No, they aren't just gag gifts. From their (modern) beginnings in Playboy magazine's food and drinks column, and then Mimi Sheraton's Seducer's Cookbook (somewhat scandalous in 1963), they track the way changing attitudes toward sexuality became part of the American mainstream. - Eater
The novel has the rather Zen title The Book of Form and Emptiness, and its author is American-Canadian novelist and filmmaker Ruth Ozeki (who, yes, is a Zen Buddhist priest). Among the other finalists for the £30,000 award were Elif Shafak and Louise Erdrich. - BBC
In a Q&A, Adrian Matejka, a multiple award-winner who holds an endowed chair at Indiana University and was the state's poet laureate from 2018-19, talks about his plans for the magazine and diversity and equity at its parent, the Poetry Foundation. - MSN (Chicago Tribune)
Two big reasons: Interference - that is, the other books we've read get in the way; and passive engagement. That is, if you write a review of a book you're reading, you'll remember it better. But is it worth it? We have limited working memory, after all. - The Guardian (UK)
A child in a multilingual environment? A fair number, with no particular firm ceiling, but not, say, three dozen; there are limits. This makes intuitive sense, but here's an explanation of the reasons. - The New York Times
The late filmmaker (Sebastiane, Caravaggio, The Last of England) wrote "Through the Billboard Promised Land Without Ever Stopping" in 1971 but never had it printed. A 10,000-word "surreal, fable-like, lyrical tale" (per the publishers), "Through the Billboard" is about a blind king and his valet traveling disguised as beggars. - The Guardian
Swearing can abuse people or amuse them, inspire doubt or trust (or both) in others, and measurably relieve stress or pain — if you do it properly. "When it comes to your well-being," writes Arthur C. Brooks, "I offer three rules to keep in mind while honing your cursing technique." - The Atlantic
"Beginning in the spring and accelerating this month, the 250-title chain is cutting back opinion pages to a few days a week while refocusing what opinion is still published to community dialogue." (Regional editors have the option of reprinting editorials from USA Today.) - Poynter
It's no substitute for school boards heartily not banning books or libraries being funded, but Boise's Rediscovered Books gave away copies of the banned books at a suburban coffee shop in the nearby town of Nampa. - NPR
That sure seems like the plan. "It’s all part of a new strategy that we’re calling 'the Spotify machine'," said Spotify CEO Daniel Ek. Sounds, uh, interesting. - Axios
"The coffee shop chain has said the 2021 awards, which were announced in February this year, were the last. ... The awards were established in 1971 and known as the Whitbread book awards until 2005, when Costa took over the running and financing. Whitbread sold Costa to Coca-Cola in 2019." - The Guardian
"'Charlie Roberts' and 'Only Stand and Wait' were both published on 9 June in Strand magazine, a US-based print magazine that publishes short fiction and interviews. ... A previously unpublished story, 'Adventure on a Bad Night', was published by Strand magazine in 2020." - The Guardian
"My Comrade was a drag scene zine that documented the East Village demimonde from 1987 to 1994. In its sporadic 13 issues, drag royalty rubbed shoulders with go-go boys, nightclub denizens, art stars, and assorted riffraff and glamour-pusses." And it returns this month. - Artnet
"Following the pandemic and amid escalating global tensions as well as environmental concerns, Christian publishers say they are acquiring more books now than in years past on how to live faithfully in the present and properly prepare for (the Rapture, Armageddon, and other) End Times events." - Publishers Weekly
It was quite the literary drama: Customs in Bombay had impounded the first shipment of Nabokov's novel, the ministers of justice and finance were involved, and back then (1959) there was no Censor Board. So Jawaharlal Nehru himself read the book and rendered his decision. - Scroll (India)
