The Smart Set is a weekly feature, compiled and posted by Lauren Cerand, that usually appears Mondays at 12:30 pm, and highlights the best of the week to come. Special favor is given to New York’s independent booksellers and venues, and low-cost and free events. Please send details to Ms. Cerand at lauren [at] maudnewton.com by the Thursday prior to . . .
“When I start to read John Leonard,” said Kurt Vonnegut, “it is as though I, while simply looking for the men’s room, blundered into a lecture by the smartest man who ever lived.” Leonard died last week, the day after casting his vote for Obama, and his absence is mourned far and wide in the literary world. (Laura Miller’s remembrance . . .
Hypermiling — a concept foreign to most New Yawkers — is the OED’s word of the year. (Last month I attended the OED’s anniversary events on OUP’s dime.)
Oxford University’s list of top ten irritating phrases spurs 2243 comments as of this typing. (Via.)
“He’s gonna bookend the movie playing Samuel Clemens in the hospital.” Please, God, no. Not Clint Eastwood.