Shutting the Book on 2008
The same stories have been told since the dawn of time, but the way they’re told is what’s always changing. Books in 2009 will be no exception. Check out some of last year’s hottest literary trends—and how they’ll translate. Happiness Whether it was Happy for No Reason: 7 Steps to Being Happy from the Inside Out, The Happiness Trap: How to Stop Struggling and Start Living or The How of ...
Pressed for Time: 1.07.09-1.14.09
The confetti is gone and the tinsel has been tossed. But as I survey the scene through my red-white-and-blue 2009shaped novelty glasses, I can’t help but think things still unusually sparkly.The second week of the New Year is a good one: Big names are doing cool things; small names are doing big things.The old and the new combine, and the party never seems to end. Sugar Salon Jan. 8, Baryshnikov Arts Center, 4...
Speed Reads:
This month’s literary landscape at a glance
The Way of Herodotus By Justin Marozzi, Out Jan. 1 Marozzi pens a travel narrative that follows the footsteps of that first travel writer, Herodotus, through the Mediterranean and Middle East. Even travel writing has gone Meta! To Sound in the Know:This isn´t just a dusty look at history: the index has references to "Sex and Sexuality" and "Bestiality." A Long Time Coming: The Inspiring, Combative 2008 Campaig...
The Year in Digital
An online triumph in 2008
IN SCOTT KIRSNER’S recent book, Inventing the Movies: Hollywood’s Epic Battle Between Innovation and Status Quo, from Thomas Edison to Steve Jobs, the author breaks down the forces behind the technological progress of the movie business into three categories: innovators, preservationists and sideline-sitters.The innovators continuously seek new ways to create and disseminate movies, while the others eithe...
Scream Test
McDonagh’s Inishmaan is the luck of the Irish.
SOLID BUT ULTIMATELY forgettable playwrights need only create a few passable works to furnish us with a sense of who they are and why they write. What distinguishes workmanlike scribes from great dramatists is that for the latter it takes many plays—a writing lifetime—for us to grasp their complete voice and vision. The Irish playwright Martin McDonagh is one figure on the road to transcending the boxes...
