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01 Sep 2010 09:12
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"How to Become a Scandal": Why America can't get enough scandal
It was the road trip that launched a million Pampers jokes. In 2007, …
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Jonathan Franzen's "Freedom": Brilliant portrait of our times
Now that we know that the world is filled with opinionated, neurotic …
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America's real school-safety problem
Last fall, a Delaware student was suspended from school after bringing …
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The New Social Novel
Tom Wolfe and other writers used to tell us about the state of America, …
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Dirty, Sexy Scenes from Meghan McCain's Book
From what she thinks of Sarah Palin to getting pulled over for speeding, …
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Best Movies and Books on Iraq
Not since Vietnam have so many books and movies been produced about an …
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Jonathan Franzen's Book Picks
The bestselling author picks four new novels that you shouldn't miss. …
A new issue of Edge is out. Alfred G. Cuzan (West Florida): Will the Republicans Retake the House in 2010? For the 10th-anniversary issue of The Chronicle Review, a series of scholars write about the defining idea of the next decade, including Jaron Lanier on the end of human specialness; Peter Singer on how the Internet will set you free; Yi-Fu Tuan on a new cosmopolitanism; Mary Beard on the Dark Ages — or, rather, how to prevent them; and Steve Landsburg on putting ideas to work. The Covenant: Francis Collins, a fervent Christian, thought he had resolved the stem-cell debate — a federal judge disagreed. Charlie Rose interviews Tony Judt from his home three weeks before his death of ALS. The newest Twitter celebrity is bright green, heavily
The Guardian's Books blog has begun its "Not the Booker Prize" competition, where you can nominate a book to win England's second most coveted literary award. Read the wonderfully wry terms and conditions (all twelve of them) before you vote, but think twice before nominating yourself: 2009's winner, Rana Dasgupta,
Path at Wakehurst Place Garden, England, 2004.
Photo by Paul Friel… MORE
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27 Aug 2010 07:42
Maisha Wester (BGSU): Forgetting to Re-member: "Post-racial" Amnesia and Racial History. Stuart Buck on his book Acting White: The Ironic Legacy of Desegregation. John McWhorter reviewsRace, Wrongs, and Remedies: Group Justice in the 21st Century by Amy Wax. The Justice Department just put out a report saying it has "made great progress" in its efforts to solve 109 cold cases involving civil rights murders — here's what the report doesn't tell you. White-on-black violence = hate crime, right? It's not that simple, despite this nation's legacy of race-based terrorism. A Racial Justice in the Age of Obama by Roy L. Brooks. From New Politics, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor on race and the Obama era. The Reinvention of the Reverend: Why the
Following Random House's e-book deal with Andrew Wylie earlier this week, Penguin is now negotiating with the super-agent about digital rights to books in Wylie's direct-to-Amazon Odyssey Editions. Insiders speculate that the deal with Random house nets up to 40 percent for backlist titles by Wylie's clients (a significant raise from the old 25 percent rate). According to the website The Bookseller, Wylie's
Joseph Highmore, Pamela Fainting, 1743, oil on canvas.
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26 Aug 2010 08:41
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"Were You Born on the Wrong Continent?": America's misguided culture of overwork
Since the start of the recession, the number of unemployed in the U.S. …
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Tao Lin: Lit "it boy" for the Internet age
Tao Lin is the next big thing in urban hipster lit. At least, so say …
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"Common as Air": The argument against intellectual property
Lewis Hyde's seminal work "The Gift," lauded by the likes of Margaret …
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"The Pain Chronicles": The science of pain
Melanie Thernstrom’s pain began inconspicuously, as a burning ache …
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Why William James Matters
On the centennial of the famed philosopher and psychologist's death, …
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Poet of Celebrity Addiction
A former hard-living musician, novelist Tony O'Neill has a new book …
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The Arab Lobby Rules America
Lost in all of the controversy over the ground zero mosque is the fact …
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New Dylan Recordings Unveiled
Today Columbia Records announced the release of two new sets of unreleased …
A new issueTheoria is out. From Signs, Karen Haworth (UWF): Paleosemiosis; and a of Cybersemiotics: Why Information is Not Enough! by Soren Brier. A documentary reveals the philosophy of parking lot attendants. Miss Not-So-Perfect USA: Although rocked by lasting scandal and controversy, pageants have continued to stay the course. As we hunch over computers in airless office cubicles, many of us wish we could take a break from our daily routine — but vacationing can be an anxious endeavor in its own right; the following books begin with pleasant holidays, but end up delivering something darker and more complex. From The Paris Review, Eric Banks keeps a culture diary this week. How do we choose a mate? What scientists are
Rick Gekoski's article about the Man Booker Prize gives you a real sense of the importance of British literary awards—or perhaps just the self-importance of authors nominated for them. Either way, the famously malcontent author Thomas Bernhard would have a field day mocking the pompousness (though he'd probably pocket the prize money anyway).
