Go read the entire (short) story that the booksternet (Liternet?) is flipping out about. – Twitter
Blog
The Booker Prize-Winner Who Underwent An Exorcism
Marlon James knew he was gay from a young age, but he believed he shouldn’t be, so he underwent an exorcism through his church. “He describes the exorcism process as ‘a kind of mental control’: ‘Back then I thought they were just driving out demons,’ he recalls. James said he was sick multiple times during the ‘cure’: ‘Then one day it hit me: ‘What if I got rid of the church?’ And that worked smashingly.'” – The Observer (UK)
The University Of Louisville Is Closing Its Dance Academy, Laying Off Staff
Alumni from the academy, which began in 1972, have gone on to American Rep, City Ballet, and the National Ballet of Canada – but the university is claiming low enrollment means it’s closing time. – Louisville Courier-Journal
A New Mosque In The UK Connects To The Natural World
The new mosque, designed by the architects who created the London Eye, isn’t the typical style of mosque in Britain, where the driving force has usually been somewhat utilitarian. This one “is the most determined attempt yet to build in a way that is of its own place and time,” says architecture critic Rowan Moore. – The Observer (UK)
The Museum-Like Quality Of New York’s Antiquarian Book Fair
To be real, many book-lovers can’t afford the books, or even the ephemera, at the Antiquarian Book Fair. But hey, information wants to be free, right? That seems to be true at the fair, with “dealers happily telling the often fascinating stories behind their wares, even if a potential sale is nowhere in sight.” – The New York Times
After A Magazine Exposé, Amazon Pulls Books Touting Dangerous ‘Cures’ For Autism
Yes, even in 2019, a magazine article – in this case, in Wired – can make a difference. For instance, “Kerry Rivera’s Healing the Symptoms Known As Autism, which advocates dosing autistic children with a bleach-like substance, chlorine dioxide, was no longer available from the online giant.” – The Guardian (UK)
Hello, Actor, Please Star In This Off-Broadway Play – For One Night Only
Tracy Letts, who was one of the performers in playwright Nassim Soleimanpour’s Nassim, didn’t get a rehearsal ahead of time (no actor does), and he was a bit worried he might cry while acting – because, he says, “in the time we’re living in right now, most people I know walk around trying not to cry most of the time. And the show touches on a lot of things — storytelling, language, transcending borders, connection — and connection with anybody is moving.” – The New York Times
The Sometimes Questionable Ethics Of True-Crime Films
As true-crime podcasts, books, and films explode onto Netflix and many, many other platforms, ethical questions should arise. “It may be impossible to make documentaries or write about horrific crimes without causing someone distress. Should that stay the hand of film-makers?” – The Observer (UK)
Marjorie Weinman Sharmat, The Author Of ‘Nate The Great,’ Has Died At 90
Sharmat was the author of more than 130 books, but the Nate the Great series – inspired by her love for detective stories and her dislike of boring children’s books – was her most well-known. “Once she started being published, [her son Andrew] said, there was no stopping her. ‘It was like she was launched into the stratosphere,’ he said. ‘She loved it.'” – The New York Times
These Are The Lengths Actors Will Go To In Order To Put On A Play
Dang, Chicago. Here’s the story’s start, when actors get to the theatre, but the set doesn’t: “The cast arrived at the theater and got into costume. No wrestling ring. It’s 5 p.m. and getting dark. Still no ring. Calabrese and Mayberry started looking for a plan B, and fast. ‘We gotta do something,’ Calabrese said. A U-Haul truck was a rented, a ring was found in Villa Park — delivery not included — about an hour away in evening traffic. In the rain.” (Now wait for the part where the set doesn’t fit into the elevator.) – Chicago Tribune