Posts by author
Adam Keller
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Probing into the Space Between
At the New York Times, Karl Ove Knausgaard describes how Joyce’s Portrait included him in literature’s potential in a way that Ulysses didn’t: In “Portrait,” Joyce ventures inside that part of our identity for which no language yet exists, probing into…
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Unshelf, Flip Open, Drop Out
Hua Hsu peers beneath the surface of Jesse Jarnow’s new book, a comprehensive history of LSD and the countercultural forces it inspired.
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Wrong, Wrong, Wrong, Wrong
Everyone is wrong at times, even people who are paid lots of money to be right. The 1984 book The Experts Speak collected thousands of wrong statements and predictions, and reading it can ease one’s anxieties about being incorrect: The…
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I’m Sorry, Hal
Robotics have come a long way in the last century, but even Siri can’t lay claim to impeccable British manners. The British Science Museum is crowdfunding a replica of the UK’s original talking robot, Eric.
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Splain And Simple Truth
I’m sure you’re familiar with the concept of mansplaining, but just in case you’re not, here are some examples of ways to clarify that you’re not being patronizing. I’d be interested to hear what you think.
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Crisis Poetics
In the midst of the Greek debt crisis and its repercussions, many writers are using the country’s economic downturn as fuel for a poetic renaissance: In a country where there is less to go around across the board – including…
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Power Ballards
If you could bring one J.G. Ballard novel to a deserted island, what would it be? Although the film adaptations of Crash and the upcoming High-Rise might make those popular choices, Jason Guriel argues that Concrete Island deserves to be…
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No Cooties Allowed
The New York Times published a profile of exclusively male book clubs. You could read it, or you could skim this highlight reel of the most obnoxious quotes from the original article.
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Inn Comprehensible
As a writer who frequently travels, Cory Doctorow has some choice words for the nation’s innkeepers.
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Wiki One Percent
Jennifer Ouellette reports on recent studies of Wikipedia’s editorial hierarchy. While the site was founded on democratic ideals, the reality has turned into something quite different: Their analysis demonstrates that Wikipedia is actually quite conservative from an evolutionary standpoint: it…
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When Life Gives Critics Lemons
In the New Yorker, Richard Brody laments how little coverage there is of independent film in mainstream media. If film culture is to change for the better, he argues, critics need to step out of their comfort zone and focus…