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Books

Literary Characters Who Should Be Tweeting

By Colette McIntyre on

As any true Joyce fan knows, Bloomsday is fast approaching, and this year, thanks to Twitter, there will be a new way to celebrate. One dedicated fan has launched a project entitled “Ulysses Meets Twitter 2011.” On June 16th, volunteers will tweet 140-character-sized chunks of Joyce’s experimental novel every 15 minutes. The project got us thinking about all the distinct voices in Ulysses, which led to some daydreaming about book characters we’d be curious to see on Twitter. After the jump, check out the literary characters we’d love to follow — and be sure to leave your own suggestions in the comments. … Read More

Film

Watch the Trailer for a New Harper Lee Documentary

By Judy Berman on

For a woman who hasn’t published a novel in over half a century — and hasn’t granted an interview in almost as long — Harper Lee is making a ton of headlines lately. A few weeks ago, after Penguin claimed Lee had cooperated on Marja Mills’ biography of the author, Lee issued a statement saying she hadn’t. Now, GalleyCat points us to the trailer for Mary McDonagh Murphy’s new documentary, Hey, Boo: Harper Lee and To Kill a Mockingbird. Although it doesn’t seem to claim Lee’s participation, and the preview doesn’t suggest it will reveal secrets about her life, the film does boast an all-star cast of Mockingbird boosters: Oprah calls the book “our national novel” in the trailer, and Anna Quindlen, Tom Brokaw, James McBride, James Patterson, and Wally Lamb all appear in the movie. Geek out after the jump. … Read More

Books

WTF Is Going on with the New Harper Lee Biography?

By Judy Berman on

Harper Lee, the To Kill a Mockingbird author who turns 85 today, is one of literature’s most famous recluses. She hasn’t published another book since Mockingbird came out in 1960, and hasn’t granted an interview since midway through that decade. This week, Penguin Press announced that former Chicago Tribune reporter Marja… Read More

Books

A Consensus Cloud of Books Everyone Should Read

By Kathleen Massara on

Information is Beautiful’s David McCandless has compiled the results of more than 15 esteemed book polls, surveys, and lists in order to create a “consensus cloud” of the most frequently chosen titles across the board. The books contained in the cloud range from the products of Pulitzer Prize-winning authors to Oprah’s Bookclub picks, providing… Read More

News

Conversation Pieces: 5 New Articles Worth Discussing This Weekend

By Paul Hiebert on

Welcome to the debut of Conversation Pieces, a new Friday feature in which Flavorpill curates five articles from the past week that you should read. Some are long, others are short. Some are from major publications, others aren’t. The only thing all these articles have in common is that they’re interesting. This week we discuss the search for originality in the art world, what fictional characters can teach us about our non-fictional lives, the role new media plays in revolutions, the Super Bowl — because sports can be culture, too — and more.

Take the leap, and find something exciting to discuss at the bar this weekend, after the jump. … Read More

Books

The Collision of Classic Literature & Video Games

By Bethany Larson on

Last week, we learned that a video game version of The Great Gatsby exists. While we’re not opposed to adapting classics into video games as a general rule (see Dante’s Inferno), this one doesn’t even sound like fun. From the official description: “Attend extravagant parties and lush gatherings as you dance the Charleston with a happy couple harboring scintillating secrets.” You know, so that you can be as bored by it all as Gatsby was. In response, we’ve come up with a list of 10 equally unlikely classics that would actually make great games. Check them out after the jump, and add your own suggestions in comments. … Read More

Books

In Defense of Privacy: The 20th Century’s Most Reclusive Authors

By Caroline Stanley on

A few years back, when Denis Johnson refused to do press for his novel Tree of Smoke, which went on to win the National Book Award, it was considered newsworthy. (Note: He has since vowed “to learn how to interact with people.”) But in an age where widespread self-promotion (and in many cases, oversharing) is just 140 characters away, the idea of a reclusive author seems both counter-intuitive and strangely romantic. Inspired by Harper Lee’s recent chocolate-fueled assault by a British tabloid reporter, we decided to examine why a few authors of a certain age chose to shut themselves away from the media, and in some cases, from publication and society, as well. … Read More