In this new series, Julia Langbein describes a book that does not exist: a book based on a recent curiosity from the real world; a book that, ideally, you will write. Today, she urges you to immortalize the uniquely American story of a quasi-Italian dish reconstructed in smalltown Wisconsin and marketed as the choice of noose-bound cowboys.
Read MoreFor every Beiber and Boo Boo, there's a handful of genuinely good shows, bands, books and blogs you may skip over simply because they’re marketed towards the younger set. To keep you “jiggy” (am I saying that right?) with today’s youth, here are five of the best things out there that may have flown under your radar.
Read MoreGeorge Saunders, whose new short story collection, Tenth of December, has already dashed the hopes of just about anyone publishing a book this year, is currently taking a victory lap through New York. Whether you're a first-time visitor to GeorgeSaundersLand or a seasoned explorer, here’s a handy guide to a few of the pyrotechnic author’s greatest hits, complete with links to longer reads.
Read MoreTwo events are converging this week: the arrival of George Saunders' new book, Tenth of December, which the Times has already called “The Best Book You’ll Read This Year,” and the initial descent of our New Year's resolutions into secret shame and self-loathing. I thought it’d be apt to collect some Saunders quotes that illustrate our most popular resolutions — and the failure and small victories that shadow them.
Read MoreEveryone from Galileo to Jim Morrison to countless Scrabble wordsmiths have played around with letters to form their perfect anagrams. We take literary-minded words and anagram them to find ... well, that's up to you. A deeper meaning? A hidden truth? Or just a happy coincidence?
Read MoreWhen Black Balloon assigned me to revisit the
genre of chick lit through the lens of modern authors, one of my editors said, “Tell her to drink a
lot of wine.” Never one to ignore editorial direction, that’s what I did. Then I invited Dorothy Parker, Gertrude Stein, and e.e. cummings to help me out with my review.
My mind kept jumping around as I made my way through Me and the Devil's brutal sex scenes and curmudgeonly rants — not to mention the long dialogue between the two titular characters, during which the narrator keeps vomiting ghost-rats. By the end, I had scribbled down a handful of ways to approach the book, which I present to you now.
Read MoreWhile some artists dazzle the world with their debut offerings, others create their greatest works, or score their greatest commercial successes, late in their careers. Whether you're a fugitive filmmaker, a cab-driving composer, or a writer on a sixty-year losing streak, it's amazing what a little perspective can do.
Read MoreWhether you're wedged into a coach-class seat or sprawled on your parents' couch, here are my recommendations for gargantuan books — from Homer to Pynchon — that'll get you through the next couple weeks.
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