Jennifer Egan: ‘Twitter doesn’t make me feel optimistic about human nature’

The Pulitzer prize-winning author discusses her follow up to A Visit from the Goon Squad and how imagining a new technology set her writing freeWhen Jennifer Egan bought her house in Brooklyn 20 years ago, it had been on the market for eight months. The owners were an elderly couple, and the place was distressed. “There were holes in the floor and the walls were drab,” says Egan, sitting in the kitchen of what is now a beautifully renovated property, full of lovely art and restored period details. Remembering how it was fills the 59-year-old novelist with a peculiar and very specific dread. “What really made it gloomy – and I’m very conscious of this – was that the family who’d lived here, the child had grown up, the parents had gotten old, and I think they’d stopped seeing it. There are moments when I think: is that happening now?”It’s the condition in which most of us live – after a while, we stop seeing our surroundings – and one against which Egan’s skill as a novelist is set. She is highly attuned to the falsifying effects of nostalgia, complacency, solipsism and ignorance of history, and to the delusions of uniqueness that dog every age. She is obsessed, for example, with the 1870s, “an amazing decade, because, except for the telegraph, almost none of the inventions we take for granted now – electricity, say – existed yet. And yet, 20 or 30 years later, there were cars. I think we underestimate the degree to which the change we experience is what it’s always been... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2022-04-16 08:00:03 UTC ]
News tagged with: #jennifer egan #feel optimistic #human nature #goon squad #human beings #prize-winning author

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‘Sex writing feels less cringe now’: are we entering a new era of erotic literature?

As the Erotic Review is joined by dating app Feeld’s literary magazine and Gillian Anderson’s anthology of women’s fantasies, there seems to be a fresh appetite for writing about desire‘Sexual liberation must mean freedom to enjoy sex on our terms, to say what we want, not what we are pressured... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-10-30 14:32:58 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #literary magazine #anthology #secret garden


This Middle Grade Queer Graphic Novel Will Make Its Way All The Way Into Your Heart

"This book deserves to be seen by your eyes, stand tall on your bookshelf, be revisited often, and become a warm companion through hopeful and hopeless days." Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2024-10-30 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Can John Green Make You Care About Tuberculosis?

With a forthcoming nonfiction book and an online army of Nerdfighters, the young-adult author aims to eliminate an entirely curable global scourge. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2024-10-30 05:00:09 UTC ]
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Brittany Rogers on How Libraries Helped Her Feel Safe and Embrace Her Queerness

By 2010, nearly every librarian on the east side of Detroit knew me by first and last name. Knapp Branch where the edge of Detroit and Hamtramck kiss. Franklin Branch, the only one in walking distance. Lincoln and Wilder—both on the east side of the city. Chandler Park when leaving the daycare... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2024-10-16 08:56:12 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #libraries #feel safe


8 truly useful AI tools that make your life and work easier

Artificial intelligence is the holy grail of the information age and the hot topic du jour. The hype was triggered by the revolutionary chatbot ChatGPT, which has turned our concept of non-human intelligence on its head. With a few key words, the AI creates seemingly authentic essays... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2024-10-15 10:30:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #libraries #playback speed


Blizzard co-founder Mike Morhaime is making a tabletop RPG party game

Blizzard co-founder and ex-CEO Mike Morhaime’s publishing company Dreamhaven just announced a new game that mixes elements of tabletop RPGs with party games like Jackbox. Sunderfolk looks to be a more casual pick-up-and-play take on something like Gloomhaven. The title has been “designed for... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2024-10-10 17:43:24 UTC ]
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Melania Really Doesn’t Care

Her new memoir is a master class in how selective attention and empathy can insulate someone from the pains that trouble the rest of us. Continue reading at The Atlantic

[ The Atlantic | 2024-10-10 11:06:00 UTC ]
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The suit makes office comeback as loose, more relaxed fits reign

