Posts by author
Ian MacAllen
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Finding Dear Sugar’s Boot
During the opening scene of the adaptation of Cheryl Strayed‘s memoir, Wild, Reese Witherspoon throws her boot off a cliff. Now, a hiker along the Pacific Crest Trail has located a boot he believes is Witherspoon’s.
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Lost in Translation, Lost in Context
PEN America generated quite a controversy when it decided to honor French satirical paper Charlie Hebdo. Six authors called for a boycott of the gala and circulated a petition slamming the organization. Other authors, like Salman Rushdie, criticized the critics.…
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The Rise of the Private Library
The American public library system has been one of the earliest victims of conservative austerity. But while the public library system slowly collapses, a new modern iteration of the members-only lending library has risen. These specialized libraries collect fees from…
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A Philip Roth for a New Generation
Superficially, Philip Roth and Paul Beatty might appear as polar opposites. But over at Forward, Hannah Assouline argues that Beatty could be Roth’s literary heir. Assouline calls Beatty’s latest novel, The Sellout, a “generation’s answer to Roth,” and compares the novel to…
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Too Many Books?
Each holiday season, Icelandic readers enjoy the jólabókaflóð. This seemingly unpronounceable word is best translated as the Christmas Book Flood, a tradition of a rush of new books released in time for Christmas. Icelanders have been giving each other books…
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Notable NYC: 5/9–5/15
Saturday 5/9: Lewis Freedman and Alli Warren join the Segue Series. Zinc Bar, 4:30 p.m., $5. Sunday 5/10: Anne Enright launches The Green Road. McNally Jackson, 7 p.m., free. Morgan Parker, Ryan Britt, Britt Gambino, Emily Yoon, Karolina Manko, and…
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Libraries, Now in 3D
3D printers are the latest accessory arriving in modern public libraries. However, just like when libraries introduced technologies such as the Internet, 3D printers raise concerns over what the public should be allowed to do with the equipment. NPR takes…
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McSweeney’s Seeks Donations
The 18-year-old independent publisher McSweeney’s is looking to raise some money for a new wave of projects. The publisher of Timothy McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern, The Believer, The Organist podcast, and more has launched a Kickstarter campaign, with plenty of rewards (including book…
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Try, Try Again
Missouri Review editor Michael Nye explains the importance of persistence when it comes to submitting to literary journals, saying that editors do begin to recognize the names and writing of long-time submitters. The argument might seem self-serving, however, given that…
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Finding Kurtz
Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is driven by the search and discovery of Kurtz, the man turned mad by Africa. Kurtz is the pale white colonizer who rapes the continent, is also worshiped by the native population, and provides fodder…
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Notable NYC: 5/2–5/8
Saturday 5/2: Independent Bookstore Day: Events are being held throughout the day at your neighborhood bookstore. The following stores are hosting special events: WORD; Housing Works; McNally Jackson; Greenlight Bookstore; BookCourt; Community Bookstore; The Strand; BookCulture; Astoria Bookshop. Emma Straub, Jami…
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A World Without Libraries
Libraries are under threat, and those that want to survive will need to modernize. But what does the world look like if libraries change too much, or cease to exist at all? Over at Huffington Post, Lindsey Drager examines what…