- Britain’s online lending library opens for business.
- D.J. Taylor considers the elusive (yet oft-attempted by fortysomethings) rock novel.
- The weekend brings mixed reviews for a new Eudora Welty bio. But surely it must be better than the last one? Please?
- Debates about the reliability of Wikipedia rage at la casa de Maud slightly less often than arguments about the singular “they,” but they’re not exactly a rare occurrence. And if you’ve ever tracked the wild swings in the generally erroneous coverage of, say, “American Liberalism,” you’ll know that I actually am 100% correct. Should you need further evidence, this bit from Boing Boing about Wikipedia’s use in viral marketing campaigns should do the trick.
- A reader writes, “Speaking of Edmund Wilson, the biography is coming out. Heard a somewhat riveting interview with the [biographer] tonight on NPR … with reclusive daughter Helen Wilson calling in at the end to address Pa’s treatment of women. Yowza.”
- Last week the University of Kentucky’s public radio station cancelled Garrison Keillor’s The Writer’s Almanac because the words “breast” and “get high” appeared in the literary selections read online. (Thanks to Charlie for the link.) Protests since have landed the show back on the air. Somewhat related: The First Amendment Center provides a historical perspective on unthinking censorship in the U.S.
- A psychic beloved by Mark Twain, William Thackeray, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and Arthur Conan Doyle outraged Dickens and Eliot.
- People anonymously reveal their secrets to the world in postcards that have been scanned in at postsecret. On an image of bruised body parts at the top of the front page, someone has written, “My dad used to beat me and call it spanking.”