“The only book I ever banished from my library was Bret Easton Ellis’s American Psycho, which I felt infected the shelves with its prurient descriptions of deliberately inflicted pain. I put it in the garbage; I didn’t give it to anyone because I wouldn’t give away a book I wasn’t fond of. Nor do I lend books. If I want someone to read a book, I’ll buy a copy and offer it as a gift. I believe that to lend a book is an incitement to theft” Alberto Manguel on his personal library of 30,000 books, American Psycho-free and housed in a barn * The Art of Manliness offer The Essential Man’s Library [100 must-read books to you and me] [via Largehearted Boy] * Martin Amis’s darkly comic novel London Fields is being made into a film * If you’re a would-be writer, it’d be helpful if Johnny Depp was your brother, wouldn’t it? * Poems by William McGonagall, “the world’s worst poet”, go for £6,600 at auction * “An egg sculpted in lard, with goggles on”; the vain Philip Larkin * Nabokov’s The Original of Laura will be published by his son * Resuscitating the dead; Faber launch a print-on-demand service of out-of-print works * And Faber’s photo-gallery of classic covers [via i like] * Are doodled-covers this year’s look? * Kevin Wlliamson, poet and Rebel Inc man, gets his own radio slot * Best enjoyed with an accordion? Music and wine * You thought the Arts cuts were bad in England; it’s just as bad in Scotland * Ian Curtis’s reading habits: “In the same way that Jim Morrison referenced Louis-Ferdinand Céline’s Journey to the End of the Night in the Doors‘ moody masterpiece, “End of the Night”, Curtis dropped hints in song titles such as “Dead Souls”, “Colony” and “Atrocity Exhibition” that he had read writers as diverse as Gogol, Kafka and Ballard, while the lyrics reflected, in mood and approach, his interest in romantic and science-fiction literature.” * Hitsville UK, a website of Punk 7″ sleeves [via Design Observer] * Independent, an exhibition of indie record shops [via LeCool] * 3:AM’s Tao Lin recommends a favourite, obscure book, as does Donna Tartt, Ned Vizzini, Jonathan Ames and Sheila Heti [via Literary Saloon] * A Joseph Ridgwell story in Pulp.net * I could link to the Slate’s special issue procrastination, but I can’t be moved * Robotic poetics [via 3QD] * Five sci-fi films that get it right * “A great seducer, adventurer, traveller, spy, musician..theologian” [and librarian]; will the real Casanova please stand up * End of the road for book clubs?
First posted: Friday, May 16th, 2008.
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