Monday's Margins: The I'm So Tired from BEA I Don't Know What I'm Typing Version

I got back today from a wonderful weekend at Book Expo America, held this year at the Javits Center in New York City. In honor of that, I present you with links to mostly Book Expo stuff, and some literary news. Watch my own blog for a more personalized recap in the next couple of days:

David Varno talks about the Book Reviews 2010 panel over at Critical Mass. The highlight of attending was getting to meet the very smart Bethanne Patrick, otherwise known as thebookmaven on Twitter.

Over at Baby Got Books, Russ Marshalek provided some of the funniest BEA updates. Really. Go look.

SPEAKING of Russ Marshalek, there was this massive gathering known as a tweetup where a bunch of tweeps met and drank Michiko Kakutinis and other wild literary concoctions. I was supposed to be there, but sadly didn't make it in time. You can read all the juicy details at Jacket Copy.

Congratulations to John Freeman. It was announced on Granta's website on Thursday that he is now Acting Editor of the magazine.

A new book has just been published by Bellevue Literary Press (the same folks who published Tinkers by Paul Harding). A.N. Devers brought it to my attention. It's called The Jump Artist and it's by Austin Ratner. Publishers Weekly named it one of the ten promising debut novels of 2009. It sounded so good that I immediately walked over to Three Lives & Company Bookstore (hands down one of the most jaw-dropping indie bookstores you will ever see) and bought a copy.

An article on re-reading in The New York Times. (via @curiousmartha).

Obama: literate

President, Mrs. Obama To Be Honorary Chairs of National Book Festival

Ninth Annual Event on Sept. 26 Will Draw Book-Lovers to the National Mall

(Vocus/PRWEB ) May 26, 2009 -- President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will serve as Honorary Chairs of the 2009 National Book Festival, organized and sponsored by the Library of Congress. Now in its ninth year, this popular event celebrating the joys of reading and lifelong literacy will be held on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., between 7th and 14th Streets from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (rain or shine). The event is free and open to the public.

"We are delighted that the President and Mrs. Obama are committed to bringing this inspirational event to people of all ages nationwide," said Librarian of Congress James H. Billington. "The National Book Festival has become a true American institution. It is a joyous and very popular celebration of books and reading in the Washington, D.C. area."

The 2009 National Book Festival will feature about 70 award-winning authors, poets and illustrators in pavilions dedicated to book subjects ranging from history and biography to mysteries, thrillers, poetry and prose, and books for families and young people. Festival-goers can meet and hear firsthand from their favorite authors, get books signed, have photos taken with PBS storybook characters and participate in a variety of learning activities.

The Pavilion of the States will represent reading- and library-promotion programs and literary events in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. trusts and territories.

The popular Let's Read America pavilion will offer reading activities that are fun for the whole family. The Library of Congress Pavilion will showcase the cultural treasures to be found in the Library's vast online collections and offer information about Library programs.

The 2009 National Book Festival will be made possible through the support of Distinguished Benefactor Target and many other generous supporters.

The Library of Congress, the nation's oldest federal cultural institution, is the world's preeminent reservoir of knowledge, providing unparalleled collections and integrated resources to Congress and the American people. Many of the Library's rich resources and treasures may be accessed through the Library's website, www.loc.gov, and via interactive exhibitions on myLOC.gov.

Public contact: Roberta Stevens (202) 707-1550, rste(at)loc.gov
Press contact: Jennifer Gavin (202) 707-1940, jgav(at)loc.gov

Monday's Margins: Really brief Memorial Day edition.

... There's an iPhone app on the way for Bookmooch.

... The Fictionaut blog has started a "Rediscovered Reading" series. First up: Father Must by Rick Rofihe.

... Real or hoax, I love it (and would love to see it copied everywhere): high school student opens his own lending library, of banned books, in his locker. Nice!

Monday's Margins: Ha Jin, Paul Auster, a new e-book reader, and tools for readers and writers.

... The Granta summer fiction issue is available for purchase; it has Banville, an excerpt from Paul Auster's forthcoming novel Invisible, and a new Ha Jin story, which you can also read here.

... Another entry in the e-book reader market: the COOL-ER. Their store has over 750,000 titles, their device will accept various formats. It isn't the Kindle. (That's a good thing.)

... The new search engine WolframAlpha has some nice features for readers and writers, some of which may be sampled here and here.

... Reading online? You will want to make frequent use of the following: Readability, PrintWhatYouLike, and PageZipper.

Monday's Margins: Jeanette Winterson, Italo Calvino, The Critical Flame, and more

Better later in the day than never...

Jeanette Winterson writing about Italo Calvino makes me very, very happy. Two of my all-time favorite authors.

There's a new journal of literature and culture called THE CRITICAL FLAME. (Via Conversational Reading).

I want to read Matthew Pearl's The Last Dickens after hearing his recent interview on NPR. Here I thought bookaneers were just people who like to hang out with Tina Fey.

The lovely Marie Mockett interviews Colson Whitehead over at Maud's blog. Sag Harbor is getting terrific reviews. Colson should get a reward for being one of the smartest authors on Twitter. He really knows how to interact with readers in an engaging way.

I recently read (and LOVED) Joe Meno's latest novel, The Great Perhaps. I got to interview him over the weekend, so watch for a forthcoming author interview published here at Identity Theory. In the meantime, you can watch Joe read from the first chapter of his book.

Monday's Margins: Short stories, end of Sentences, value of writing, end of deep reading.

Short Story Month is in full effect.

Wyatt Mason is closing up shop at Sentences and moving on to other matters. Look through the archives for lots of good material.

In other countries, when the manuscripts of a treasured author are transported to a permanent archive, it is done under a veil of secrecy. Here, eh, probably FedEx.

If you've made it this far, here's an article about "the end of deep reading."