A physical bookstore "requires superb customer service, dedicated staff who provide knowledgeable advice about what to read, an inviting environment in which to browse and shop, and literary activities. ... Most of all, it demands a deep commitment to the local communities that sustain us." - Washington Post
A close reading of Auden's "Musée des Beaux-Arts" reveals a lot about Europe just before WWII - and, perhaps, about our own times. - The New York Times
This metaphor might not work for younger writers, but: "I was suddenly free of the 'logical order' I had thought was so important. ... It was fun. It was hard. It was like making a mixtape for the crush I had on all of my characters at once." - LitHub
Ferrante: "I don’t like artists who imagine themselves shamans, and I would prefer that we definitively stop making the alphabet sacred, that we complete the secularisation of literature, that we stop feeling we’re just below the gods and directly inspired by them." - The Guardian (UK)
After the 2016 election, Fowler couldn't see the point in writing her book about John Wilkes Booth and Lincoln. "I knew pockets of the country clung to the Lost Cause , but I thought they weren’t hugely populated." - The Guardian (UK)
"His health was failing, but he gave every reading his histrionic last ounce. ... As Ruskin explained it, Dickens 'chooses to speak in a circle of stage fire.' The reason the books are melodramatic is that they are melodrama. If you're looking for something else, read Anthony Trollope." - The New Yorker
Leaving nothing to chance after the previous book banning, the new works will be written, drawn and edited by what’s described as a group of writers and artists from “diverse racial backgrounds.” - Deadline
Both birdsong and language are passed culturally to later generations through vocal learning. Geographically distant populations of the same bird species can make small tweaks to their songs over time, eventually resulting in a new dialect. - Smithsonian
"History textbooks are basically designed to alienate students. Instead of enlightening them, textbooks prevent students from understanding history and why it's important. ... If we want to fix history education in the U.S., we have to lean into primary and secondary sources." - Mic
The online retail behemoth has announced "it plans to close all 68 of its brick-and-mortar bookstores, pop-ups and shops carrying toys and home goods in the United States and United Kingdom, ending some of its longest-running retail experiments." - Reuters
Blackwell's, a 143-year-old family business with 18 bookshops which went up for sale last month, has been purchased by hedge fund Elliott Advisors, which owns Waterstones in the UK and Barnes & Noble in the US. All management and employees will be retained, as will the Blackwell's name. - The Bookseller (UK)
Cullen Murphy: "I have no idea whether the book is a parable of where we were, where we are, or where we’re heading. Maybe it’s all three." - The Atlantic
Last month, the school board in Wentzville, a suburb of St. Louis, voted 4-3 to have the book removed from all district libraries because (said members) of its themes of incest and child abuse. Faced with widespread criticism and an ACLU lawsuit, the board reconsidered. - The Guardian
This phenomenon, where the sound of a word triggers an emotion or a meaning, is referred to as “sound symbolism”. Yet the idea that there might be a link between the sound of words and their meaning flies against accepted linguistic thinking. - The Conversation
When the Academy snubs every actor, the director, and the movie - but just can't bring itself to leave the movie off the nominations list. "If you curated a film festival of 'lone screenplay' nominees, you’d have a program filled with crowd-pleasers." - The Atlantic
