The Delights of Walking




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photo: Thorne Anderson |
"Wizards, Moomins and pirates." The Guardian explored "the magic and mystery of literary maps."
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In anticipation of Halloween, Merriam-Webster showcased "8 words for the necromantic in your life
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"Tim Gunn is my writing teacher." At Electric Lit, Hilarie Ashton explained the Project Runway star's role in "getting me through my dissertation."
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JSTOR Daily explored "why Europe's oldest intact book was found in a saint's coffin."
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Bookshelf featured Sedbergh's Book Shelter, created by "bibliophiles in the community, which claims to have the most books for sale per head of population anywhere in England."
In 1993, Jeffrey Eugenides released his debut novel, The Virgin Suicides, to widespread critical acclaim. Set in Grosse Pointe, Mich., during the 1970s, The Virgin Suicides is told via the first-person voices of teenage boys fascinated by the local Lisbon family. The Lisbons have five girls, ages 13 to 17, with a homemaker mother and Catholic father who is also the high school math teacher. When the youngest Lisbon girl commits suicide, their father becomes increasingly overbearing with his remaining daughters. Eventually the girls are all withdrawn from school and forced to stay home, becoming even more mysterious to the watching boys.
In 1999, Sofia Coppola directed an adaptation of The Virgin Suicides starring James Woods, Kathleen Turner, Kirsten Dunst and Josh Hartnett. It was Sofia Coppola's directorial debut. Eugenides has since written Middlesex (2002), winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction; The Marriage Plot (2011); and Fresh Complaint (2017), a short story collection. On October 2, Picador will publish a 25th-anniversary edition of The Virgin Suicides with a new introduction by Emma Cline ($17, 9781250303547). --Tobias Mutter
Discover: Leif Enger's third novel is the warmhearted story of how some inhabitants of a depressed small town recover their zest for life.
Discover: In this richly layered story, a visitor claiming to be kin forces an elderly woman to confront uncomfortable truths about the tragedies of her past.
Discover: Constance Kopp takes on petty criminals and local politicians in Amy Stewart's witty, insightful fourth mystery.
Discover: Sheriff Walt Longmire travels to Mexico to save his daughter from a ruthless, deadly drug lord.
Discover: The truth about one reckless New Year's Eve party comes out after a woman goes missing a decade later.
Discover: Rosewater, a speculative novel set in Nigeria, is a thrilling twist on the alien invasion narrative, perfect for fans of Jeff VanderMeer and N.K. Jemisin.
Discover: This is a Korean American woman's moving memoir of her experience as a transracial adoptee and her reconnection with her birth family.
Discover: Rapper Dessa delivers a philosophical essay collection about science, music and heartbreak.
Discover: The challenges facing Native Americans in the U.S. are presented by a journalist who knows them well.
Discover: This passionate book written by a former White House communications officer explains the broad scope of climate change and offers proposals for solving it.
Discover: In this funny, moving novel, four teens explore an abandoned gold mine in order to placate their town's resident bully, making discoveries about the past--and themselves--along the way.
Discover: The Dreamer knows when pigs fly: when they get a little help from their (animal) friends.
Discover: Thirteen-year-old Zane Obispo discovers he's the chosen one--to release the murderous and vengeful Mayan god of death, that is.