News & Notes is a weekly Saturday post featuring book- and publishing-related news, links to interesting articles and opinion pieces, and other cool stuff
Book News
- Lin-Manuel Miranda and Friends Purchase Drama Book Shop (New York Times)
- The Largest J.R.R. Tolkien Exhibit in Generations Is Coming to the U.S.: Original Drawings, Manuscripts, Maps & More (Open Culture) Specifically, the exhibit is coming to the Morgan Library and Museum in New York, from Jan. 25 through May 12, 2019.
Literary Losses
The beloved American poet Mary Oliver died this week of lymphoma, at the age of 83. On Thursday, I shared two of her poems, including “When Death Comes.” Her poetry is both accessible and profoundly moving. She will be sorely missed.
Obituaries & tributes:The Guardian; NPR; Brainpickings(from 2009; includes sound clips of Oliver reading her own work); Ruth Franklin’s 2017 tribute in The New Yorker
Bibliography & Biography: Goodreads; Wikipedia
Worth Reading/Viewing
- What we gain from keeping books – and why it doesn’t need to be ‘joy’. There’s a meme going around the internet, and it’s generating a lot of pushback. Apparently, Marie Kondo (Konmari) said you should keep no more than 30 books. (I can see you all cringing from here.) Fear not, Anakana Schofield has the perfect response: Books aren’t just meant to spark joy. They inform. They help us experience things beyond our own limited experience, and that can be profoundly unsettling, but it’s also necessary. “Art should also challenge and perturb us,” says Schofield, and she’s right. (The Guardian)
- Marie Kondo has clarified: No, you don’t need to get rid of all your books. (IndieWire) Of course, as often happens, a meme (like a soundbite) can be incorrect or misleading… and cultural differences apply, too.
- In 1938, Nazis demanded to know if ‘The Hobbit’ author was Jewish. He responded with a high-class burn (source: Good)
- This Science Fiction Novelist Created A Feminist Language From Scratch (Literary Hub)
- 13 Reasons Why Libraries are Holding Us All Together (Read It Forward)
For Writers & Bloggers
- Putting Your Worst Foot Forward: Why You Should Play to Your Weaknesses as an Author (Charlie Jane Anders, on Tor.com)
- Review Writing Challenge (Delighted Reader blog) I missed this challenge when I was looking for challenges, but honestly, I need it.
Book & Movie Announcements
Awesome Lists
- Books to Movies and TV in 2019: 50 Upcoming Adaptations (give or take a few.) (The Bibliofile)
Really Cool / Just for Fun
- High School Transforms Hallways Into Iconic Book Covers. Such a cool idea! (For Reading Addicts)
- Strange but True: Black Holes Sing (Scientific American) Seriously, some SF writer needs to use this in a novel.
Bookish Quote
That’s it for this week!
