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Booker shortlist sales

Of the six books shortlisted for the Booker, five had sold 1500 or fewer copies before the list was released. (Via.)

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Ho hum from the man with the shoulder towel

As my Newton great-grandfather got older, he liked to have a towel draped over his shoulder. I don’t know whether it was always this pinkish-burgundy one. Apparently Grandaddy also enjoyed sitting on the couch in the semi-darkness, and saying “Ho ho ho, hum” at the top of his voice, over and over again. Once he and his wife, Mamma, stayed . . .

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The specter of the unanswered letter

Last month I took some time away from the site to deal with various things, including eye troubles.* While worrying about everything that was piling up — all the books I’d never get to and the email I couldn’t answer — I pulled Joan Didion’s Slouching Towards Bethlehem from the shelf and rediscovered her essay “On Self-Respect.” Anyone trying to . . .

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Crews on Dennis Miller

Want to know what it’s like to be in a room with Harry Crews? Watch his old Dennis Miller spot and multiply by 100. (Thanks, Dana.)

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