The crisis is a shame, because “generally small presses take risks that bigger publishers don’t, so we end up with some really interesting and original writing.” Then there’s the intimacy of dealing from start to finish with the physical fact of a book. - LitHub
“Michaels sold an estimated 150 million books, including bodice rippers, family dramas and mysteries, according to Kensington Publishing, her longtime publisher. Her work has been translated into 20 languages.” And she started in her 40s. - The New York Times
The investigative reporter took years to agree to the film. Poitras has won awards for her documentaries about Edward Snowden and Nan Goldin.”Her main thought, when Hersh briefly bailed on the project, was a sense of relief that he had considerately done so on-camera.” - The Guardian (UK)
To be fair, it’s a film - a “pro shot” - of the Broadway revival of Merrily We Roll Along. And “what ended up saving it was a superfan: actor and director Maria Friedman, who turned a role in a 1992 production of the play into a series of restagings.” - CBC
“While sources did not know what the two men discussed, it does seem to point to an outcome that led to Netflix feeling they had a clear enough runway to make a serious play for the historic studio.” (The president made comments on Sunday that may indicate a different outcome, however.) - The Hollywood Reporter
“The archives ... said that no curators of ‘The American Story’ were available to speak, citing staff departures that have left the institution with only two curators, neither of whom had a substantial role in the exhibition.” - The New York Times
“Austen's characters are archetypes. That's what makes them so relatable today. We all know someone who's awkward and ingratiating, like Mr. Collins, clever and independent, like Lizzie, or reticent and reserved, like Mr. Darcy.” - NPR
Rachel Reid, author of many same-sex sports romances, on Heated Rivalry’s scorching HBO debut: "It's like I opened a door and there was on the other side a million people screaming. … It’s been really cool, but also it doesn't feel real at all.” - Washington Post (Yahoo)
“Long before he became an unlikely political force, Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani was just another 20-something trying to squeeze a laugh out of his Saturday improv class in Manhattan.” - The New York Times
Performative reading has firmly implanted itself into the popular imagination, becoming a meme for a generation of people who, by all accounts, aren’t reading a whole lot of books. - The New Yorker
Those who love torturing customers and co-workers alike might have to listen to the science. The fact is, Ariana Grande and Andy Williams are out. "On the other hand, Brenda Lee’s 'Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree’ emerged as the most productivity-friendly holiday track.” - Fast Company
“The ‘Goldberg Variations’ was Gehry’s favorite work. He loved its otherworldliness and its worldliness. He loved its invitation to dance and to dream. He loved its astonishing sense of design, complex yet flowing with the ocean’s grace, its depth and its inviting surface.” - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo)
“What is the Kennedy Center now? For one thing, it’s getting a Trumpian revamp. He ordered new marble and the repainting of the exterior columns in austere white. Portraits of the first and second couples now hang in the center’s Hall of Nations.” - Washington Post (MSN)
