Monetary Support for Indie Bookstores
Anybody who appreciates the community value of their local independent bookstore knows about the monetary pressure imposed by Amazon and internet-based competitors. So if you really appreciate the value of…
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Sam Riley
474 posts
Sam Riley is an adult who works at McSweeney's.
Soulful Videos for a Soulful Sound
UbuWeb’s got some sonically-stimulating films of musician Arthur Russell, directed by Phill Niblock. This one is the first of a series of two films (20-30 minutes long), a soulful visual…
Burning Books
The contemporary burning of books is taking on a new significance. Burning books is an act historically associated with censorship and limited freedoms, a symptom of an overpowering and centralized…
Life as an Undocumented Immigrant
Jose Antonio Vargas considers his life as an undocumented immigrant in the NY Times Magazine, tracing back his entrance into the US as a twelve year-old, to his college graduation…
Beautiful Sounds and Lyrics to Match
Check these first drafts, artfully constructed by The Mountain Goats’ front man, John Darnielle. He relays to the Atlantic, the challenges and the emotionally fraught state from which his music…
Reading on Vacation
Writers reflect on the vacation reading or yesteryear. You find out about Ester Freud’s beach days, which were long enough to allow an entire devouring of Anna Karenina. Also, hear…
Rewire Your Brain
Now body hacking exists! A new startup focused on “rewiring your brain” accounts for your caloric intake, exercise habits and sleep patterns, all to make you into a happier person.…
Those Presumptuous Blurbs
How do you pare down a novel into a pithy, attractive two-to-three word sentence? Nobody has really mastered the art of the back cover blurb and many esteemed literary figures…
How To Title Your Book
Title-stress is apparently really common. This being so, authors have responded by finding various methods to assuage the agony and test the waters before finalizing the name of their work…
More Writers Taking TV Turns
Veteran director, Darren Aronofsky, is directing a new television series called “Hobgoblin.” How is this piece of news relevant to the literary community? Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman are writing…
Where Has All the Anonymity Gone?
What are the cultural consequences of cell phone cameras, social media websites, and online photo hosts? The degradation of anonymity and an obscured understanding of privacy. It’s shockingly simple to…