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10 of Our Favorite Profiles of Ten of Our Favorite Writers

By Emily Temple on

This week, like everyone we know, we fell head over heels for Joel Lovell’s wonderful profile of Flavorpill favorite George Saunders in The New York Times Magazine. What with that and his amazing new collection, we’re thinking that this might just be the year that Saunders transitions from being every writer’s favorite writer to everybody‘s favorite writer — after all, when the cover of The New York Times Magazine calls out your book as the best of the year (in January, no less), that’s as good of a ticket to household name status as you’re likely to get, shy of any Oprah-gilding. For those of you who, like us, inhaled Lovell’s profile and found yourself itching for more great writing on great writers, we’ve put together a few great profiles that you can read online to slake your literary lust. Read through for some choice quotes and links to the original articles, and do point us toward your own favorite author profiles for further reading in the comments. … Read More

Books

10 of Literature’s Greatest Comeback Books

By Emily Temple on

Though Tom Wolfe’s last novel, 2004′s I Am Charlotte Simmons, fell flat for many readers and reviewers — Michiko Kakutani called it “disappointingly empty” — some critics are heralding his new effort, Back to Blood, which hit bookstores this week, as his comeback book. Only time will tell, of course, but the idea got us thinking about a few other important books that have pulled some of our favorite authors back from the brink of oblivion (or worse, bad reviews). After the jump, read about the many ways authors have dusted off and recharged their careers with a well-placed tome, and as always, add any we’ve missed in the comments. … Read More

Books

10 New Must-Reads for July

By Emily Temple on

It’s finally summer in earnest, and July is sure to be filled with hot nights, beachy weekends and afternoons spent taking refuge under shady trees — or in air conditioned cafés. Of course, all of those activities are vastly improved by a great book, and luckily for us, there is a veritable slew of quality reads coming out this month — just the thing to distract us from the hot weather and sit nicely beside our glistening lemonades. This month, we’re recommending quirky love stories, twisted immigrant tales, surreal fantasies, and at least one mystery you’ll stay up all night to finish. Click through to read our recommendations of the ten books you shouldn’t miss this month, and let us know what’s on your July reading list in the comments. … Read More

Books

10 Contemporary Southern Authors You Should Be Reading

By Emily Temple on

Today marks the release of Ron Rash’s excellent new novel, The Cove, and the book, a World War I love story set in the wilds of the Appalachian mountains, has gotten us on a serious Southern literature kick — particularly contemporary Southern literature, because we’ve read about all the Faulkner we can handle for one month, and accordingly, we’ve put together this list of contemporary Southern authors that are definitely worth carving out some reading time to delve into. There has been much chatter about the state of Southern literature — what it means, what it once meant, what it should mean — but we only have one criteria: that it’s written by a Southern author, and that it’s amazing. We’ve limited our list to living authors, which excludes recent giants Barry Hannah, William Gay, and Harry Crews, as well all the classics (Faulkner, Lee, Welty, O’Connor) who defined the genre. Click through to check out our list of contemporary American Southern authors you really should be reading, and let us know if we’ve left off your favorite in the comments. … Read More