When Charles Ives’ fiancee Harmony Twichell presented her beloved to Mark Twain for approval, “Twain drew out his first overlook, finally ordering ‘Spin him around — let’s see the aft!’” I learned this thanks to Jack Pendarvis, who idolizes Ives as passionately as I do Twain (but probably less conflictedly), and who, after our all our excited back-and-forth, said, “I . . .
Francie Lin names Greene and Price as inspirations for The Foreigner, her voice-driven crime novel set in Taiwan. It’s keeping me up nights.
Read at Work cloaks Tolstoy, Wilde, Twain, and more in an unremarkable windows environment. (Via.)
Jon Krakauer has withdrawn his book on Pat Tillman, the football star felled by friendly fire in Afghanistan. He plans to hold back the manuscript indefinitely.
The 60th anniversary of Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” prompts Carrie Frye to offer an appreciation of the author and her We Lived in the Castle (now with Lethem intro).