16,406 posts tagged literature

“Well, I never give the matter no more’n what you’d call passin’ notice when I read it in the hist’ry books, so there might be some abstruse theological p’int I missed. But as I rec’lect it there was several schools of thought back there in England an’ on the continent regardin’ the proper road to

Great critics have the ability to make you see things about books that are at once obvious yet so subtle many others have overlooked them. John Updike is a great critic partly because he has this skill. I disagree with many of his views and, when I don’t, sometimes suspect him of pulling punches out of kindness to his fellow novelists.

Ross Douthat interviews Nixonland author Rick Perlstein. Douthat's review of the book is online.

This is a difficult one for several reasons. Firstly, there are a few well-known books out there that are mentioned almost automatically in relation to coming-of-age novels (step up Mr Salinger, Mr Dickens, Ms Lee). Secondly, our perception of what constitutes “coming-of-age” has changed.

Changing Faces of Small Heath & Birmingham Exhibition An exhibition of photos taken 10 years ago by pupils from Small Heath School and photographic work by Rubina Bibi. Small Heath Library until 30 May.

Francine Prose reviews Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky, The Slaves of Solitude and Hangover Square in the New York Review of Books: http://www.nybooks.com/articles/21437

Prof. Niaz Zaman (of Dhaka) and the multifaceted Asif Farrukhi (of Karachi) have jointly edited Fault Lines, a book of excellent short stories centred around 1971. Most of these stories were translated from Bengali, Hindi, and Urdu into English for this publication from Bangladesh, now available at T2F courtesy OUP.

Black panes in the silence of the night. Artificial light doesn’t switch my thoughts on. My shadow on the wall. Trembling restlessness is extinguished. A sleepy sense of reality catches thinking craziness, a calm, deep and whirling sea. Mind ghosts whisper softly not comprehended.

Yesterday morning I had to go along to the hospital, where I was fitted with some surgical insoles. The thinking behind this is that the insoles will correct the posture of my feet, caused by a certain flatness, and that this in turn will ease the pressure on my knees so that I can build up muscle strength in order to be able to walk without pain again.

CURRENTLY reading any books that you think are worth sharing? Or, do you have a list of books that you want to read but haven't gotten around to reading yet? Leave the titles of books you are planning to read soon, or are currently reading in the comments and we compile and post new lists...