Photo of the audience at the Brooklyn Book Festival's Happy Ending reading from the L.A. Times' Jacket Copy, with "proof" that I was there. (I promise this isn't going to become one of those blogs.)Oprah.com: Oprah's latest book club selection is Uwem Akpan's SAY YOU'RE ONE OF THEM, a collection of short stories first published in 2008 by a Nigerian Jesuit priest with an MFA. The Washington Post broke the news yesterday, saying the distributor had "accidentally" leaked the choice. Did you have your money on BRIGHT-SIDED: HOW THE RELENTLESS PROMOTION OF POSITIVE THINKING HAS UNDERMINED AMERICA? You lost. (That's the title of the new Ehrenreich.)
Via the Book Bench: A new T-shirt company has created a line-up of baseball jerseys for an imaginary 19th-century-American-lit team. So many questions: Is it safe to mix fictional characters with nonfiction authors? How are Hester Prynne's reflexes? And would even the biggest Melville fan buy a shirt that has the number 1 and "Dick" on it?
NYT: Another literary movie goes head to head with "Bright Star" this weekend for the readin' crowd -- an Australian-helmed adaptation of J.M. Coetzee's DISGRACE starring John Malkovich as a recently dismissed college professor. Normally it would be a bad thing that I had never heard of this before, but perhaps it was just on the festival circuit because the consensus is good.
Via the Manhattan Users Guide: When was ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND banned and why? Most of the other titles on this kitschy Banned Books bracelet I recognize, but that one stumped me. (Is too relevant.)
Slate: Matthew Schneier's round-up of guidebooks for men on how to be men is entertaining, not least for its discussion of yeomanliness versus gentlemanliness. Having seen the other side of how men's magazines come up with their tips, though, I'm not sure I would trust any of them.
NYT/ The Lede: You probably haven't spared a thought as to what Osama bin Laden wants you to read, but he's coming through for you. Check out the books an al Qaeda leader wants all Americans to read at your own risk -- after he saw it, Glenn Beck swore never to read again.
Via Idealist: Here's a category of Things Named For Writers I never contemplated before. The first annual Runyon 5K on November 15 will memorialize journalist and short-story writer Damon Runyon with a bit of a lope through Yankee Stadium. I have not been in the new stadium yet, and I wouldn't call myself a fan, but the proceeds are going to cancer research, and this sounds downright cool. I... am seriously thinking about doing this. (Lobotomy went well, by the way.)
Likely last ever Infinite Summer corner: This week after one of their numbers was nice enough to link to my Brooklyn Book Festival coverage I joined wallace-l, the David Foster Wallace listserv, although when they find out how new I am to the magic of DFW they will probably kick me off. But that's where I learned from New York magazine via Sarah Weinman that -- are you ready for this piece of trivia -- DFW was a creative writing classmate at Amherst of none other than Dan Brown. Yes, that Dan Brown. My mind is blown like I just watched The Entertainment. (Now they've got another reason to get rid of me, my horrible jokes.)
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