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Archive for the ‘Midweek Pick-Me-Up’ Category
Open letters to punctuation marks.
Ships that pass is a Tumblr of “fake, imagined, and literary missed connections posted to Craigslist and then re-posted here with real and actual responses to fake, imagined, and literary missed connections.”
Alex Epstein’s 3 micro stories over at The Outlet are worth a read.
“This is Just to Say That I’m Tired of Sharing an Apartment With William Carlos Williams.”
An interesting note on who reads bestsellers from The Rumpus:
“A lot of the people who read a bestselling novel, for example, do not read much other fiction. By contrast, the audience for an obscure novel is largely composed of people who read a lot. That means the least popular books are judged by people who have the highest standards, while the most popular are judged by people who literally do not know any better. An American who read just one book this year was disproportionately likely to have read The Lost Symbol, by Dan Brown. He almost certainly liked it.”
The Nervous Breakdown talks experimental fiction.
Aaaand because this is so SCRUMPTIOUS that I have no choice but to share, here is…Jane Austen’s Fight Club: Read more »

Every time his Photoshop crashes, filmmaker/developer Garrett Murray emails an original (and bitter) piece of flash fiction to the company instead of a crash report, spawning a genre which Mediabistro has dubbed “crash report fiction.”
The Great Gatsby: classic novel and video game. I’m embarrassed to say I’m geeking out about this:
Join Nick Carraway as you explore the mansions and bungalows of Long Island, the parlors of New York City, and the heart and soul of the Roaring Twenties. Attend extravagant parties and lush gatherings as you dance the Charleston with a happy couple harboring scintillating secrets. Sip bootleg gin with a mysterious millionaire desperate to bring the passions of the past into the present in Great Gatsby, a fun Hidden Object game.
And following on the subject of not letting books be just books: here are eight classic works of literature that “deserve” a graphic novel treatment.
Can fart jokes save the future of reading?
A report on the “Vonnegut effect.”
File this under “wha?” and “gross”: a $75,000 book made from blood.
The real people behind famous fictional characters, including Sethe from Beloved, Ulysses’ Molly Bloom, and To Kill a Mockingbird’s Dill.
Aaaand to get you through the rest of the week, here is the Old Spice Guy (or someone who looks a lot like him, anyway) promoting libraries: Read more »
The smallest literary magazine ever? Matchbook Story is a lit mag published inside, you guessed it, a book of matches, with only enough room for a 300-character story.
The longest novels of all time, summarized in 140 characters or less.
Can poetry deter kleptomaniacs?
If you’re a writer, avoid these professions for your day job.
Unexpected literary references in “Aqua Teen Hunger Force,” “The Simpsons,” “South Park,” “Looney Tunes,” and other animated TV shows, via.
You’re never too old to start writing. Case in point: an 82-year-old woman has just landed a 3-book deal this week. Take that, infamous “20 under 40″ list.
Here are some stories The Rumpus’s Seth Fischer likes. I like them too.
Image: Bruce Willey.

An anonymous, grumpy literary agent has started a Tumblr of “query fails.” Hilarity ensues. Some gems:
This is neither a Christian, racist, sexist, ageist, homophobic, or pornographic essay even if many pictures of nude people are included in the essay.
Greetings agent. I have written the most important book on earth.
I’M TYPING MY QUERY IN ALL CAPS SO YOU WILL BE SURE TO NOTICE IT!
An interesting discussion over at The Rumpus on writing to get paid.
The weirdest story ideas come from your own obsessions, and more great notes on craft from Kelly Link.
Children guess how much authors were paid for their work, with hilarious (and also, sadly accurate) results.
A fan’s awkward/adorable experience meeting her literary hero.
Aaaaand just for kicks, the animated short “The Writer Who Couldn’t Read”: Read more »
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