Is Jonathan Franzen The Mitt Romney Of American Letters?

“What he does [professionally], he does well. As a writer of enticing, accessible prose, Franzen is a craftsman. … But as a public figure, Franzen is a frustrating mess. He comes off as small, unsympathetic, out of touch, and tone deaf. … Franzen never apologizes for who he is, or his success, but just like Romney, the more he opens his mouth, the more you want him to shut it.”

E-Books Are Not Killing Reading (We’ve Said It Before, We’ll Say It Again)

“There are two big questions about the future of books and technology. One is: are people reading more and, by implication, buying more books? The answer is yes. … [O]verall revenues, and number of books sold in all formats, were up sizably in three years since 2008. Without e-books, the numbers would have been flat, or declined.”

Can Sluts Across America Reclaim That Dirty Word?

“Enlightened men and ladies have spilled a lot of ink trying to kill off the derogatory epithet. But the newborn Sluts Across America project [www.slutsacrossamerica.org] is taking a different tack: Instead of fighting a term that shows few signs of going anywhere – and one that felicitously gives Rush Limbaugh and rap artists something in common – they’re reclaiming it.”

Margaret Atwood: ”Money Is Imaginary. Debts Are Real.’

“It’s real because it’s a visceral, emotional thing and we all know that. We all know that when the engagement breaks up, you give back the ring. People who keep the ring are really [makes a face of great disgust]. These are emotional balances. They’re in us long before money enters the picture. They’re in us as kids, little kids. ‘It’s not fair,’ kicks in probably between 3 and 4, big time.”

A New Yorker Editor Fesses Up About The Diaeresis

“The fact is that, absent the two dots, most people would not trip over the ‘coop’ in ‘cooperate’ or the ‘reel’ in ‘reelect’ (though they might pronounce the ‘zoo’ in ‘zoological,’ a potential application of the diaeresis that we get no credit for resisting). And yet we use the diaeresis for the same reason that we use the hyphen: to keep the cow out of co-workers.”