takes to be the managing editor of Rookiemag.com? Tavi Gevinson is looking for a managing editor, and it could possibly be the funnest job ever. Christopher Hitchens on Joan Didion’s new book, Blue Nights, at Vanity Fair. Sylvia Plath is getting her very own […]
Morning Bites: Didion’s Collarbone, John Berryman Celebrated, the Demetri Martin Essay and More
Joan Didion broke her collarbone. Even though she doesn’t read blogs, we’re pulling for her to get better soon, and we’re sure she will, because she’s Joan FUCKING Didion. Celebrating John Berryman in Minnesota. We celebrated him a few years ago. Hunter S. Thompson gets the graphic novel biography. Demetri Martin gets quasi-existential The New Yorker. This is how you properly organize a bookcase. Follow us on Tumblr and Twitter. Like us on Facebook.