The shortlist for the Man Asian literary prize has been announced, and it features two authors who’ve already clashed during the Man Booker. (Source)
The New York Times has a fascinating piece on the book boys of Mumbai. (Source)
Sylvia Plath
The Independent has an article on the Sylvia Plath “curse”. Fascinating stuff, especially when it comes to the Hughes side of the equation. (Source)
Friends of mine know I love me some fries from McDonalds as much as I love my books. In the UK, they’ve put those two things together. Why do I live here again? (Source)
Will everything we own end up in the cloud? The Independent talks about a generation that has dumped paper books for Kindles, among other things. (Source)
The Guardian seems to think that The Independent is right, as it reports that the sale of printed books in the UK has sunk to a nine-year low. (Source)
Saladin Ahmed, author of “Throne of the Crescent Moon“, writes about world-building in fantasy fiction over at National Public Radio. (Source)
Thoughts that went through my head while reading Flavorpill’s 30 Most Anticipated Books fo 2013: “Oooh, new Maurice Sendak! NEW NABOKOV WAT?!? OMG FINALLY NEW MARISHA PESSL (possibly)!” (Source)
Take a look at these examples of literary graffiti from all over the world. (Source)
Check out the set of literature inspired tees being sold over at Out of Print Clothing! I especially liked the “Lolita”, “A Clockwork Orange”, and “The Master and Margerita” ones! (Source)
Potter fans looking to get themselves ebook copies of all the seven books will probably have to wait for a little while longer as the people behind it reveal that problems at Pottermore have delayed the initial October release. (Source)
Swedish poet Tomas Tranströmer has won the 2011 Nobel Prize for Literature — and he’s playing the piano during the event as well. (Source 1, Source 2)
The Guardian has an interview with Maurice Sendak that basically reveals the children’s book author has a way with insults. Here’s a sampling:
“Ebooks: ‘I hate them. It’s like making believe there’s another kind of sex. There isn’t another kind of sex. There isn’t another kind of book! A book is a book is a book.’
Of Salman Rushdie, who once gave him a terrible review in the New York Times, he says: ‘That flaccid fuckhead. He was detestable. I called up the Ayatollah, nobody knows that.’
Gwyneth Paltrow: ‘I can’t stand her.’
Just in case you haven’t had enough of the vampire novels aimed for young adults (YA), Holly Black has announced that she is coming out with a vampire novel titled “The Coldest Girl in Coldtown”. (Source)
He's a librarian with tattoos. MY HEART.
Finally, is any one of you interested in perusing a calendar featuring librarians in various states of undress? I don’t know about you guys, but I am down for this. Sexual orientation is mostly indeterminate, so score another point for me! (Source 1, Source 2)
I’m a twentysomething who loves reading books, whether they’re good or bad. I started out stealing books; now I review them.
