We are looking forward to the release of Julian Barnes' Levels of Life this week. Here's the N.Y. Times on Barnes' latest book: "Levels of Life, a putative grief memoir about the loss of his wife, the literary agent Pat Kavanagh, is part history, part meditative essay and part fictionalized biography. The pieces combine to form a fascinating discourse on love and sorrow."
Also, that guy Stephen King wrote another book: Doctor Sleep, a sequel to The Shining. He's not a fan of Kubrick's film adaptation of The Shining.
You probably already know this is Banned Books Week. (We'll have more on that later this week.)
David L. Ulin talks Kurt Vonnegut in his recap of the Brooklyn Book Festival.
In Praise of Leonard Cohen, Great Novelist: Jason Diamond's reading of Beautiful Losers. (FWIW, we highly recommend Sylvie Simmons' excellent biography I'm Your Man: The Life of Leonard Cohen.)