It’s almost Valentine’s Day, which has us thinking about affairs of the heart — but not in the Hallmark card way, of course. Yesterday saw the release of Ludmilla Petrushevskaya’s There Once Lived a Girl Who Seduced Her Sister’s Husband, and He Hanged Himself: Love Stories (an even better title than her last translated collection, There Once Lived a Woman Who Tried to Kill Her Neighbor’s Baby: Scary Fairy Tales), and needless to say, the book is full of off-kilter, lurid, even violent attempts at connection. To celebrate the book’s release (and stock you up on reading in advance of Valentine’s Day), we’ve put together a list of ten of our favorite thoroughly messed up short stories about love. But of course, the literary world abounds with these, so read through and add your own twisted favorites in the comments. … Read More
Rajesh Parameswaran
25 Notable Books Unfairly Overlooked by ‘The New York Times’
Earlier this week, The New York Times published their annual year-end list of the “100 Notable Books of 2012,” as chosen by the editors of The New York Times Book Review. As usual, the list is filled with very predictable (though often very worthy) choices, but this year we were surprised not only by the amazing, under-the-radar books the Times ignored, but by the equally amazing but high-profile and relatively commercial books that also got snubbed. To that end, we’ve compiled an alternative, or an addendum, if you will, to the Times’ list, including both lesser-known books we loved this year, and some big name books we can’t believe didn’t make the cut. Click through to read our list, and if you so desire, register your own addendums to our addendum in the comments. … Read More
10 of the Greatest Short Stories About Love
Tomorrow, Junot Díaz’s newest story collection, This is How You Lose Her, hits shelves, and we predict that everyone you know will be reading it by the weekend. Or at least they should be — this messy, vulgar set of tales about misadventures of the heart is filled with Díaz’s signature searing voice, loveable/despicable characters and so-true-it-hurts goodness. To celebrate Díaz’s new collection, we’ve put together a collection of a few more of our all-time favorite love stories, from the recent to the classic, and dealing with all kinds of that most complex emotion. Of course, this is not by all means a definitive list — we rejoice at how un-definitive it is, in fact — so please add your own favorite short stories on love in the comments. … Read More
The Future of American Fiction: An Interview with Rajesh Parameswaran
If you haven’t noticed, we spend a lot of time thinking about literature here in the Flavorpill offices, digging through its past, weighing its current state, and imagining its future. Take a look at our bookshelves and you’ll find us reading everything from Nobel Prize winners to age-old classics to paperbacks printed at the bookstore down the street. Call it Chick-Lit, Hysterical Realism, Ethnic-Lit, or Translit — if it’s good fiction, we’ll be talking about it. So this summer, we launched The Future of American Fiction: an interview series expanding on that endless conversation about books we love, and yes, the direction of American fiction, from the people who’d know. Every Tuesday through the end of August, we’ll bring you a short interview with one of the writers we think is instrumental in defining that direction. … Read More
The 10 Best Books of the Year (So Far)
As you may have noticed from the boiling temperatures, it’s the last day of June, which means we’re pretty much halfway through the year. To mark the year’s midpoint, Amazon put together a list of their picks for the best books of the year so far, but of course we have our own ideas about which books have made the biggest splash so far. It’s been a great six months in the book world, but we’ve got some heavy-hitters coming up this fall (new books by Michael Chabon, Zadie Smith, Junot Diaz and Paul Auster, just to name a few), so we’ll be interested to find out which of the books below hold on to their rankings when the year-end lists come around! Click through to read our picks for the ten best books of the first half of 2012, and let us know which you would have chosen in the comments. … Read More
10 Highbrow Books to Read on the Beach
This weekend marks the official start of summer, which brings us visions of lying on sandy beaches, an umbrella-topped drink in one hand, and of course, a book in the other. Now, picking beach reading can be difficult — at least if you’re a book geek in your non-bathing suit clad hours. You don’t want to waste your time on something trashy, but you also don’t want to tackle Ulysses in the midst of all that sun and surf. Well, not to worry — we’ve got you covered like SPF 80 with some great books that will transition perfectly from desk to pool and back again. Last summer, we gave you a rundown of a few of our favorite highbrow beach reads from years past, so this year we’re focusing on new books (or to be precise, books that have come out since last summer) that will captivate you on the beach and still make you look smart when you get back to the city. Click through to check out our list of new highbrow books that are still beach-appropriate, and if we’ve missed your own favorite, be sure to add to our list in the… Read More
10 New Must-Reads for April
Spring has sprung, and all the extra greenery we’re seeing has definitely got us dreaming about long walks in the park and picnics among the daffodils — with a book, of course. This month, do some mental spring cleaning with a novel about the Bombay underbelly, celebrate the birds and the bees with stories about animals falling viciously in love, and ponder essays on the nature of artistic creation. After all, spring is all about new beginnings. Click through to check out our must-read list of books coming out in the coming month, and let us know which ones you’re most excited about (whether they made our list or not) in the comments! … Read More
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