#tobyreads: Misreading “Flan” and Reading Collections

This week? Collections. Mostly, at least. Two short story collections, one novel that could easily be taken for a collection, and some poetry. I should probably also mention that I’ve recently finished A. Igoni Barrett’s Love Is Power, or Something Like That for a review I’m working on, and it’s fantastic — one of the best books I’ve read in a while, and a terrifically-constructed book.

Continue Reading

Afternoon Bites: Marie-Helene Bertino, Remixed Philip Glass, Junot Díaz on ”Watership Down,” and More

“Books like Safe as Houses remind me of the feeling I first had reading Lewis Carroll, a feeling that keeps me coming back to genre fiction in all its forms: that some people see the world very differently, and that it’s immense fun to borrow their perspective and see it along with them.” Jenn Northington looks at Marie-Helene Bertino’s collection Safe as Houses. New fiction from Matt Bell, Amber Sparks, and more can be found in this anthology. Junot Díaz on Watership Down. T.C. […]

Continue Reading

Afternoon Bites: Junot Díaz and Genre, Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s New Album, xTx’s Mix, and More

  New Godspeed You! Black Emperor, everybody. Coming to Philadelphia next month: the 215 Festival returns.  One of our editors still has fond memories of seeing Robert Christgau and Francis Davis in conversation at a previous iteration of said festival… …and a week after that, the Mosaic Literary Conference comes to NYC. Junot Díaz talks with Wired about his forays into science fiction. Bryan Lee O’Malley interviewed Andrew Hussie. xTx made The Outlet a mix. Arty Shepard of the excellent Greenpoint […]

Continue Reading

Afternoon Bites: Nick Cave Interviewed, On Judy Blume’s “Forever,” Victor LaValle at the Center for Fiction, and More

  Robert Longo chatted with Richard Price at The Strand. Nick Cave was interviewed over at The AV Club. Rachel Fershleiser shares her story from Tuesday’s 3-Minute Book Stories event, with a look at Judy Blume’s Forever and first love. The American Reader checked out Victor LaValle’s appearance at the Center for Fiction. Our own Jason Diamond (along with folks from WORD, Greenlight, the Fireside Follies series, and Electric Literature) is interviewed by Brooklyn Magazine. Grantland went drinking with Junot Díaz. Aaron Leitko […]

Continue Reading

Junot Díaz Geeks Out Over Comics With Vol. 1

In addition to being a Pulitzer-winning, chart-topping novelist and short story writer, Junot Díaz is more than a little nerdy. Okay, very nerdy. His work — including his latest story collection, This is How You Lose Her — is filled with references to geek-culture touchstones that blend seamlessly with historical analysis and intimate struggle. And towering above all else, his fiction is filled with references to comic books. But no one had ever interviewed him just about those comics. That’s […]

Continue Reading

Afternoon Bites: “About Cherry” In NYC, Vintage Contemporaries, Mat Johnson Interviews Victor LaValle, and More

Junot Díaz is profiled by Michele Filgate for Capital New York, and in the process says some deeply insightful things about perceptions of genre. Everything you’ve wanted to know about Vintage Contemporaries… Former roommates Mat Johnson and Victor LaValle chatted for Bookforum. A musical adaptation of Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home is in the works. Stephen Elliott’s film About Cherry opens in New York on September 21st. Dan Ruccia on the reissue of Don Cherry’s Organic Music Society. (So that we’re clear, that’s […]

Continue Reading