Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has a lovely essay at The Washington Post that’s supposedly about the desks she learned to write upon, but it’s really more about the love of the house where she grew up.
Thought the whole fatwa on Salman Rushdie had slipped into the dustbin of history? Not quite. Rushdie was knighted and Iran called it an act of aggression towards Muslims everywhere. (hat tip to Book Ninja) Even more worrisome than that, the Pakastanis weighed in and said the knighting justifies suicide attacks (!!!) Absolutely disgusting to read about, but thank God Britain’s not capitulating after such vicious threats. I’m just waiting for some moderate Muslims to speak out, because the extremists always seem to have the microphone.
McSweeney’s having the enormous sale, yes, to try to keep afloat, but much more crucial for the fiscal survival of the company, Angelina Jolie is seen carrying What is the What. Skyrocketing sales, oh just skyrocketing. Obviously, the future of books is in celebrity placements.
On a side note, read here the surprising reason why Moorishgirl doesn’t like What is the What.
Galleycat has some insider info on the bribing techniques inside the book industry (okay, so it’s not technically a bribe, but even though it’s common knowledge how chains pick their front table selections, it’s still rather dirty).
Syntax of Things has a smiling thumb, because that thumb is holding a review copy of Denis Johnson’s new novel Tree of Smoke, not released until Sept. 4th. Happy Reading!
The difference between criticism and reviewing, and why Michiko Kakutani shouldn’t have received a Pulitzer.
One thought on “Roundup of Essays”
What a wonderful essay! Thanks!