The Post is reporting that for a brief period yesterday, Jonathan Franzen’s Freedom slipped free of its embargo and was available online in its entirety thanks to a mistake by Amazon. It is gone now, but not for long: the book will be available to non-presidential readers on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, The Read More
Coming up in The Paris Review: Interviews with Norman Rush and Michel Houellebecq.
Slate helps you poop.
No, you cannot eat kangaroos or snow leopards.
Burnch with music sounds like too many things.
Memories of Ken Mehlman.
The Rumpus interviews Lydia Davis.
Isabella Read More
Publishers Weekly has released their review of James Franco’s forthcoming short story collection, Palo Alto. It is not a good review.
“The author fails to find anything remotely insightful to say in these 11 amazingly underwhelming stories,” declares PW, adding that several stories read “like Patrick Bateman from American Psycho fell Read More
An anonymous tweeter writing as FashionweekNYC began attracting attention in the last few weeks with a steady stream of tweets describing Fashion Week plans. Who was this person? How did he attract 24,942 followers? And who was he working for?
Lincoln Center and IMG both denied any affiliation with the account, but Racked Read More
American Apparel’s financial future continues to look bleak, and the retailer may be forced to cut back on its signature ads. WWD reports that in the last year already, AA’s advertising, trade show and catalogue spending fell by $9.6 million, mostly in advertising. So what does this mean for the “blogs, Read More
Amazon says the new Kindle sold big, but continues to avoid actual numbers.
NPR has a Franzen excerpt.
Novelist Rosecrans Baldwin likes crappy speakers.
Reviewing the city’s many Shake Shacks.
West Village signage: “PLEASE call…(212) 564-7453…Christine Quinn’s Office, West Village District, if you have had Read More
What brought about yesterday’s resolution to the Random House-Wylie standoff, and was Wylie really the loser that he appeared to be? Publishers Weekly hears that Random House has been maneuvering behind the scenes to appease agents:
One high-placed source with direct knowledge of the rights talks said the house has quietly Read More
The financially woebegone retailer puts on a brave face: “Shop our Back to School packs!” they tweeted today.
So, if you have a hankering for three Cotton Spandex Jersey Strapless Ruched Bodysuits—maybe you should get on that, before American Apparel is totally hosed.
Today Frank Bruni returns briefly to the restaurant beat with a profile of chef Michael White, whose new restaurant—Osteria Morini—will be opening this fall. White was a real live wire, Bruni writes:
He was caroming from one bold proclamation to the next: If his surname were Italian, the city’s food establishment would have Read More
James Franco’s masochistic interests are not limited to endless graduate studies: James Franco is also interested extracurricular amateur amputations.
In Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours, Franco plays Aron Ralston, a climber forced to saw off his own arm after it got trapped under a rock. If this new trailer is to be trusted, the reason Ralston’s Read More
