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 ]
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Can Liz Cheney defeat 'Orange Jesus'? Her anti-Trump book sure feels like a campaign memoir

In 'Oath and Honor,' Rep. Liz Cheney exposes the actions of Kevin McCarthy and other Jan. 6 enablers of Donald Trump, but fails to compel readers. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-12-04 20:11:02 UTC ]
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Most Parents Trust, Respect, and Feel Safe with Librarians: Book Censorship News, December 1, 2023

Despite rhetoric from the far right, most parents feel their kids are safe in libraries and that librarians are trustworthy. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2023-12-01 11:40:00 UTC ]
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Who Doesn’t Like Music? Nabokov, For Starters

In his memoir Speak, Memory, Vladimir Nabokov reflected: “Music, I regret to say, affects me merely as an arbitrary succes­sion of more or less irritating sounds.” The furor over Lolita may have died down, but this confes­sion still has the power to shock. Did the man just say he doesn’t like... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-11-29 09:55:49 UTC ]
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Arundhati Roy calls the siege of Gaza “a crime against humanity.”

In a video address to the Munich Literature Festival yesterday, the human rights activist and Booker Prize-winning author of The God of Small Things Arundhati Roy made a powerful speech in solidarity with the Gazan people, and with the millions around the world marching for a ceasefire. Roy—who... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-11-17 17:42:49 UTC ]
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4 New Military Histories for the Dad Who Doesn't Watch Football

It's important to keep dads preoccupied over the holidays. If your dad isn't a pigskin sort of dad, perhaps he's a Civil War or World War II sort of a dad, or perhaps even a naval warfare type. If he is, these books may help keep this year's holiday season a bit more peaceful. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-11-17 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Research Publishing: Projekt DEAL, Springer Nature in New Five-Year Accord

The three-publisher program devised to elevate German open-access research publication reports that it expects a formal signing of a new accord within weeks. The post Research Publishing: Projekt DEAL, Springer Nature in New Five-Year Accord appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2023-11-08 21:43:12 UTC ]
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PRH Makes More Small Gains in Diversifying Its Workforce

Penguin Random House's annual update on its workforce demographics showed modest progress in adding more employees from BIPOC groups despite a rise in hiring of new white workers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-11-07 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Levine Querido: Making Waves in the Spanish Market

Since its inception in 2019, the children’s publisher has quietly amassed a list of award-winning and bestselling titles with a focus on stories about the Latine experience by Latine creators. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-10-30 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Academic Publishing: Springer Nature Acquires Slimmer AI’s Science Division

The Dutch Slimmer AI's science division moves to Springer Nature in a partnership intended to support editors and research writers. The post Academic Publishing: Springer Nature Acquires Slimmer AI’s Science Division appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2023-10-27 11:34:24 UTC ]
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Desperate to Make Her Mother Smile, Nina Simon Wrote a Book

The author of “Mother-Daughter Murder Night” started working on her debut novel during a time of tremendous stress. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-10-26 09:02:09 UTC ]
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Scholastic will drop policy that makes it easier for school fairs to exclude diverse books

Scholastic Inc. will end a widely criticized policy that made it easier for school book fairs not to sell works with racial, disability and LGBTQ+ themes Continue reading at ABC News

[ ABC News | 2023-10-25 19:50:33 UTC ]
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When a Book Deal Feels Like ‘Winning the Middle-Age Lottery’

Dann McDorman, the executive producer of “The Beat With Ari Melber,” gave up writing fiction in his 20s. Now, he’s publishing his first novel at age 47. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-10-24 09:02:04 UTC ]
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Why this AI pioneer is calling for 'human centered' computing

Fei-Fei Li, author of 'The Worlds I See' and co-director of Stanford's Human-Centered AI Institute, joins the L.A. Times Book Club Nov. 14. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-10-20 14:00:28 UTC ]
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Marianne Moore and AI Helped Make Sean Michaels' New Novel

The author of 'Do You Remember Being Born?' explains how he created a "Moorebot" to generate the verse in the novel. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-10-20 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Along Utah’s Wasatch Front, LGBTQ Bookstores Make a Statement

The King's English Bookshop in Salt Lake City doubles down on supporting Drag Story Hours following a bomb threat, and is preparing to launch a new venture, Mosaics Community Bookstore and Venue. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-10-19 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Why publisher teams are making the case for a CDP in a first-party world

Anne Curtin, director, corporate marketing, BlueConic Amid deprecating cookies and rising consumer expectations for privacy, first-party data represents the future for media and publishing companies that want to build stronger customer relationships, gain a competitive advantage and drive... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2023-10-10 13:57:25 UTC ]
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Sustainability: SBTi Verifies Springer Nature’s Net Zero Targets

The Sustainable Business Report that Springer Nature released in April gets an update with new verifications of its targets from SBTi. The post Sustainability: SBTi Verifies Springer Nature’s Net Zero Targets appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2023-10-06 00:23:48 UTC ]
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Book Review: ‘Making It So,’ by Patrick Stewart

In his fond memoir “Making It So,” the actor traces the path from the working class to the Shakespearean stage to “Star Trek” superstardom. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-10-03 09:00:17 UTC ]
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The New PublisHer Stand Makes Its Frankfurt Debut

The new PublisHer stand, first seen at this year's Bologna Children's Book Fair, will be in Hall 5.1 at Frankfurter Buchmesse. The post The New PublisHer Stand Makes Its Frankfurt Debut appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2023-10-02 21:30:40 UTC ]
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AI Detection Startups Say Amazon Could Flag AI Books. It Doesn't

Amazon has taken some steps to stem the tide of books written with artificial intelligence, but another solution may already exist. Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2023-09-28 11:00:00 UTC ]
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