Online Comic Strip Figures Out Zombie-Lit Phenomenon

Turns out, it’s the boys who are to blame!  Because the girls totally get it.   Unshelved is an online comic book set in a public library. Every Sunday for “Book Club,” they publish a guest post, which features a different book every week.  This week, Pride and Prejudice.  Are zombies involved?  Sea monsters?, one character wonders.  No way!, says the other.  Vol. 1 has discussed the zombie-lit trend in the past–more than once, in fact–and plans to continue doing so […]

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Bites: The last Nobel mentions (maybe…), libraries in trouble, browsing, new Tom Waits, Mussolini working for the Brits, and more

One final Nobel link roundup. The New Yorker on President Obama’s “Nobel surprise“. N+1 says: “The peace prize’s reputation makes it a powerful tool. It’s not always the right tool, and it’s not always effective, but it’s good to have around.” “Herta who?” Drama over the economics Nobel winner? Lit. Dave Eggers, Jay Leno, and Roger Ebert.  What do they all have in common?  They are all in a book talking about their favorite childhood books. Over at McSweeney’s, a […]

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Bites: Blake on display, Philly libraries, Justin Taylor on Zak Smith, Princeton in the Times, Drew hearts Jens, and more

Lit. The Morgan Library and Museum is showcasing the watercolors, prints, and illuminations of William Blake for the first time in two decades.  The show, entitled “William Blake’s World: A New Heaven Has Begun” is on display through January 3rd. The entire Philadelphia Free Library System is scheduled to close on October 2. The Brooklyn Book Festival is today.  If you’re willing to confront the brewing cloudiness outside, PEN’s event looks good, and so does Housing Works’. Hooves on The […]

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Bites: Dangerous babysitters, jailhouse rock, literary lovin’, Hemingway the Musical

An intellectual’s look at the American tradition of babysitting and why young babysitters are often perceived as dangerous figures. “The babysitter has conveniently served as a lightning rod for adults’ uncertainties about what the limits of girls’ autonomy and empowerment should be.” Whoa. There is babydaddy drama for Jude Law. Fittingly, he once sexed up the babysitter. Charles Manson and Phil Spector are now in the same prison. (via The Rumpus) And blatant literary lovin’ at The Rumpus. (This kind […]

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