“For some word purists, the singular they is the linguistic equivalent of an ingrown hair, but for others, the solutions for getting around the problem are way messier. … It may be the most controversial word use in the English language – because it highlights a hole in the language where a better-fitting word should go. … And there has been a lot written about it. Here’s another piece of tinder to throw on the fire.”
Category: words
Every Literary Plot, Ever, In Alphabetical Order
Okay, maybe not every single one. Boris Kachka: “There’s William Wallace Cook’s chart-crazy Plotto, first published in 1928; there’s crisp guides like Christopher Booker’s The Basic Seven Plots and Ronald B. Tobias’s 20 Master Plots; there’s even a couple of computer programs – many, over centuries, have tried to count the ways to tell a story. With a little help from those, here is a far-from-comprehensive encyclopedia of every archetypal plot we know.”
Diversity In Books Isn’t Just About Writers, It’s Also About The Marketing
“If you go to most other independents, they will have a section of African-American books. But a whole bookstore filled with books on African-Americans? That’s something that people should see.”
The Courtroom Battle Over Kafka’s Archive Has Been Decided Once And For All
An eight-year legal struggle between the National Library of Israel, which claims the papers based on instructions in the will of Kafka’s friend Max Brod, and the daughters of Brod’s secretary Esther Hoffe, who insist that Brod gave their mother the papers to do with as she liked, has been ended with a decision by Israel’s Supreme Court.
Rise Of The “Hybrid” Writers
“The rise of the self-published author as a commercial force, the growth of the ebook market and the willingness of traditional publishers to loosen contractual reins have given rise to the phenomenon of the “hybrid author,” who can either publish traditionally or self-publish. These writers’ relationships to their publishers can resemble open marriages.”
Nabokov’s ‘Pale Fire’ Is ‘The Great Gay Comic Novel’, Argues Edmund White
“[The character] Kinbote’s mad ‘notes’, far from commenting on Shade’’ poem, trace out a mini-biog¬raphy of Kinbote. And that biography, real or delusional, is the picture of an unrepentant homosexual, sensual, guilt-free, tirelessly on the make. In the 1950s, gay men were portrayed in fiction and films as lonely phantoms – sad and colourless – or sometimes as instant villains (see Norman Mailer’s essay, ‘The Gay Villain’, 1954). Nabokov, by contrast, depicts Kinbote as lustful, entitled, screamingly absurd.”
‘Library Anxiety’ – It’s A Real Thing For College Students, And (As Always) Librarians Are There To Help
“The phenomenon, which involves feeling intimidated, embarrassed, and overwhelmed by libraries and librarians, was first identified by Constance A. Mellon in 1986.” The problem is worse in 2016, with a generation who grew up with the web: “As soon as you need to use scholarly resources, Wikipedia isn’t going to cut it.”
The Novelist Who Doesn’t Care How Badly Her Characters Behave
“With Olive Kitteridge, I remember at one point, I thought, uh-oh, this is really going out there – and I remember very consciously telling myself, don’t be careful. Do not be careful. You’ve got to let her be who she is.”
So How Good Is The New Harry Potter Book, Anyway?
“The appeal of all fantasy, including Rowling’s original series, comes from answering the question “What if?” What if magic existed? What if an owl delivered an invitation (to you!) to learn magic at a secret school? What if jelly beans came in every flavor, including earwax? What if you had to die to save the world?”
The 10 Million Euro Struggle To Save James Baldwin’s Home In Provence
“For 17 years, the local people adopted the African American author as one of their own. He was often seen chatting in the bar of the local Colombe d’Or hotel, and the affection was reciprocal. Today campaigners are battling to secure the future of his 17th-century house and its grounds, which have been earmarked for development into 18 luxury €1m flats. Two wings of the property on the 10-acre plot have already been demolished, including one in which he wrote.”