“By now it should be obvious that Jackie Shane wasn’t bringing his act to Toronto so it could be better understood. Instead he was taking it out of context, to someplace where it seemed more alien and strange. Maybe he liked it better that way.” Carl Wilson explores the life of Jackie Shane. Margaret Atwood was interviewed at the Los Angeles Festival of Books. Ron Hogan looked at the first few episodes of Hemlock Grove. (Our review of the novel on which […]
Afternoon Bites: “Fifty Shames of Earl Grey,” Margaret Atwood Interviewed, “The Twilight Zone” Revisited, And More
Jacob Silverman chats with Margaret Atwood for Capital New York. Matt Zoller Seitz makes the case for the quality of the 1980s edition of The Twilight Zone. Andrew Shaffer talks to the Times about his Fifty Shades of Grey parody. Hey, it’s Seth Fried making an online appearance in The New Yorker. Maud Newton chats with Alison Bechdel. The comics of Stephen Collins forecast strange advances in e-reader technology. Leonard Cohen will be playing Brooklyn! In, er, late December. Follow Vol. 1 […]
Passover Bites: Franzen’s Cover, Warhol’s Pals, Cheever’s Story, Atwood’s Addiction, Kerman’s Excerpt, Neil Young on Skype, and More
Jonathan Franzen has a new novel coming out and The Millions show us the cover. The New Republic posted a John Cheever story from 1936. Margaret Atwood might need a Twitter intervention. Levi Asher on Reality Hunger. An excerpt from Piper Kerman’s book, Orange is the New Black. Andy Warhol had a lot of friends that he took pictures of. Neil Young, Jonathan Demme, and Skype. Titus Andronicus and rock from New Jersey. Bluto, Otter, D-Day, Boehner, Cantor, Brown, and […]
How to Write a Novel: Impractical Advice From People Who Have Done It
“Put your left hand on the table. Put your right hand in the air. If you stay that way long enough, you’ll get a plot,” Margaret Atwood says when asked where her ideas come from. When questioned about whether she’s ever used that approach, she adds, “No, I don’t have to.” Enough said, Margaret Atwood. I go through phases where I don’t care at all about the practices of other writers, as I’m fairly certain nearly all of us are […]
Bites: Rainbow bookshelves, killed book covers, readers of print bring it in, mock executions, finding Jesus’ head, Atwood’s green tour
By Willa A. Cmiel Book Bench explains it correctly when they call organizing your books by color “an exercise that feels dorky and juvenile.” But look, not (really) so! I guess the exposed wooden beams and built-in wall shelves help romanticize the whole nerdy practice. Killed book jackets from Print. Readers of the printed word are worth wayyy more than you are. The Chasm Between the Value of Print and Web Readers: $709 versus $46. (via The Millions) Upon my […]