Vincent van Gogh's Corridor of Saint-Paul Asylum in Saint-Rémy, 1889
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20 Aug 2010 12:56
From The Big Money, Marion Maneker on the weird logic of paywall challengers. It really should be called the life and times of film director George Lucas: A review of Star Wars: Year by Year. Bart and Lisa Go Head-to-Head: This is a very quick test of your ability to make sense of some fairly simple data. Pascal Fouche, author of an encyclopaedia of the book, Dictionnaire encyclopedique du livre, discusses whether publishers are prepared for the challenge posed by the dematerialisation of the printed word. What’s wrong is the same thing that’s wrong with discrimination based on race, ethnicity, or gender: Beauty bias is the last frontier of acceptable bigotry. Looks can deceive: Why perception and reality don't always match up. And the World
Over at The Village Voice, Michael Musto devotes his entire column this week to his horrid situation with the publisher Alyson Books. Musto's Fork on the Left, Knife in the Back was supposed to be in stores on February 1st, but Alyson still hasn't published it, and hasn't been very forthcoming (at least not with Musto). We hope that Alyson, which is owned by Regent Media, sorts this out soon, because
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20 Aug 2010 02:21
From the Ryerson Review of Journalism, extreme J-school: From a safe distance, Chelsea Murray reports on courses where the real-life lessons are don't get killed or kidnapped or captured; though it may come as a shock to many in the business, not all journalism school graduates want to practice our honourable craft; in an environment of cutbacks and layoffs, some stick with the craft and others jump ship for better or worse results — Amy Fuller explores life after journalism; and these days, journalists have to be brand managers, too. From Neiman Reports, a special issue on The Digital Landscape: What’s next for news? The debate is always black and white: Put up a paywall or lose money — but the Daily Mail's website is getting so big it
Othello and Iago
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19 Aug 2010 12:04
SkepsiBad Behaviour in Medieval and Early Modern Europe. Social epidemiologist Paula Lantz reveals what actually leads to premature deaths among Americans — not obesity but poverty. From Vanity Fair, if you look for it, the romantic charm of Long Island’s South Fork does still exist. A Turn & Jump: How Time & Place Fell Apart by Howard Mansfield. What should you spend on to maximize your happiness? Leave It to Beaver is probably closer to real life for people today than many would admit. A review of Containing (un)American Bodies: Race, Sexuality, and Post-9/11 Constructions of Citizenship by Mary K. Bloodsworth-Lugo and Carmen Lugo-Lugo. A review of The Peasant Prince: Thaddeus Kosciuszko and the Age of
Barnes & Noble put itself up for sale on August 2. Now, B&N founder and chairman Leonardo Riggio has bought 990,740 shares of the company's stock—apparently in "an effort to strengthen his voting position for a likely proxy fight
English-speaking francophiles, rejoice: You can get a sneak peak at Lydia Davis's new
Walt Disney stamp, 1968
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17 Aug 2010 19:25
Axess, a special issue on German dreams. From Renewal, Al Coffee on Philip Pettit, republican theory and Spanish social democracy; and Katrine Kielos on the flight of the Swedish bumblebee. An article on Albania, Europe's problematic child. A The Portuguese Revolution: State and Class in the Transition to Democracy by Ronald H. Chilcote. Atlas Obscura profiles Petite Ceinture, the abandoned railway line circling the city of Paris. Romania's president wants to increase his country's population and is using an odd means to do so — the country is generously bestowing hundreds of thousands of Romanian passports on impoverished Moldovans. Boom and bust: Can the Baltic economies adjust and grow? Stories about the Roma portray them
Stephen Elliott has picked Jonathan Franzen's Freedom for his reading club at the Rumpus. The novel will go on sale August 28, and Elliott is clear about where you shouldn't buy it: "Books purchased from Barnes and Noble, Borders, and Amazon are ineligible."
Since Amazon opened its Kindle store in the UK in early August, ebook retailers there have entered into
Galatoire's Restaurant in New Orleans. Photo by Infrogmation
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16 Aug 2010 15:44
From New Humanist, an interview with Daniel Dennett and Linda LaScola on Christian ministers who have lost their faith but continue to preach; an interview with Rebecca Goldstein36 Arguments for the Existence of God, on her novel approach to religion (and ); and why is religion on the rise in so many different countries? A Society Without God: What the Least Religious Nations Can Tell Us About Contentment by Phil Zuckerman. From The Scriptorium, Allen Yeh on how to witness to postmodern Western atheists. Catholicism is hollowing out in its traditional European strongholds, but signs of intriguing new life are springing up at its periphery. Under the radar of most observers a trend is emerging of evangelicals converting
Jonathan Franzen doesn't like author videos. How do we know? He announced it—in an author video: "This might be a good place for me to register my profound discomfort at having to make videos like this."
Bill Clinton liked to read Walter Mosley. George Bush liked The Very Hungry Caterpillar. But what does Obama like (aside from Joseph O'Neill)? Here's his reading
Cover of Watson's Will You Die for Me?(Fleming H. Revell Company, 1978)
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16 Aug 2010 00:57
Devils Tower, Wyoming.
Photo by Bradley Davis… MORE
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15 Aug 2010 12:47
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