This Week in Books Everything Happens

I haven't done one of these posts in a very long time and remain very dubious as to  their popularity among my blog readers, but nevertheless, this week in books was simply too exciting to ignore.

So the trailer for 'The End of the Tour' is here, and it doesn't even look bad; actually, it looks like it might be quite good, which is absolutely crazy because a movie based on David Foster Wallace seemed like such a terrible idea. Maybe when I finally get around to finishing War and Peace I can dive in to Infinite Jest as my next big fat book selection.

I am officially a stan for Brit Bennet, and not just because she's currently a Hellen Zell Writers Program fellow at the University of Michigan, my alma mater. Nor is it because I discovered her on Twitter when we attended the same Roxane Gay reading at Literati (although those two things instantly make me like someone). It's because of stuff like this, her incredible new essay on Addy Walker of the American Girl dolls and what role black dolls play in racial identity. Her book can't get her soon enough...

Margaret Atwood has submitted her Future Library manuscript, which won't be read by anyone for one hundred years. This is extremely magical but also very upsetting, because I bet it's good and I bet I won't live that long. Also, shout-out to that incredible Hollinger box she put the manuscript in -- as an archivist, I have a deep appreciation for acid-free metal-edged boxes.

I have no explanation for the lack of video, but I'll follow-up on this because I'm very anxious to see it -- Roxane Gay spoke at TEDWomen 2015 last night, and everything I've heard about it is incredible; it kind of reminds me of another very important TedTalk from a woman author of color that ignited Beyonce-wave feminism. 

Finally, Saeed Jones, whose debut book of poetry I read back in March, published a great essay on being black in the publishing world. This was actually posted back in April and somehow I missed it, but kudos to NPR's Code Switch for sharing.

This Week in Books Kim Gordon Talks to Carrie Brownstein

I haven't done a 'This Week in Books' post in a few weeks; it's one part apathy, one part late-winter depression, but March is here and it's 50 degrees out and my snowdrop bulbs started popping up, so I'm back and ready to round up.

The folks working on the Joan Didion document 'We Tell Ourselves Stories in Order to Live' have made a nice pseudo-trailer/fundraiser video. If you've already donated, it gives you a better idea of what the finished product will look like.

The National Book Critics Circle Awards were handed out this week, with top prizes going to Marilynne Robinson and Roz Chast. I don't know why, but I feel a sense of accomplishment when a book or author I've read wins a major award. It's validating of how I spent that time, I guess.

My post on Kim Gordon's memoir Girl in a Band is forthcoming, but in the meantime you can watch this terrific interview between Kim Gordon and Sleater Kinney/Portlandia's Carrie Brownstein.

This Week in Books Patti Smith Talks to David Lynch

Emma Watson has been confirmed as playing the role of Belle in the upcoming live-action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast; I'm not really a fan of these live-action remakes of Disney movies, but Belle is the most bookish Disney princess and Emma Watson is a global advocate for feminism, so this is tolerable news.

Paul Thomas Anderson has been doing lots of interviews as part of the press tour for 'Inherent Vice,' (which is excellent), and has been talking about his experience at Emerson University in a class taught by Professor David Foster Wallace. Along with the shocking early Oscar-buzz for Jason Segel's portrayal of DFW in an upcoming film, this might just be the year that I force myself to read Infinite Jest. (Possible future Big Fat Book selection?)

Do you want to watch a video of Patti Smith interviewing David Lynch? Topics of conversation include the creative process, Pussy Riot, and Twin Peaks.

This Week in Books Jane and Elizabeth Have a Cage Match

Because The Toast is the most excellent source of original content and writing on the Internet, they've naturally begun a new series of "Literary Ladies Cage Fights," with the first face-off between Elizabeth Benett and Jane Eyre. Round One is division into Harry Potter houses, because of course it is. FYI, the new Sleater-Kinney album makes a good soundtrack while you read it.

