Morning Bites: Purim Hunger Games, Updike Reissued, Letters From Huxley, “Keep Calm and Carry On,” And More

What the Jewish holiday of Purim (which begins tonight) has in common with the Hunger Games trilogy by Abigail Miller at Tablet. John Updike is getting reissued for his birthday. What did Aldous Huxley think of George Orwell’s 1984?  He wrote his former student a letter to tell him. Slate talks about the #jonathanfranzenhates Twitter hashtag after Jami Attenberg finds out J. Franz doesn’t like Twitter. Critical Mob takes a look at Jewish literature from the 1950s to today. The history of […]

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Morning Bites: Defending Updike, Salem witch trials, Rushkoff’s leap, Chelsea Wolfe, and more

“The faux-democratic ideal of plain-spokenness, the sense that a novelist should not write too beautifully or he sacrifices some vaguely articulated, semi-mystical claim to honesty, is not a million miles away from the Sarah Palin-ish suspicion of east coast liberals, or a Harvard education, or people who know the dates of wars.” – Katie Roiphe feels it necessary to go on the defensive for John Updike on the anniversary of his death. Ben Shattuck at The Morning News on historians […]

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Morning Bites: When Updike went homophobic, Jami Attenberg, Gessen at #OccupyWallStreet, and more

At Slate, David Haglund takes a look back at a homophobic 1999 book review written by John Updike.  He wasn’t keen on gay people, and he’d already been labeled a misogynist.  Now we’re convinced the only people John Updike liked were Ted Williams and Jewish writers. One of our favorite writers, Jami Attenberg, spends some time seeing if people pick up free copies of her book at a coffee shop. Keith Gessen went to Occupy Wall Street.  We heard a […]

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50 Years Ago Today Ted Williams Hit His Last Home Run and John Updike Wrote About It

Posted by Jason Diamond I’ve said it more than a few times, but “Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu” by John Updike is my favorite piece of sports writing ever.  And as pointed out in the New York Times on Sunday, today is the 50th anniversary of Ted Williams last game, and the basis of Updike’s piece. So for the sake of celebrating, click on the link above and red the piece, or go pick up a copy of the (Chip […]

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John Updike Fever

2 things: 1. Since the first time I read it, I was in love with John Updike’s 1960 New Yorker piece on Ted Williams’ last game at Fenway Park, “Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu.”  So when I heard Library of America was putting out a commemorative edition of the piece in the form of a 64-page book, with artwork by Chip Kidd, I figured I could pony up the fifteen bucks and get a copy. 2. The piece in The […]

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Scenes from the first circle

Hemingway: “John…” Updike: “Yes Ernest?” Hemingway: “They ummm, made a television show from one of your books…” Updike: “Oh?  Ah.  Yes, I see they did.” Hemingway: “It’s on after Cougar Town.” Updike: “Oh?  Hmmm….” Hemingway: “Gonna watch that one?” Updike: “Christ no.” Hemingway: “Ah, yes, yes.  Me neither.” 2 Hours later Updike: “Ernest, something is troubling me.  Ernest?  Ernest, listen to me dammit!” Ernest: “Ah?  Yes, yes.  What is it John?” Updike: “What’s with your grandkids Ernest? Ernest: “What’s that […]

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Bites: Chicago reflects, James Ellroy, new Eastwick, Twilight soundtrack, and more

  The Guardian looks at literary Chicago, in it’s more “reflective period” in the wake of the Granta issue that focuses on the Windy City. Lit. To answer your question Gawker: no, we don’t need another Eastwick. Mental Floss has Kurt Vonnegut reading Breakfast of Champions three years before it’s released. (via 92Y) Minneapolis Star Review (via Largehearted Boy) talks to James Ellroy. And over at The Cult, they talk to Mr. Ellroy also. I guess because I’m a blogger, […]

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Bites: John Updike rumors, best fiction so far, Billy Clinton still kicking, Leonard Cohen is gonna be alright, and more

  A John Updike rumor over at Three Guys One Book Slate on L. Frank Baum, and the first American fairy tale. The Millions picks the “Best Fiction of the Millennium (so far)“ Ralph Nader wrote a novel Almost tis the season for Banned Book Week. Politics Nobody puts William Jefferson Clinton in the corner. Music Leonard Cohen is going to be alright. Jessica Hopper likes the English band Pens.  I do too. A.V Club talks Monsters of Folk Misc. […]

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