Via Pitchfork: one can now read the first chapters of Colin Meloy’s Wildwood Chronicles (with illustrations by Carson Ellis). Fans of the creative output of the Meloy siblings as a whole should also take note that Maile Meloy’s The Apothecary is due out this October.

• Kate Christensen’s Largehearted Boy Book Notes playlist for The Astral is, in fact, fantastic.

• “What a strange mini-tragedy it would be if one of the best albums of 2011 carried some of the most misguided cover art of the year.” Seth Colter Walls on Steve Reich and controversial album artwork.

• At The Millions, Emily St. John Mandel looks at the work of Irmgard Keun.

• At Flavorwire, Jason Bailey looks at ten cinematic adaptations of books that never happened.

• At the Times, Jonah Weiner looks at the computer game Dwarf Fortress.