The National Book Critics Circle Awards finalists for 2014 were just announced, and the list is incredibly solid. Is is just me or was 2014 a fantastic year for writing? I'm especially happy to see Saeed Jones' Prelude to Bruise on the list, as well as a lot of books from independent publishers.

Everyone is apparently hosting gigantic book clubs now, and NPR's Morning Edition is the latest to jump on the bandwagon, although I can already say they are doing it better than so many others. The first selection was made by author and bookstore owner Ann Patchett, and she chose (National Book Critics Circle Awards finalist1) Deep Dark Down by Hector Tobar, a true account of the 2010 rescue of 33 Chilean miners. David Green hosted Patchett and Tobar in a discussion that included audience questions from Twitter, and it was a really nice treat on my morning commute. I definitely want to read the book now, and to find out what they'll be reading next.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has a short story available on the Medium. This requires no further explanation.

Finally, Rachel Kushner, author of the excellent novel The Flamethrowers, has an essay over at the London Review of Books on the Costa Concordia wreck. Not particularly "literary," or newsworthy, just a great essay from a great writer

This Week in Books is Rather Slow...

As I mentioned recently, Facebook has a book club; not surprisingly, the first "meeting" did not go well, due largely to Facebook's algorithms, which did not display comments or questions in any kind of logical order. By the way, if the idea of online book clubs intrigue you, I highly recommend The Atlantic's version, 1Book140.

The American Scholar put together a list of neglected novels that ought to be considered "classics." I strongly agree with the Elizabeth Gaskell pick; just this week I read an essay in which Gaskell was carelessly tossed aside for being less great than Jane Austen. No one is as great as Jane Austen, and Elizabeth Gaskell was a terrific writer.

The Shortlist for the 2015 Tournament of Books has been announced (actually it was out a few weeks ago, I just wasn't paying attention). I've only read one book on the list, but I've got Elena Ferrante's first Neapolitan novel and Station Eleven on the Kindle. Winners will be determined in March.

This Week in Books the Apotheosis of Joan Didion

Huraki Murakami's publisher has announced that the until now reclusive and shy author has deicded to answer questions from readers on his site "Mr. Murakami's Place." Naturally, questions will be answered in multiple languages and fans can submit questions on any subject, including solicitations for advice.

Mark Zuckerberg crowdsourced his 2015 New Years Resolution and has committed to reading a new book selected by someone else every two weeks. He even made a Facebook community page to track his progress and encourage other to join. Sounds like a lot of basic bullshit, but that's just me.

Notorious RBG is getting a biography, which is as it should be.

Finally, and most profoundly and importantly, Beacon of Human Perfection Phoebe Philo secured Joan Didion as the model for Celine's newest ad campaign. The results are everything, and my latest computer screen background.

This Week in Books Judy Blume Responds to My Adoration

We have been completely inundated with Best of 2014 lists and prizes, and it's hard to continue caring about all of these announcements, but one I actually truly care about is the Folio Prize, and they announced an 80 volume shortlist. As always, it's a great place to start if you want something great to read.

Last week I shared my love of Judy Blume and she followed that up by announcing a new novel for adults to be published in 2015. My influence knows no bounds.

Finally, last night was the series finale of the truly excellent 'Colbert Report;' it's a TV show, not a book, obviously, but I'm including a link to this really lovely and kind of ridiculous musical number that concluded the episode because Stephen Colbert is the only late-night TV show host to include authors as guests, in addition to his very forthright advocacy for independent publishing. The worst thing about the video is how many of these people couldn't be bothered to learn the words to this very simple, repetitive song.

This Week in Books the Obamas Follow in my Footsteps...

It's that time of year, when publications start dropping their "Best of" lists. A lot of people seem to hate these for some reason, but I love them. The Millions has a unique spin on it, with each contributor (including a lot of great writers) doing a short essay "A Year in Reading 2014." This gives them the opportunity to write about the books they loved without the strict structure of a list and ranking.

