• This is Allen Ginsberg’s reading list for his class “Literary History of the Beats.” (Yes, he is on it.)
• RIP children’s author Bernard Waber, who brought us Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile.
• Australia’s Qantas Airlines is introducing a series of novels, Stories for Every Journey, designed to last the duration of each flight. (Well, not every journey; this seems to be specifically aimed at the “Bronze to Platinum One” customers.)
• “‘Let me use your reading material as an impetus for awkward conversation’ is a time-honored tactic of creepers the world over.” A plea to be left in peace. [Editor’s note: That said, being randomly asked, in a Left Bank branch of Paul bakery, if I was reading “a novel of old Paris” remains one of the highlights of my life.]