Are wedding announcements inherently funny?
In case you’ve missed the last few weeks of posts, we have even more summer reading recommendations for you! Today’s links also include advice on how to stay on Sherman Alexie’s good side and cure yourself from New York Times wedding-section-induced depression. And for young sports fans, David Beckham has a line of how-to books coming out for young readers (get your mind out of the gossip-mag gutter, the books are about soccer). Details below…
- In an article on summer reading, the Wall Street Journal mentions the state of the economy and reasons, “If ever we’ve needed a healthy dose of escapism, this summer is it.” While we don’t think it should take financial meltdown to encourage people to read, the article puts forth a strong batch of recommendations for summer. The chosen books are displayed in an interactive guide to both fiction and nonfiction that includes summaries and excerpts.
- What’s one thing that can send Sherman Alexie into a frothing, violent rage? Amazon’s Kindle. During a BEA panel, Alexie caused quite the scandal when he said he “wanted to hit” a woman on his plane using the device. He has since apologized for his unabashed hatred and attributed his reaction to the Kindle to the important role physical books played in his childhood. For more about the incident and how it might actually lead to the digitization of Alexie’s book, see the Omnivoracious post.
- For those of you following the debate about the alleged Catcher in the Rye sequel, 60 Years Later: Coming Through the Rye, it seems there is little to no chance of the book actually being published and distributed. Lawyers representing J.D. Salinger’s estate are calling it a “copycat book” that infringes on copyright laws. The book would have followed an older Holden Caulfield, replacing prep school with a nursing home, but it seems Holden will remain a teenager, after all. Jacket Copy has the full story.
- Do the New York Times wedding announcements make you nauseous? Then the Kasper Hauser comedy group has the cure. NPR reports on the satire Weddings of the Times, which is a series of faux wedding announcements in the style of the Times, but with more humorous, less glamorous, and sometimes non-human subjects. According to principal author Rob Baedeker, “The inspiration comes from that primal feeling one gets when one sees a perfect picture, which is to scribble a mustache on it or draw some sunglasses on it like you did when you were a kid.” Scribble on, Rob.
- And just for fun, John Crace of the Guardian gives a rendering of what he imagines the new line of David Beckham books to be like. The real books (published next month for kids interested in following in Beckham’s footsteps) probably have fewer swear words and Posh Spice mentions.
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