The greatest year end book list is undoubtedly NPR's Book Concierge, which is one of my favorite things, ever. I go back and look at the previous year's Concierges on a regular basis. It is beautifully designed and has a really terrific interface. Try selecting one of the tags along the top of each review in order to filter by their very clever categories. A favorite feature is the fact that all the reviews are written by recognizable NPR contributors, including many who don't normally write/report for the Books or Arts sections.

Finally, the Obama family celebrated Small Business Saturday by visiting Politics and Prose in DC. They bought a ton of great books, including many notable 2014 titles, but my favorite part is the batch of Redwall books the girls took home. It makes me really happy to know kids are still reading those.

This Week in Books Ursual K. Le Guin Breaks the Internet

The NYT asked authors Gillian Flynn and Cheryl Strayed to discuss women authors and women characters and the experience of having your runaway best-seller optioned for a movie adaptation by Reese Witherspoon.

Usual K. LeGuin was the recipient of an award for her distinguished contribution to American letters at the National Book Awards (hence her inclusion in this week's #ReadWomen2014) and she used the acceptance speech to throw shade at the literary community for largely ignoring writers of genre fiction, like herself. She also is not a fan of Amazon, apparently.

Meanwhile, there were some surprises in this year's National Book Awards recipients; I was very pleased to see Louise Gluck and Jacqueline Wilson win for poetry and young people's fiction, respectively, and was very surprised that Marilynne Robinson didn't take home the prize for Lila, which is certainly still a contender for every other major literary award for 2014.

This Week in Books Almost Nothing Happens

What can I say, it's been a slow week in the world of books and book-adjacent news.

Tom Hanks is releasing a book of short stories, and no one cares.

There are lots of Joan Didion think pieces because of the successful Kickstarter campaign to fund a documentary on her, but I won't even link to them because you should just use your time to read Joan Didion, not about Joan Didion.

Lena Dunham is a lightning rod for controversy again. She is never as bad as anyone says, but that doesn't mean I'm defending every single decision she has ever made. I'm just getting tired of feeling the need to have an opinion on her anymore.

Finally, I'm sketching out the blog schedule for 2015 and would love feedback and suggestions. What kind of posts would you like to see? What books do you want me to read? Let me know in the comments section.

This Week in Books Susan Sontag visits Sephora

Roxane Gay wrote an excellent piece on the feminist novel. She has been battling haters on Twitter all week long, so read and enjoy and send positive vibes.

UCLA has made Susan Sontag's entire digital archive available online, including the entire contents of her Mac Book and her e-mail account. She was on Sephora's customer listserv, so there's that. I am going to waste so many hours on this.

Karen Russell's short story collection St. Lucy's Home For Girls Raised by Wolves is going to be adapted by ABC into a tv show. Obviously it will focus on the titular story. Perhaps this will finally give me the motivation I need to read the book.

Earlier this week I posted on Katherine Howe's new book The Penguin Book of Witches, and she did an interview with The Toast that you might enjoy if you're interested in the book.

This Week in Books Dickon is the First to Heroically Perish and Joan Didion Gets a Documentary

The Toast has delighted me even further with their Inevitable Fates of Beloved Children's Book Characters, of course. The Toast is my delight on a daily basis.

Joan Didion's nephew created a Kickstarter fund for a documentary on his famous and literary aunt. While someone who has made a career of writing very frankly about herself seems like an odd choice for a documentary (her life is quite literally an open book, or many open books), I love her and therefore am in favor of this.

Nothing else happened in books this week, or if it did, I didn't hear about it because I was really sick, huddled up in bed with Gilmore Girls.

This Week in Books Jess Mariano is Josie Pye

The finalists for the National Book Award were announced, and there were some no-brainers like Roz Chast and Marilynne Robinson, but also some surprises like Emily St. John Mandel. Even so, Robinson is going to win the fiction award, right?

