2014
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On the “Novelty” of Strong Women
For the Guardian, Hannah Ellis-Peterson discusses the success of Jessie Burton’s The Miniaturist. Since its debut this summer, the author’s first novel has received acclaim for its strong female characters. However, Burton has since expressed frustration over the perception of “strong women” in…
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Mark Strand, 1934–2014
And when you report back to your own daily world after experiencing the strangeness of a world sort of recombined and reordered in the depths of a poet’s soul, the world looks fresher somehow. To pay homage to the passing…
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The Encyclopedia of Trouble and Spaciousness by Rebecca Solnit
E.B. Bartels reviews The Encyclopedia of Trouble and Spaciousness by Rebecca Solnit today in Rumpus Books.
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So Little Has Changed
Following the grand jury decision not to indict Darren Wilson for shooting and killing Michael Brown, Edwidge Danticat reflects on the overwhelming occurrence of police brutality against people of color: Today, one might generously refer to such acts as micro-aggressions.…
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Dan Weiss’s Morning Coffee
Hello there, eight new spiders. It’s almost 2015, where’s my floating French super city? Here’s your psych ward ruin porn for the week. Plankton! Are neat! And now, accidental deaths in Tudor England.
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What About Bob?
The King of the Sidetrack, the Master of the Interview Hijack, a Self-Described Hack and One Lovable Sad Sack, Mister Bob Mack
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The Human Monster
[Julia seemed like] a monster to the whole world, an abnormality put on display for money, someone who had been taught a few artistic turns, like a trained animal. [But] for the few who knew her better, she was a…
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Birds of Paradise
Over at Fader, Scott McClanahan tells us about the time a country music singer completely destroyed his marriage: I tried explaining it to her as best as I could. I told her Little Jimmy was one of West Virginia’s only…
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The Companionship of Books
For Words without Borders, Can Xue describes her father’s “serious books” and how having them as companions led her to a “genuine spiritual pursuit.”
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The Optimistic Bear
Paddington Bear, the iconic British children’s book character, finds himself in a new film adaptation this year. The Guardian spoke with Paddington’s creator, the 88-year-old Michael Bond. With 35 million books in print in more than 40 languages, Paddington has…
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TED WILSON REVIEWS THE WORLD #261
A BABY I SAW ★★★★★ Hello, and welcome to my week-by-week review of everything in the world. Today I am reviewing a baby I saw.
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Closet Gamer
At Vice, Jagger Gravning gives us a profile of Alexey Pajitnov—the man who subverted his KGB-era career, completely changed the interface of digital entertainment, and created Tetris, eventually, when he had time at night.