Pride and Prejudice: the emoticon adaptation

On David Foster Wallace’s “scare quotes,” and the joys of editing him.

An essay on the quiet art of cartooning, which sounds quite a lot like the quiet art of writing fiction. Which I guess, technically, is the same thing. Via The Rumpus.

What contemporary literature will people still be reading a century from now?

Pride and Prejudice, as written in emoticons, via Booksquare.

Books are America’s fourth form of entertainment, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Even better news: there were more than four items on that list.

Why the novel will never die.

Read more »

Moby Dick, page 59

An artist draws one picture for every page of Moby Dick, via Vol. 1 Brooklyn.

7 lessons in novel writing inspired by Terminator: Salvation, via Electric Literature.

Remember the time Hugh Grant got drunk and accidentally bought a Warhol?

How to turn off the Internet while writing on your computer.

Stereotyping readers by their favorite authors, via largehearted boy.

Music evolution in action.

Read more »

If you’re tired of all those ‘top books of the decade/2009′ articles: here are the top books of 1709.

Applying quantitative analysis to classic literature.

Some reactions to Electric Literature’s Twitter serialization of Rick Moody’s “Some Contemporary Characters,” as compiled by HTMLGIANT.

Speaking of serialized novels, author Nicholas Rombes is doing one of his own, via snail mail.

The Guardian wants you to know that dragons, not vampires, are the best monsters of all time.

Are e-readers the eight-tracks of publishing?

Aaand something to help get you through the rest of the week: a flarf orchestra. (via HTMLGIANT) Read more »

Edgar Allen Pug

John Pupdike, Edgar Allen Pug, and other literary pets.

The best book covers of 2009.

The origin of modern individual consciousness comes not from great literature, but rather from the humble spaces between words.

Twisted kids’ book parodies: Dude, They’re Going to Chop Your Balls Off!, Horton Hires A Ho!, My First Rave.

A step-by-step guide on how to become the most famous author in the world. Or, a list of everything John Cusack did in 2012.

100 mythical creatures in haiku, once a day from yesterday until March 10.

Read more »

A 1910 privately printed edition book of William Carlos Williams poetry, valued at $25,000…and other accidentally burnt books. Oops.

Noveller is an online macroblogging service that lets users post their impromptu novels during the course of their day. Oh, wait, it’s not real. Damn.

Eminem (of “Smack That” and “Crack a Bottle” fame) has some tips for you on becoming a writing and marketing machine.

Sherlock Holmes, the Marlboro Man, and Dr. Frankenstein’s monster are just a few of the 101 most influential people who never lived.

Five modern masters of mystery and crime fiction.

Depressing Funny glossary of book publishing terms.

New York Magazine presents seven short stories featuring contemporary political figures.

Aaaand to help get you through the rest of the week (which I guess is today, with Thanksgiving and all), your pick-me-up. This has been making the rounds for a few days now, but I don’t care. Because it’s awesome. If you’ve seen it already, watch it again: Read more »

Newsflash: being shifty-eyed can boost your creativity. Excellent.

Palin poetry.

Computer says Jane Austen and Charles Dickens are not good writers at all. Computer says no.

A Portrait of the “Artist” as a Young Man, The “Great” Gatsby, and other great works of literature made sarcastic by quotation marks. [Thanks, Courtney!]

Mikhail Kalashnikov, the inventor of the AK-47 assault rifle–beloved by violent guerilla troops around the world–secretly always wanted to be a poet.

Read more »

Ernest Hemingway, Charles Dickens, William Faulkner, and other famous writers narrate the funny pages.

Some NaNoWriMo tips from Mark Sample: Use foreshadowing to hint what’s to come. E.g., have the vampire say “I want to suck your blood” before he sucks blood. And: Add tension by making the gender of your narrator indeterminate. This works for race too. And age. And number of nipples.

Another (more serious) NaNo tip: write slowly.

The Millions thinks the recent film adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are made a better trailer than it did a feature film.

Is Stephen King the most underrated novelist of our time?

Read more »

“Who’s on first?” “This is it.” “Uh, what?” An imagined conversation in line for the new Michael Jackson movie.

“Demand whether something even EXISTS anymore. This trick works equally well for concepts (i.e., patriotism) and objects (i.e., peanuts).” This and more tips from a schmoozer’s guide to literary gatherings.

OMGZ Twilight Barbie! Bella and Edward! As Barbies! Insert joke here about plastic genitalia/chastity/etc.

When novelists sober up.

I thought this article was about well-rounded heroines in fiction, as in a well-rounded personality. But, no, they’re talking about a well-rounded body. And they’re calling it “chunk lit.”

Read more »

Some lawyers have canceled a Harry Potter-themed dinner for children. Then, they kicked a puppy.

Tom Cruise has been revealed as the inspiration for Christian Bale’s performance in American Psycho. I feel vaguely unsurprised.

Walt Whitman in a Levi’s commercial. Wait, what?

A research associate at NYU has procured funding to rewrite Melville’s Moby Dick entirely in emoticons.

If you liked bad poetry, here are some awful opening sentences from a bad fiction writing contest. Also, if you’re interested in writing some bad fiction of your own, some tips include using as many adjectives as you can, describing every character in minute detail, taking no account of narrative pacing, and more.

Read more »

This is your brain on books.

Jane Austen’s Emma comes to the big screen…in Bollywood. I am very excited to see Emma and Mr. Knightley dance and sing. For reals.

O helo thar: a good old fashioned book burnin’ at a Baptist Church in North Carolina. Books to be burned include such “heretical works” as Rick Warren, Mother Theresa, and, uh, the Bible. Book burning: ur doin it rong.

Maurice Sendak says he does “not tolerate” the opinion that Where the Wild Things Are is too scary for children, and concerned parents should “go to hell.”

The question is asked, again: is Twitter ruining literacy? We say, again: nope.

Boys like zombies because they’re both “dumb, brutal, ugly, and mindlessly violent.” Girls like vampires because they’re a proxy for the gay men they secretly want to date. Okay.

Read more »