The Cordial Horrors of Rachel Ingalls’s “Friends in the Country”

In the lead-up to the release of his film Get Out, Jordan Peele curated a series of films at BAM titled “The Art of the Social Thriller.” In recent years, the unsettling fiction of Robert Aickman has received a heightened prominence, including work that depends on a heightened sense of wrongness in terms of social interactions between characters. (It’s telling that his recently-reissued novel The Late Breakfasters feels like something written by a bizarro-world Evelyn Waugh.) The idea of a […]

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Morning Bites: The Louvin Brothers, The Moment, Isaac Newton’s sins, the Why We Broke Up project, and more

Benjamin Whitmer, who helped Charlie Louvin of the Louvin Brothers write a memoir, talks to Book Bench. Daniel Handler and Maira Kalman present the Why We Broke Up project. Larry Smith of SMITH Magazine talks about The Moment. J. Hoberman is out as the Village Voice film critic. (Shame!) Isaac Newton’s list of sins. Follow Vol. 1 Brooklyn on Twitter, Facebook, and our Tumblr. Got tips for Bites?  Info@Vol1brooklyn.com

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Bites: Letters From Twain, Elliott Takes on Elliott, Lemony Snicket, Stupid Budweiser, Van Dyke Parks Profiled,and More

“Scotch whisky, certain lemons, & hot water.”: Mark Twain writes a letter. Daniel Handler (Lemony Snicket)  gets profiled in The Telegraph. That Budweiser ad from the Super Bowl that was insulting to book club people, readers, men, women, and anybody with a little bit of intelligence. Stephen Elliott interviews author Stephen Elliott, and asks the hard hitting questions. Thanks to The Millions for hipping us to FUCK YEAH NYRB CLASSICS!! The last of the Yiddish poets. James Wood reviews two […]

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Bites: The return of Lemony Snicket, Bob Dylan at the controls, zombies, Marvel Comics, Sen. Alec Baldwin, and more.

I really liked the first few Lemony Snicket books, and then there were a few hundred more.  Now we get news that we can expect four more.  I’m alright with this, as long as there is no more movies with Jim Carrey involved. We really like to talk about zombies; this essay on The Morning News does it far better than just about anything we have ever posted. I smell a challenge, or possibly the stench of the undead. So […]

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Bites: Narwhals, Daniel Handler, heavy books, Stieg Larsson sends you to Sweden, Justin Taylor gets lucky in a thrift store, and more

Is the narwhal one woman’s Moby Dick? Probably not, but NPR investigates anyways. Jacket Copy interviews Lemony Snicket author Daniel Handler about curating the CD for the Believer’s annual music issue. (Thanks Largehearted Boy) Indie Bound checks out another “indie city” (in this case a tiny state), Rhode Island. Bless the misspelled signs of New York. The Guardian suggests that you schlep a heavy book around. You can win a trip to Stockholm thanks to Stieg Larsson if you give […]

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