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But this sense of being able to open yourself up to wonder is something you can do at any age. You just have to open yourself to it. Frankly, for me, it’s a whole lot easier to do that when you’re out in the middle of nowhere, you’re cold and you’re hungry.
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As we go, we are breathlessly held in an in-between state, a limbo, a transition.
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My job was to help people suspend disbelief.
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Perfection over pasta. Beauty over bread. The more it hurt, the better.
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Indie bookstore news from across the country and around the world!
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“We need narrative patterns to understand reality.”
...moreIndie bookstore news from across the country and around the world!
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The trick is to pinpoint the time of the cycle, not to try to solve the mystery in the undertow. And to understand that everything needs time; you have to position yourself, warm up.
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“Love,” then is not to be taken lightly here. It is being engaged at full force, megaphonically.
...moreOver the weekend, journalists announced a leak of 11.5 million files from the law firm of Mossack Fonseca, a Panama-based law firm specializing in corporations designed to take advantage of offshore tax havens. On April 1st, Mossack Fonseca sent a warning letter to clients suggesting they had suffered a data breach. It was no April […]
...moreHolland isn’t the only Northern European country with unusual Christmas traditions. Icelanders pride themselves on being a nation of readers—93% of residents read at least one book a year, and one in ten publishes one in his or her lifetime. How does a nation create such a preponderance of readers? Why, the annual Jólabókaflóð, or […]
...moreLike the glaciers that cover much of the country, Iceland is covered with thick layers of stories. And like the volcanoes that roil beneath that icy crust, more stories are forming, ready to create a new geography. The New York Times travel section featured an article about Iceland’s culture of storytelling, Reykjavik’s literary scene, and […]
...moreIn conjunction with the Heart of Iceland organization, Bjork is calling for an eleven-day global protest against international efforts to build power lines that would facilitate a plan to transport energy from Iceland’s volcanos to England. Read more about the issue via Consequence of Sound and watch a video of the artist explaining her position […]
...moreEach 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 at Christmas since the Second World War when imports were expensive and scarce. The result […]
...moreEver wondered how the Icelandic goats in Games of Thrones almost went extinct? Justin Taylor did, and he explores the answer at Pacific Standard.
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The Rumpus talks to Jon Hopkins about his new album, Asleep Versions, about songwriting, recording, and music, and about cooking dinner, sort of.
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Debut novelist Will Chancellor talks about successful satire, destroying drafts of A Brave Man Seven Storeys Tall to get to the finished version, and the advantages of fiction over competing media.
...moreIceland’s most famous comedian ran for mayor of Reykjavic, and won…
...moreThe Daily Beast published an interactive infographic, mapping out where “women are winning.” “Winning” is measured along the lines of justice, health, education, economy and power. Iceland is apparently full of female champions.
...moreHi all, I’ll be out the next few weeks to finish up school, but I’ll return in the New Year. In the meantime, Michael Berger will be taking over for me on Sundays. He’s a good guy, that Michael Berger. Erik Prince, “head of Blackwater” and “a participant in the C.I.A. assassination program,” is still […]
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