The classic men’s suit refuses to die. Despite disruptive sartorial movements like the rise of streetwear and the increasing casualization of C-suite uniforms — not to mention a global pandemic that put everyone in athleisure — the final nail in its coffin has yet to be hammered.In fact, some... Continue reading at Crains New York

[ Crains New York | 2024-10-10 10:03:10 UTC ]
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How to Make Your Library an Even Stronger Place for Civic Engagement

"Civic engagement is an essential component of what libraries do; it's kind of why they exist." Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2024-10-09 15:30:00 UTC ]
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Blizzard is trying to make a StarCraft shooter again (for the third time)

Blizzard is diving into the StarCraft shooter well once again, after two previous titles were canceled. This information comes from a forthcoming book about the developer by games journalist Jason Schreier and was discussed during a recent IGN podcast. This time around, veteran developer Dan Hay... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2024-09-27 15:39:50 UTC ]
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Asian American Bookcon Makes Its Debut in Brooklyn

The inaugural Asian American Bookcon, to be held on September 27, will bring together three dozen authors for a day of presentations, signings, and a party. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-09-26 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Academic Publishing: Springer Nature and Code Ocean Extend a Partnership

Through this new partnership, authors submitting manuscripts to Springer Nature can share code and data through Code Ocean. The post Academic Publishing: Springer Nature and Code Ocean Extend a Partnership appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2024-09-23 18:31:45 UTC ]
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West Coast ice cream shop makes its Upper West Side debut

West Coast ice cream shop Salt & Straw will be dishing out its first scoops in the Northeast this weekend after opening its inaugural Manhattan location Friday, Sept. 20.Backed by prolific restaurateur Danny Meyer, founder and executive chairman of Union Square Hospitality Group and the man... Continue reading at Crains New York

[ Crains New York | 2024-09-20 18:17:38 UTC ]
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Experiments With ChatGPT: Why Artificial Intelligence Can’t Replace Human Creativity

Searches, as our publisher first described to me, is an artful essay collection exploring the nature of artificial intelligence and our complicity with technological capitalism. Through a blend of memoir and cultural criticism, the author Vauhini Vara uses the tools of Big Tech (namely ChatGPT)... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2024-09-20 08:56:45 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #memoir #big tech #cultural criticism #artificial intelligence


Smaller, shorter books aren’t the only way to make publishing more climate friendly.

The BBC published a story the other day on the push towards shorter and slimmer books, as a potential way for publishers to save money and reduce their climate impact. According to a 2021 study, a single paperback book accounts for around 1 kilogram of carbon dioxide equivalent, which is “a... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2024-09-18 17:11:07 UTC ]
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Amazon’s Audiobook Narrators Can Now Make Their Own AI Voice Clones

Plus: Meta’s AI scrapes the UK, Google digitizes your passport, Chrome syncs your tabs everywhere, and (have you heard?) Apple announces some new iPhones. Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2024-09-14 14:30:00 UTC ]
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How to Make Reading Fun Again

We surveyed authors, editors, and booksellers on the current state of middle grade reading and what might bring readers back to books as a source of fun. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-09-06 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Page Street Makes First Foray into Adult Fiction with Horror Line

A new line of horror titles from the Salem, Mass.–based Page Street Publishing, set to launch in spring 2025 under the stewardship of editor Alexandra Murphy, will mark the publisher's first adult fiction program. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-09-05 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Making peace with Spock: Adam Nimoy on reconciling with his famous father

Adam Nimoy, son of Leonard, has published a memoir that centers on the distance he felt from his father and the quest for reconciliation. We talk with Adam ahead of a double screening and talkback in Los Angeles this weekend. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2024-08-28 19:48:37 UTC ]
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15 open-source apps that make any Windows PC better — for free

One of the most exciting things about using a PC is the abundance of free software that’s available to users — so much so, that it can be hard to find the real gems. In fact, most people stop at the free versions of well-known commercial software, but there is a whole universe of... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2024-08-27 10:30:00 UTC ]
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