In our afternoon reading: Ben Greenman on Prince, interviews with Nikki Giovanni and Tom Williams, and more.
Morning Bites: Anne Helen Petersen, Joanna Ruocco Interviewed, Paul Theroux’s Latest, “Boy on Ice,” and More
Interviews with Joanna Ruocco, Anne Helen Petersen, and John Branch; new writing from Ben Greenman and Molly Rose Quinn, Civil Coping Mechanisms announces a new imprint, and more.
The Life of an Expert Listener: “Mo’ Meta Blues: The World According to Questlove” Reviewed
Mo’ Meta Blues: The World According to Questlove by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and Ben Greenman Grand Central Publishing; 288 p. Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson is thinking. A lot. That’s the takeaway from the Roots’ drummer/music producer’s memoir Mo’ Meta Blues; that’s what he wants you to know. Co-written with The New Yorker’s Ben Greenman, the book is a telling of Questlove’s story from childhood to these very Jimmy Fallon days, chronicling his affair with music from the tender toddler ages onwards. Instead of […]
Afternoon Bites: What Scares Benjamin Percy, Gun Outfit’s Latest, Monica Drake, Ben Greenman’s Playlist, and More
Ben Greenman’s Book Notes playlist for The Slippage has a particular emphasis on songs about the suburbs. “Gun Outfit’s connection to folk music is also clear; those albums’ radical bent came through on occasional anti-capitalist lyrical statements, like Sonic Youth covering Woody Guthrie.” Jenn Pelly on Gun Outfit’s Hard Coming Down. Benjamin Percy on what he considers to be the scariest passage in all of literature. That time Charles Mingus toilet-trained his cat. “My belief is that if we put up an arbitrary […]
Morning Bites: Goodbye Seersucker, Ted Sanders, Infograph Time, Book It! and More
Edward Champion reads Augie March. Fact: You can’t have Ben Greenman involved with your book and not expect at least one infograph at McSweeney’s Internet Tendency. Karen Russell inspires some Pizza Hut Book It! talk at Galley Cat. Ted Sanders contributes to this week’s Recommended Reading. The days of bipartisan seersucker are now a thing of the past. Ever wonder how the term “Can of worms” originated? Follow Vol. 1 Brooklyn on Twitter, Facebook, Google + and our Tumblr.
If Britpop ran the publishing industry…
Posted by Jason Diamond Jarvis Cocker becoming an editor at Faber & Faber is a step in the right direction, but these are my dream scenarios if Britpoppers from the 1990s ran the publishing industry. 1. Penguin would hire Morrissey to be in charge of design of the Classics imprint. They’re already going to be giving him bags of cash to write his memoirs, why not put Moz in charge of getting things back to the level that Germano Facetti […]
Afternoon Bites: Dylan Thomas boathouse, Ben Greenman’s hurricane graph, Rachel Kramer Bussel, and more
Every single time I pass the White Horse Saloon in the West Village, I always say to myself, “That’s where Dylan Thomas drank 200 shots of hooch and died. Maybe I should hang out there.” Then I walk in, and it’s filled with frat dudes drinking sugar free Red Bull and vodkas, talking about how “sick” Jeter’s new car commercial looks. I’m tired of that being the building that makes me think of Mr. Thomas, and I’m glad Writers Houses […]
Favorite Books of 2010
Posted by Jason Diamond Note: This list doesn’t reflect the view of anybody else involved with Vol. 1 Brooklyn, and yes, I do realize it’s a mix of fiction and non. Sorry. 1. The Possessed by Elif Batuman I don’t believe that anybody on this planet is either the smartest or funniest person alive. But if I am in fact wrong, I believe Ms. Batuman could easily hold down both titles. In the least cheesiest way I can possibly say […]