It was cold the morning after it was announced David Bowie had died. Not surprising since I live in New York City and it happened in January. Yet I found myself standing outside my apartment around six in the morning, gym clothes on, not really dressed to be idling around. I put on The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars, which I’ve listened to countless times since I was about 13, and simply referred to […]
Morning Bites: Roxane Gay Short Fiction, Brandon Stosuy on DIY Spaces, Matthew Zapruder, and More
In our morning reading: short fiction from Roxane Gay, Brandon Stosuy on the need for DIY spaces, Matthew Zapruder on poetry and crisis, and more.
Mid-Year 2016: The Year’s Best Fiction (So Far)
Putting together this list of standout fiction published so far this year wasn’t an easy task, mostly because it could just as easily have been twice as long. It’s been a very good year for fiction, whether your tastes head more towards classical storytelling, or narrative innovation, or incisive societal observations. What follows is a list of some of the books published in the first half of 2016 that have impressed us the most.
Morning Bites: Emma Straub on “Either/Or,” Donald Quist Nonfiction, Greil Marcus, and More
In our morning reading: new nonfiction from Emma Straub and Donald Quist, Greil Marcus on politics and music, and more.
Morning Bites: James McBride and James Brown, Alexander Chee Nonfiction, Emma Straub, Luc Sante on Junk Shops, and More
In our morning reading: thoughts on James McBride’s book on James Brown, an interview with Dorothe Nors, new music from G.L.O.S.S., and more.
Afternoon Bites: Lynn Steger Strong Interviewed, Walter Mosley On Muhammad Ali, Emma Straub, Amie Barrodale’s Latest, and More
In our afternoon reading: an interview with Lynn Steger Strong, new nonfiction from Walter Mosley and Sara Lippmann, and much more.
“I Like to Share Everything That I’ve Learned”: An Interview With Emma Straub
Modern Lovers, Emma Straub‘s third novel, follows two interwoven families living in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Ditmas Park. Years before, three of them had played together in a cult band, the fourth member of which became wildly famous before her death. As with Straub’s previous novel The Vacationers, this book memorably captures a group dynamic, with plots and subplots that encompass everything from young love to mid-life stagnation to creative rebirth. I talked with Straub about the process of writing […]
Morning Bites: Francine Prose on “The Night of the Hunter,” Amber Sparks, Samuel R. Delany’s Journals, and More
In our morning reading: new nonfiction from Amber Sparks and Francine Prose, Emma Straub talks books, and more.