The Toast created a Definitive Character Guide to Stars Hollow and Avonlea. I am deep, deep into Gilmore Girls these days, and Anne of Green Gables and I go way, way back, so this is pretty much everything. I particularly appreciated the Tristan DuGrey/Jen Pringle match-up analysis, "Garden-variety bitches."

This Week in Books I Forget My Obligation to Write About Books

This post is going up rather later than usual; apologies to Tracy, the only person who likely checks in on Bookhive every morning at work.

Emma Thompson wrote more Peter Rabbit stories because she is the greatest human alive. And when she was invited to read the stories to a bunch of children at a bookstore, she brought a tiny blue jacket as proof that Peter Rabbit is real and asked her to write the stories. This reminds me of an amazing idea I had for a running app; instead of having Olympic athletes chiming in with motivational talk, like the Nike app, mine would have women like Emma Thompson and Beyonce and Hilary Clinton sayiing their motivational catch-phrases. Emma Thompson could get me to do anything, even run 3 miles. 

I just a copy of Changing My Mind, Zadie Smith's book of essays. I've always enjoyed her nonfiction more than her fiction, and just in time, she published a new essay about New York for the NY Review of Books. 

Finally, the Nobel Prize for Literature was awarded to Patrick Modiano; I am not too proud to admit that I had never heard of him, and I enjoyed the Twitter reactions from folks in writing and publishing industry in the US immensely. 

This Week in Books I Forgot Two Important Posts

Marilynne Robinson's new novel Lila was published this week, to almost ridiculous critical-acclaim. I haven't read any of her fiction yet, but Gilead and Housekeeping are in the pile next to my bed, so expect a post on her soon. In the meantime, enjoy this engrossing profile from the New York Times Magazine.

My personal favorite podcast, NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour, did an episode on fall books last week, and it featured two of their all-star guest contributors, editor Barrie Hardymon and librarian/super-fan Margaret H. Willison, who recommended their favorite books and authors for the latter half of 2014. I strongly agreed with many of their picks, and I took their recommendations very seriously, hence my immediate purchase of a book by Sarah Waters. I can't imagine ever being the type of person who struggles with finding my next book to read, but if you are that type of person, NPR is the best place to look. Their book coverage is really fantastic, consistent, and thoughtful. Plus, they are never judgmental and cover genre fiction and literary fiction with equal fervor.

This Week in Books Lena Dunham talks to Roxane Gay

It's been a huge week for Lena Dunham, whose book Not That Kind of Girl was published on Tuesday (I already finished it and enjoyed it). She also had a mild scandal regarding her book tour which is a much larger and more extraordinary event than most authors get to participate in, but I'd prefer to focus on the positive. She got a pretty overwhelmingly positive review in Time Magazine by Roxane Gay, and then Gay and Dunham had a convo for Vulture.

Speaking of Roxane Gay (when am I not?), The Toast announced this week a new vertical called The Butter that will be edited by Gay and include cultural criticism and personal essays, with a distinct focus on writers of color. If you haven't spent any time with The Toast before, I highly recommend it. They do some of the best writing for women on the Internet, and they are decidedly bookish.

I normally try to keep things light around here, but some weeks I just can't deal, and admittedly, this is one of the biggest news stories in the publishing world this week. Ed Champion is a misogynistic jerk in the publishing industry who last gained notoriety by attacking writer (and delight) Emily Gould on Twitter. When she responded in kind, he made some vaguely suicidal threats, so everyone left him alone. He resurfaced last weekend, this time attacking a new female author, Porochista Khakpour.  Don't go fight with him on Twitter (his account has been suspended anyway). Instead show your support by purchasing books by Gould and Khakpour and keep in mind that dumb garbage like this is why #readwomen2014 is so important.

This Week in Books Adulthood Dies and Margaret Atwood Lives Forever.

