In this afternoon’s roundup of links, Lisa Hanawalt is interviewed; Stoya and Reihan Salam have a wide-ranging conversation; Case Studies has new music; Robert Christgau talks Vampire Weekend; Norman Lock shares his favorite short fiction; and much more.
I’m not exactly an unobjective reader of Norman Lock’s fiction. Ever since he took part in a reading that Vol.1 Brooklyn and Big Other assembled in 2011, I’ve been tracking down his books, sometimes waxing evangelical about them to readers who might appreciate his own particular window onto fiction. And it’s a welcome one: at once referential and playful, occupying a similar post-Borges space to the short stories of Stephen Millhauser and Neil Gaiman. What follows are thoughts on the […]
Any year that brings books from Matt Bell and Norman Lock is a good one. That 2013 has brought work from both is even better: Bell’s visceral, evocative novel In the House Upon the Dirt Between the Lake and The Woods and Lock’s mindbending collection Love Among the Particles are both among our favorite books of the year to date. We’ll be hosting Bell and Lock at Community Bookstore on Thursday, June 13. Each will read, followed by a short conversation between […]
Hanging out with Salman Rushdie at the Midnight’s Children movie premiere. “If you look at an Isaac Babel story, for example, it’s between two and three pages, and what he does is a miracle.” Dawn Raffel interviewed Renata Adler for The Literarian. Recommended Reading has a story up from Norman Lock. Mary Roach book trailer, everybody. “It makes more sense if you think of The Chris Gethard Show less as a late-night talk show and more like stunt theater, live-action role-playing, and depression.” Jessica Suarez on […]
File under “things we never thought we’d type in 2012”: here’s some new music from Texas is the Reason. Paula Bomer, who’s reading at Franklin Park next Monday, was interviewed at The Nervous Breakdown. Molly Ringwald and Panio Gianopoulos went shopping for books at McNally Jackson. Rosie Schaap talked with The Drinking Diaries. BoingBoing has selected their favorite comics of 2012. Emily Witt on Charles Dickens’s children. Here’s a song with lyrics by Norman Lock, who has a new collection […]
Items of interest from Vol. 1 contributors.
A roundup of things consumed by our contributors. Jen Vafdis I read Joy Williams’ Honored Guest for the first of probably a few times this week. Some stories I loved unconditionally, others might reveal themselves to me later. You know how it is when one character jumps out at you in a story, and you immediately cast the role of that character in your mind? Perhaps other Joy Williams fans will agree, maybe not, but I think James Urbaniak (of […]
Our weekly roundup of what we’ve been reading, hearing, and paying attention to includes some Sam Lipsyte, Jesse Ball, earlier Will Oldham, and more.