2011
-
The (Optimisitic) State of the Book Review
Book reviews sections in newspapers and magazines began shrinking a couple years ago, or being folded into other sections, even disappearing altogether. In 2007, a band of culturally dedicated authors started the National Book Critics Circle’s Campaign to Save Book…
-
Reluctant Readers Gender Breakdown
A recent article in Sunday’s NY Times Book Review breaks down reading habits by gender, reporting that boys read less than girls. This revelation may be surprising given the plethora of YA fiction out there—one of the only booming genre…
-
Megatrends Now and Later
It seems like every year there are economic predictions and warnings about the impending doom that is coming or the next big thing to look out for, but what became of these megatrends? It turns out many of them lack…
-
Dan Weiss’s Morning Coffee
Looks like it’s time for another T(h)rivial Thursday! Perhaps you have wondered about the fake vomit industry? The main point of this article is that scientists are nerds. Full-on authentic 60s jetsetters! Dept. of Poor-lil-guy. 15th century lettering.
-
Conversations with Writers Braver Than Me: Mike Albo
I’ve been living in NYC for years so I am cautiously optimistic about everything.
-
It’s the 2nd Annual 8/26 Day Write-a-thon!
This Friday, August 26th is 8/26 day and your favorite youth literacy nonprofit, 826 Valencia is celebrating with a second annual Write-a-thon! It’s a marathon of writing and it’s happening all day, from noon until 8:26 pm. If you register…
-
More Multimedia Borges Appreciation
Besides this, here is another, more visually-focused way to appreciate Jorge Luis Borges on the anniversary of his birth, 112 years later. It’s The Mirror Man, a 47-minute documentary on his life and work.
-
The Latest in Censorship
Haruki Murakami was removed from a summer reading list for middle schooler and high school students in one New Jersey school district. Apparently, some of the language in Norwegian Wood concerned parents and a couple students. And this is the…
-
East Coast Quake Follow Up
That East Coast earthquake happened yesterday and after all the panic and subsequent relief and immediate tweeting, it is now an appropriate time to discuss what would cause such an unlikely occurrence. Also, it’s a good time to explain what…
-
Publishing Vocab
Editors, publishers and critics have their own industry-specific lexicon. People in the industry are used to hearing words like “acclaimed” or saying that a book “brilliantly defies categorization,” but apparently this is only the surface level of description. Beyond the…
-
The Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics
I. Jack Kerouac looked like Jesus. In the ink sketch my dad did of him, Kerouac’s arms are outstretched to either side, his head in profile as though waiting for the lash.