America’s public schools are hemorrhaging librarians
America’s public education system is falling apart. Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma, Kentucky, and West Virginia have all seen teacher walkouts this year. Teachers rightfully point to low pay, overcrowded classrooms, and stringent teach-to-the-test policies as… Read more »
Ursula Le Guin wrote a character with “red-brown” skin; fifty years later, he’s finally being depicted as a person of color
Representation in fantasy literature is a problem. The heroes tend to be white, relegating people of color to roles as sidekicks, villains, and the soon-to-be-killed-to-allow-for-another-plot-point. The problem is exacerbated when adaptations… Read more »
The Wodehouse Prize committee confirms that last year was a humorless clusterfuck
At last, there’s proof of just how unfunny the past year has been. We knew it. I mean, we lived it. Three hundred and sixty-five days tripped over themselves in unmitigated calamity. That the… Read more »
The University of Texas library puts books in storage to make way for makers
Last month, I had the chance to attend the Urban Librarians Conference here in Brooklyn. As I listened to librarians discuss the changing spaces they manage, they talked about more than… Read more »
Did you buy Trump / Russia in hardcover? If so, we’ll send you the ebook for free.
When we publish a book as timely and important as Seth Hettena’s Trump/Russia: A Definitive History, out this week, we try our best to make it as accessible as possible.… Read more »
The mayor of Tallahassee has book recommendations for Kanye
Andrew Gillum, the young, vibrant, exciting mayor of Tallahassee, is a supernova in the otherwise soul-sucking black hole of American politics. The youngest-ever elected member of the Tallahassee City Commission when he was but… Read more »
2666, streaming soon from a stage to a screen near you
A couple years ago, we reported on the Chicago debut of a stage adaptation of Last Interview series participant Roberto Bolaño’s masterwork, 2666. With over 900 pages of text and a story that crosses… Read more »
Indie Bookstore Day is Upon Us At Last
Earthlings! Friends! Readers! The time we have so long awaited is at hand: bookish greetings to you on this, the fourth annual Indie Bookstore Day! Just as in revious years, indies… Read more »
INDIE. BOOKSTORE. DAY. 2018. *keyboard smash redacted*
What do you get when you combine the time delineated by the rotation of the planet with a local economic unit designed to educate and entertain by wares made of paper,… Read more »
Rosie the Amazon robot maid might be coming to your house in a pneumatic tube soon
Curtis White opens his treatise on debunking technological determinism, We, Robots, with a quote from Isaac Asimov: There was a time when humanity faced the universe alone and without a… Read more »