Vol.1 Brooklyn’s April 2017 Book Preview

As we careen headlong into the season of spring, the weather is growing warmer, the trees are growing greener, and new books are continuing to make their way into the world. April in particular abounds with essay and short story collections that have caught our eye, from debut works to collected editions that span the arc of a career. This isn’t to say that collections make up the entirety of the list you’re about to read; you’ll also find fiction […]

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Afternoon Bites: Francine Prose on Dreams, Fiona Maazel Interviewed, Annotating Nick Antosca, Patti Smith in New Orleans, and More

Kelefa Sanneh on David Graeber? We will read that, yes. Francine Prose on dreams in fiction. Martin Scorsese’s long-in-the-works adaptation of Shusaku Endo’s Silence may have found its lead. Hanging out with Patti Smith in New Orleans. Nick Antosca’s story “Rat Beast” gets the Rap Genius treatment. Dani Shapiro’s “My Avatar, My Self” is good reading. Chicago art and vampire bats. Fiona Maazel was on the Other People Podcast. James Greer was interviewed by Joyland. Follow Vol. 1 Brooklyn on Twitter, Facebook, Google +, our Tumblr, […]

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#tobyreads: Variations on Seclusion From Fiona Maazel, Matt Bell, Stefan Zweig, and Harry Mathews

There can be a literary virtue in seclusion. Whether a long narrative is constrained to a reduced number of characters or settings (what I like to call the “person in a room talking” novel) or making use of themes related to isolation, memorable results are capable in either instance. Loneliness and solitude are essential elements to the human condition; they can be as liberating as the feeling of walking alone through a city that’s not your own, half-buzzed on coffee, […]

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