How Literature Saved My Life
David Shields
Knopf, 224 pp., $25.95
David Shields, for all he is, can sometimes read like a second-rate Geoff Dyer. In his new book How Literature Saved My Life, Mr. Shields looks at cultural touchstones that are important to him and then tries to conjure up a unifying theory based Read More
“It’s kind of like being in a David Lynch movie,” Jeff Ragsdale told The Observer over the phone. “Half of the calls I get are blocked, so I never know who I’m going to get on the other end.” Six months ago, Mr. Ragsdale started hanging up fliers around New York City, inviting people to call him. 65,000 people did so (including text messages).
Two days ago, The New York Post noticed and did a short profile on Mr. Ragsdale experiment. Since then, Mr. Ragsdale, who said he’s been battling loneliness and depression all his life and started the fliers after a painful breakup, has received another 3,000 calls/texts. (Don’t worry, he’s on a limitless phone plan.) That’s even more than when his note went viral on the front page of Reddit.
Oh, and he has a book coming out today. Read More
THE THING ABOUT LIFE IS THAT ONE DAY YOU’LL BE DEAD
By David Shields
Alfred A. Knopf, 225 pages, $23.95 Once an angry man dragged his father along the ground through his own orchard. “Stop!” cried the groaning old man at last, “Stop! I did not drag my father beyond this tree.” — Read More
The dating scene has gotten so bleak that my husband and I are considering running a personal ad: Committed couple seeks same for platonic partnership involving jovial dinner parties, flirtatious banter and mutual admiration. Country house a plus.
While my single friends complain bitterly about the dearth of desirable mates in New York City, Read More
