“Why do so many novels get adapted into screenplays at all, when their essential quality, the persuasive and enthralling power of prose, always must be stripped—and the final product is always left in some state of diminishment?” Ian Crouch on that modern institution, the miniseries. 

At three P.M., Toni Morrison is conducting a “digital book signing.” (Really more of a Google hangout, but still.)

What are the ten best books you’ve never read? (I, for one, have never finished The Ginger Man.)

While we’re ranking stuff: your favorite film about a writer? (Barton Fink.)

“Rather than limiting discussion of a certain book to a digital room in e-readers such as the Kobo or Kindle, Socialbook lets all your friends in your personal digital network know what you’re reading and invites them into the conversation. Furthermore, Socialbook puts participants right into the text of the book, where they can scribble notes in the digital margin of the book, highlight portions, pull out quotes and even rearrange the content.” To coin a phrase, “Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.”