John Banville in Hollywood
Glenn Close hopes to make a film based on a John Banville screenplay that adapts a George Moore story.
Glenn Close hopes to make a film based on a John Banville screenplay that adapts a George Moore story.
Rupert Thomson finds his fragile half-brother after losing contact with him more than 20 years before. (Thanks, Susan.)
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 . . .
I once joked that I was suffering from a case of literary blue balls when I bought an issue of a magazine after enjoying an online excerpt of a Saïd Sayrafiezadeh story that ended with the line “‘My cock feels full with the thought of you in my heart.’” Only when my credit card was charged did I discover that . . .
Amid all the discussion of massive layoffs and restructuring in publishing, I keep hoping someone will take a detailed look at how books fared during the Great Depression, and consider how the current economic crisis compares. Conventional wisdom holds that books have done well in hard times, because they’re cheaper than many other gifts people might give. Even without reference . . .