The shortlist for the 2014 Booker Prize has been announced; it's particularly significant because this is the first year the prize is open to non-Commonwealth writers (i.e., it used to be exclusive to Britain, Ireland, Canada, and a few other former British colonies, like India). The books still must be written in English and published in the UK, but it's possible for Americans (Karen Joy Fowler and Joshua Ferris made the cut) to win now, which actually seems kinda lame.

Flavorwire has a nice interview with the ladies behind Women in Clothes, which I'm still obsessed with.

After the initial flurry of interest in the YA genre bashing back in early summer, I was very over it, and I don't even really read YA books anyway. But Emily Nussbaum and A.O. Scott, two of my absolute favorite cultural critics (neither of whom writes about books) got into the mix this week, and I enjoyed the results. Plus, Nussbaum gives some attention to Outlander, which only further secures her place in my heart.

Finally, some frustratingly awesome news out of Canada. Margaret Atwood is the first author to participate in the Future Library project; a forest in Norway has been planted with the intention of one day supplying paper to publish a Margaret Atwood book that has been written but will not be read and distributed for 100 years. That's pretty cool, but also kind of non-news.

This Week in Books I endorse Roxane Gay and Outlander again...

There was a great piece by Michael Harris at Salon about reading and distractions, which everybody should be able to relate to, even the most hardcore readers among us.

Everybody (except me, who hasn't yet read it) has been loving Kate Atkinson's novel Life After Life, and this week it was announced that she's writing a sequel.

Teju Cole is an excellent Nigerian-born novelist who I've endorsed on the blog before (if you loved Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie) and he wrote an essay for The New Yorker on re-reading James Baldwin, another author I really admire. In light of recent events in Ferguson, good writing about race in America is clearly as important as ever.

The #WeNeedDiverseBooks has been gaining a lot of momentum this year, especially among librarians, and it makes a good companion to #ReadWomen2014. NPR has been doing quite a bit of coverage on the topic this week, but I especially enjoyed this story about how to sell diverse books, as the lack of market is often cited as the primary reason for the lack of diversity in serious literature.

Finally, Roxane Gay is recapping the entire Outlander series for Vulture, episode-by-episode, so you have yet another compelling reason to get into this show/book series.

This Week in Books: Patti Smith Woke Up Like This.

First of all, this happened and it's everything.

I've stated before that I'm not really doing YA coverage, but if I were, I'd start with Francesca Lia Block, probably the most influential writer of my teen years. I read all her books, and I hope they're still in a box somewhere (Mom?) so I can revisit them someday. This interview she did with The Rumpus was excellent, but also made me feel out of touch because she has published so many new titles since I stopped paying attention.

Flavorwire is one of my favorite sources for literary coverage on the web, and no one understands my love is reading lists more than they do, which is why the new "50 Novels by Women Under 50" list made my week. Besides the obvious cross-over appeal between the list and what I cover on the blog, it also had everything I want from a reading list-- I got to feel smug and proud about the books I've already read; I got affirmation on a lot of books that are on my radar, waiting to be read; and I got to discover so many new books that I trust I'll enjoy, because their other recommendations are so spot on.

Patti Smith reviewed the new Haruki Murakami novel for the NYT. Nothing else to say.

This Week in Books: David Sedaris is a dump truck...

This week's links will be short and sweet. As a Beyonce fan, I've had a rough one, and I am very ready for the weekend.

A few weeks ago I posted David Sedaris' very funny essay on his FitBit; in it he mentioned his obsessive walks around his neighborhood and all the trash he collected. Now his community has named a dump truck after him. Cute.

John Cheever's former home in Ossining, NY is for sale. Ossining is also the home of the (pre-divorce) Draper family in Mad Men, so that pretty much tells you everything you need to know about John Cheever and Ossining. I read The Wapshot Chronicle last year and it was instantly one of my new favorites.

Finally, Roxane Gay was on Wisconsin Public Radio this weekend and handled some ridiculous questions from callers. Next week Bookhive will be devoted almost exclusively to Roxane Gay (she's doing a reading at my local bookstore and her new book of essays comes out), so consider this your introduction.