September 30, 2013 On the Shelf Man with Van of La Mancha, and Other News By Sadie Stein In honor of the seventy-fifth anniversary of The Grapes of Wrath, playwright Octavio Solis, writer Patricia Wakida, and filmmaker P. J. Palmer will retrace the Oklahoma-to-California journey of the Joad family. Along Route 66, they plan to collect oral histories, documenting the ten-day journey on social media. Meanwhile, photographer Jacob Robinson takes to La Mancha (and Kickstarter) to “capture the spirit of Don Quixote” for the Visual Editions project. Helen Fielding has killed off Mark Darcy, leaving Bridget Jones a widow; readers are in shock. Garrison Keillor has penned his first book of poetry: O, What a Luxury: Verses Lyrical, Vulgar, Pathetic and Profound.
September 27, 2013 On the Shelf Banned Books, Mugging, and Other News By Sadie Stein The beleaguered Edgar Allan Poe House, in Baltimore, will re-open to visitors weekends in October, prior to its official reopening in spring 2014. A survey conducted by the National Endowment for the Arts finds, depressingly, that less than half of respondents read a book for pleasure in 2012. “When it became Scotland’s National Book Town 15 years ago, it was a place suffering from the decline of traditional industries.” A visit to the Wigtown Book Festival, “a place saved by books.” Banned books mug shots.
September 26, 2013 On the Shelf Two Shades of Wine, and Other News By Sadie Stein “Wine plays an important role in Fifty Shades of Grey. I’ve always had a penchant for good wine, so combining two of my passions … was a natural extension of the series.” The foremost entrepreneur of our times, E. L. James, is launching a line of wines. Soon to be received by anyone who has the ill fortune to invite me to dinner. This banned-books tote—which features fifty banned titles—is a striking reminder that goes beyond Banned Books Week. University of Toronto professor David Gilmour has, not shockingly, stirred up controversy by stating in an interview that he is “not interested in teaching books by women.” And, “I don’t love women writers enough to teach them, if you want women writers go down the hall.” And, just in case that wasn’t clear, “What I teach is guys. Serious heterosexual guys … F. Scott Fitzgerald, Chekhov, Tolstoy. Real guy-guys.” Lolita, Twilight, and eight other best-sellers that were initially rejected by publishers. What hath the Romans wrought? A concise history of the hashtag.
September 25, 2013 On the Shelf The Fearsome Captain Underpants, and Other News By Sadie Stein Herewith, the most-challenged books of 2013. Leading the pack is Captain Underpants. Virgule, pilcrow, and other extinct punctuation. “You can imagine a modern-day Charlotte Brontë writing embarrassing confessional scenes about masturbation, Lena Dunham–style, or a bit like Sheila Heti—and not understanding why other people found it all a bit much.” Moira Redmond on sex scenes that might have been. Lady Antonia Fraser has resigned from the Man Booker advisory committee following their announcement that the prize is going international.
September 24, 2013 On the Shelf WTF, and Other News By Sadie Stein Poet Kofi Awoonor was among the victims of the Nairobi terrorist attacks. The African Poetry Book Fund will publish his final collection next year. Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal runs one of his last poems. Following charges of author-bullying, Goodreads has declared that, going forward, it will “delete content focused on author behavior.” China is establishing a naming system for seabed areas based on the oldest known collection of Chinese poetry, Classic of Poetry, also known as the Book of Odes, which dates from the eleventh to seventh centuries B.C. A concise history of WTF.
September 23, 2013 On the Shelf Harper Lee Versus the Museum, and Other News By Sadie Stein Fresh on the heels of her recent settlement, eighty-seven-year-old Harper Lee is now at loggerheads with the Monroe County Heritage Museum in her hometown of Monroeville. The small museum is largely devoted to To Kill a Mockingbird; Lee is seeking a trademark for the words when used on clothing and souvenirs. The museum, for its part, contends that these sales are vital to its continued operation. “The only thing I ever walked out of was Dr. Doolittle with Eddie Murphy … It’s remarkable what I’ll sit through—it really is.” David Sedaris talks movies. “Few writers in any genre, fiction or nonfiction, have described the workings of white-collar crime with such clarity and precision.” An appreciation of John D. MacDonald. Speaking of: Gerald Kersh, “a prolific, strange, and compelling writer who avoided any taint of respectability.” Just in time for Banned Books Week, North Carolina County has voted to ban Invisible Man.