I intended to link to it yesterday, but this week at the Litblog Co-Op, folks are discussing Marshall Klimasewiski’s The Cottagers. There’s talk of horrible vacations and, on Friday, a podcast interview will follow.
Charles Shields reveals how he used the Internet to conduct research for his Harper Lee biography.
George Eliot’s letters to Henry Lewes have gone online. You can access the letters here. My only question: why didn’t they do this in the middle of March?
Kathleen Parker: “People who read books are different from other people. They’re smarter for one thing. They’re more sensual for another. They like to hold, touch and smell what they read.” What Parker didn’t tell you is that some “people who read books” can also be found in criminal databases and some of the more unsullied readers are prone to displays of snobbery. I’ve known some pretty smart and sensual people who don’t read in my time and have even managed to get more than a few of them attracted to books. Largely because I was able to assure many of them that I was a schmuck. The key to getting people to read is to be humble and to listen very carefully to people. Then you can figure out what kind of books they’re likely to go crazy over. (via Bookslut)
Niall Griffiths revisits Cormac McCarthy’s The Road and finds that there’s more inside the book than during his initial read. I’d like to see more newspapers do this. Litblogs are often accused of rushing out their posts (and I would agree with this to some degree), but many print critics are equally celeritous in banging out their reviews to meet deadlines. Because of these conditions, I have to ask whether a book like Pynchon’s Against the Day really received a fair reception, or, for that matter, whether most books are fairly assessed in today’s environment. Mr. Asher has more to say about the socioeconomics of book reviewing.
I got the tip from Maxine, but it appears that Lindsay Anderson’s if… is getting the Criterion treatment. Now if they can somehow get Anderson’s other masterpiece O Lucky Man! onto DVD, we’ll all be very lucky.
Mother Jones: “By the end of the century, half of all species on Earth may be extinct. Who will survive the world’s dwindling biodiversity, and why?” (via Isak)
I agree with Lev Grossman. The X-Files has run its course.
4 Comments
I agree with you about the snobby article about reading. I agree people should read more and literature is good, but reading books doesn’t make a person superior.
There seems to be a lot of importance placed on reading fiction books as a measure of knowledge these days. This article (correct me if I’m wrong) seems to point to fiction as the path to knowledge. Personally, I don’t have the time or patience to finish many books, and the books I read are rarely fiction. I do read all day long though, mostly news (online and print), stuff online and articles/books for college. The books I read for fun are usually non-fiction (although I do read fiction sometimes). Does that mean my brain is deteriorating? I don’t think so. I still feel somewhat of a inferiority complex because I don’t read a lot of fiction books though. For me, I guess I get a lot of fiction stories from films, and that takes away a need for read fiction. Maybe films are killing literature?
I also disagree about the X-Files, I’ve gotten into watching that show again (they play it a lot on cable late at night) and I’m dying to see another film! Even if it sucks, it would feel good to know they at least tried. It won’t make the older shows worse.
Scooby Doo manga is wrong. So is Rich Little.
Get “siller” with the triller, G (as in Grossman).
I can’t figure out whether cable is airing only the bad X-Files reruns, or if every episode was that way. I don’t remember much from 7th grade. Maybe one of these days, scientists will find that hormones are good for erasing memory. Either way, I won’t be seeing that sequel.
I have a hard enough time deciding whether to see the Simpsons movie.
I remember saying that The X-Files was going to be my generation’s equivalent of the original Star Trek. Seems like it’s right on schedule.
(Yes, that prediction was in part an unflattering comment on David Duchovny’s abilities, specificaly that he is about as much of an actor as William Shatner.)
They’ve been re-running a lot of the later conspiracy episodes lately, which aren’t as good (in my opinion) as the older stand-alone episodes.
I agree with you about the snobby article about reading. I agree people should read more and literature is good, but reading books doesn’t make a person superior.
There seems to be a lot of importance placed on reading fiction books as a measure of knowledge these days. This article (correct me if I’m wrong) seems to point to fiction as the path to knowledge. Personally, I don’t have the time or patience to finish many books, and the books I read are rarely fiction. I do read all day long though, mostly news (online and print), stuff online and articles/books for college. The books I read for fun are usually non-fiction (although I do read fiction sometimes). Does that mean my brain is deteriorating? I don’t think so. I still feel somewhat of a inferiority complex because I don’t read a lot of fiction books though. For me, I guess I get a lot of fiction stories from films, and that takes away a need for read fiction. Maybe films are killing literature?
I also disagree about the X-Files, I’ve gotten into watching that show again (they play it a lot on cable late at night) and I’m dying to see another film! Even if it sucks, it would feel good to know they at least tried. It won’t make the older shows worse.
Scooby Doo manga is wrong. So is Rich Little.
Get “siller” with the triller, G (as in Grossman).
I can’t figure out whether cable is airing only the bad X-Files reruns, or if every episode was that way. I don’t remember much from 7th grade. Maybe one of these days, scientists will find that hormones are good for erasing memory. Either way, I won’t be seeing that sequel.
I have a hard enough time deciding whether to see the Simpsons movie.
I remember saying that The X-Files was going to be my generation’s equivalent of the original Star Trek. Seems like it’s right on schedule.
(Yes, that prediction was in part an unflattering comment on David Duchovny’s abilities, specificaly that he is about as much of an actor as William Shatner.)
They’ve been re-running a lot of the later conspiracy episodes lately, which aren’t as good (in my opinion) as the older stand-alone episodes.