Leonard Lopate had George Saunders, Vendela Vida and Zadie Smith on his radio show this week, and luckily WNYC has put it online. Smith has edited a new anthology — with one of the oddest descriptions I’ve heard in a while — she “asked 22 other writers to make up a character, and then write a story about that character.” This would be atypical, um, how?
The Library of Congress is on Flickr. They’re uploading hundreds of photos and encouraging volunteers to add appropriate tags. A worthy timewaster.
Jessica relays good news on book sales.
Jamie Attenberg reveals the exhausting inside of her book tour. Take that, multiply by a couple thousand, add the pressure of raising humongous amounts of campaign cash, and you get the life of Obama or Edwards or Clinton.
If you feel you’re getting too old for partying, take heart: Ike Turner — who died in December at age 76 — went out high on cocaine.
Time to move to England? The Arts Council claims that there will be a “significant increase in investment in the literature sector over the next three years.” Can I get a flat in the literature sector?
