Under the Influence of Accents

A Tour Of British Isles Accents In One Unedited Version

Professional accent and dialect coach Andrew Jack covers a dozen or so accents from England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and even the Isle of Man – all in 1’25″. (video)

22 Words

How Can You Be Against World Literature?

What does a critic oppose, exactly, when she takes a stand “against world literature”?

The American Reader

What Do You Do When The Story You Have To Write Has No Real Plot?

“A truly traumatic thing occurs to the family and then the family begins to unravel. The misery of this family’s daily life takes a slow toll. Real life is plotless, but the experience of reading books that replicate this can be irritating.” Akhil Sharma explains how he approached this “technical problem” of writing his autobiographical […] The New Yorker

Donna Tartt’s ‘Goldfinch’, Dan Fagin’s ‘Tom’s River’, Vijay Seshadri’s ’3 Sections’ Win Lit Pulitzers

Tartt’s novel, Fagin’s general nonfiction work and Seshadri’s volume of poetry were joined by prizewinners Margaret Fuller: A New American Life by Megan Marshall (biography) and The Internal Enemy: Slavery and War in Virginia, 1772-1832 by Alan Taylor (history).

Los Angeles Times

The Book Blurb Economy

“The omnipresent, gushing blurbs on the covers all clamour for our attention, but can we trust them? Why do authors write them? And why do publishers insist on them?”

The Globe and Mail (Canada)