Is it ever too soon to criticize?
In today’s news, discover new short fiction from famous writers, learn about Michael Cunningham’s need for gore, and question the current state of political publishing. And if that sounds too serious, check out NPR’s list of “racy reads” from 1969.
- The Guardian’s “Summer Short Story Special” is out, with stories from A.M. Homes, Dave Eggers, David Mitchell, William Boyd, and Julie Myerson written specially for the feature. It also includes 6 stories from the Guardian’s short fiction contest winners. Whether you have 5 minutes or 60, there’s time to read a story or two, so check it out!
- Have you noticed the recent on-slaught of books criticising the Obama presidency? Noting the short amount of time Obama has actually been in office and the months of research that typically go into a book, Short Stack wonders how exactly these books were accomplished. Quoting Bill Maher, it lists other books Maher calls “slightly premature,” such as “Failure: Why the Obama Girls Never Amounted to Anything.” The sad part is, that suggestion probably lit a lightbulb in some publisher’s head, and the hardcover of Failure will be rushed out next month.
- Entertainment Weekly‘s new book blog, Shelf Life, has an interview with Michael Cunningham in which the author discusses his upcoming novel Olympia, Nicole Kidman (who he refers to simply as “Nicole”), and his love of horror movies. Apparently, he and Amy Hempel “will go to any hack-’em-up movie, the gorier the better.” Maybe that explains some of the heartwrenching scenes in The Hours, though his tragedy is much more subtle than the corn syrup and red food coloring thing.
- This week on “Three Books,” NPR focuses on the year 1969, selecting three titles published that year that highlight what was going on in American culture. Looking past Vonnegut and Roth, the feature selects less famous titles that deal with everything from race to sex, including Nabokov’s Ada, or Ardor. Read about all three selections in the article, “1969: Racy Reads From A Landmark Year.”
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