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Happy 2666 week

The reviews of Bolaño’s 2666, says Levi Stahl, collectively demonstrate the capaciousness of the novel.

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Feminine hygiene ad of your nightmares

Whoa. I thought the midcentury Lysol ones were the worst, but this Tampax ad collected amid some of the more misogynistic print campaigns of yore is singularly dreadful in its own special way. (Via.) Click for the full image at your peril.

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Levi Stahl imagines my flight home, as Anthony Powell might have rendered it

Soon, for my own amusement more than anyone else’s, I’ll get around to posting about the rest of my England trip. Meanwhile, I thought you might enjoy reading Levi Stahl’s delightful Anthony Powell pastiche inspired by my post about the torrid affair that erupted in the row ahead of me on the flight home. “As I read,” he told me, . . .

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The Smart Set: Lauren Cerand’s weekly events

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 . . .

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Lary Wallace on the death of John Leonard

“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 . . .

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