Being prone to depression and obsessive, cyclical thinking, I have found that focusing too intently — by which I really mean, too emotionally — on the book I’m writing jeopardizes my mental equilibrium. It also clouds my prose and diverts the path of the action, and causes my characters to become inert and maudlin and to spend several paragraphs contemplating . . .
New Directions is re-issuing a collection of Mahatma Gandhi’s writings on non-violence, compiled by Trappist monk and writer Thomas Merton.
Dilemmas of NYC’s moneyed set: How to create a book collection that matches your interests and Eames ottoman and makes you look smart. (Thanks, GMB.)
Would Jane Austen be able to find an agent or publisher today? Rejections elicited by barely amended versions of her books suggest not.
Was there really a dissertation about a village that did not exist? Scott McLemee wants to know. Princeton grads say yes. (See comments.)