“Knowing other people’s business is the worst investment a man can make in my circle.”—Eddie Mars
The Big Sleep / Raymond Chandler
Despite his aversion to writing, Lucas began painstakingly composing his own science-fiction story: It centered on the adventures of two bickering robots (the future R2-D2 and C-3PO), inspired by the comedy duo Laurel and Hardy as well as the clownish hobo peasants of Akira Kurosawa’s Hidden Fortress.
![Crocheted Cthulhu
[via]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mbs9zv18gD1qjsf5ho1_500.jpg)
Crocheted Cthulhu
[via]
The Force is The Force, Of Course
via Neatorama
What we’re reading
Friday Reads Club is here, and we have a packed house with a bevy of picks. Enjoy!
Henry is living in Gotham City with graphic novel Batman: Hush written by Jeph Loeb and illustrated by Jim Lee:
The Epic 12-part Batman story arc featuring nearly every major ally and villain including his relationship with Catwoman. With dynamic and beautiful artwork by the amazing Jim Lee. This story should hold me over till I see THE DARK KNIGHT RISES on IMAX. Still sold out!
Elianna is diving into Nabokov’s Selected Poems, recently published by Knopf:
I’m often skeptical of poetry in translation, but am still curious about the way in which this book will amplify the English language readers’ vision of Nabokov’s world.
I’ve also been captivated by Hannah Tennant-Moore’s piece on eroticism in Henry Miller and female sexuality. You can read it yourself at The Paris Review Daily:
Justin picked up the latest August issue of GQ and is deciding whether to crack Philip K. Dick’s The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch or Ubik. Decisions, decisions.
P.J. is rereading the Patrick Melrose novels and also reading True Believers by Kurt Anderson saying only that it is “really good. Don’t want it to end. But end it will soon.”
Daniel and James are both in Donald Antrim’s grasp. Daniel just started Elect Mr. Robinson for a Better World and is worried that things won’t end well in this “off-kilter, strange, and quietly violent Florida suburban universe.”
James is reading Lydia Kiesling’s outstanding review (see reblog) of Donald Antrim’s novels at The Millions, excerpt from the review below:
“Even very great writers don’t often write like this. So when you’ve surfeited yourself on hunger games and vampires and zombies and lukewarm bondage and everything else that dulled our synapses this year — when you need a new genius — don’t despair, choose Donald Antrim.”
Elizabeth is plowing through submissions and looking forward to picking up a copy of The Dream Team by Jack McCallum, which she plans to take on vacation next weekend. She hears “it’s amazeballs, terrible pun intended.”
Gabrielle is enjoying The Post-Office Girl by Stefan Zweig, published by NYRB:
I had read Zweig’s other book Confusion a little over a month ago and loved it so when I saw that Community Bookstore in Brooklyn had chosen this one for their August book club I ran out and bought a copy. I’m looking forward to discussing it with people in a few weeks. Zweig is such a fun writer, focusing on interpersonal relationships and the quirky internal thoughts that lurk beneath the surface.
At the time he was writing, mainly during the 1930s, his novels were considered contemporary fiction. He questioned the conventional attitudes of his fellow Europeans towards sexuality and class. I wish he were alive and writing today. I’d love to know what he thinks of our current culture.
It’s also worth noting that this is one of Darin’s favorites and as soon as I’m done, I’m running into his office so we can gush.
Have a great weekend, everybody!
![Presenting the Cultural Imperialism Bingo Card
If you think colonialism is dead… think again. Globalisation has indeed made the world smaller–furthering the dominance of the West over the developing world, shrinking and devaluing local cultures, and uniformising everything to Western values and Western ways of life. This is a pernicious, omnipresent state of things that leads to the same unfounded things being said, over and over, to people from developing countries and/or on developing countries.
via Aliette de Bodard’s website
[Card designed by Aliette de Bodard, Joyce Chng, Kate Elliott, Rochita Loenen-Ruiz, @requireshate, Charles Tan, @automathic and @mizHalle. Launch orchestrated with the help of Zen Cho]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m5kevj3nKj1qjsf5ho1_500.png)
Presenting the Cultural Imperialism Bingo Card
If you think colonialism is dead… think again. Globalisation has indeed made the world smaller–furthering the dominance of the West over the developing world, shrinking and devaluing local cultures, and uniformising everything to Western values and Western ways of life. This is a pernicious, omnipresent state of things that leads to the same unfounded things being said, over and over, to people from developing countries and/or on developing countries.
via Aliette de Bodard’s website
[Card designed by Aliette de Bodard, Joyce Chng, Kate Elliott, Rochita Loenen-Ruiz, @requireshate, Charles Tan, @automathic and @mizHalle. Launch orchestrated with the help of Zen Cho]
![Soon the low red moon will rise in the inky sky, and the first wolf will come out of the ruins, raise its head, and howl, sending a lone call on high, into the icy expanses, to the distant blue wolves sitting on branches in the black groves of alien universes.
White Walls: Collected Stories / Tatyana Tolstaya
[Illustration: Ashmantle]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m5empm5QE31qjsf5ho1_500.jpg)
Soon the low red moon will rise in the inky sky, and the first wolf will come out of the ruins, raise its head, and howl, sending a lone call on high, into the icy expanses, to the distant blue wolves sitting on branches in the black groves of alien universes.
White Walls: Collected Stories / Tatyana Tolstaya
[Illustration: Ashmantle]
RAY BRADBURY 1920-2012
Here’s a roundup of news surrounding the New Yorker’s science fiction issue
Greg Rucka has rocked the worlds of comics and novels for years, including memorable Batman writing, plus the Queen and Country series and the Atticus Kodiak books. But he might be best known for being a man who writes a lot of “strong female characters.”
People always ask Rucka why he chooses to write so many hard-hitting women. And now, to celebrate the release of his new novel Alpha, he’s explaining why.
A MOLESKIN SKETCH BY MATTIAS ADOLFSSON REMINDS US WHAT IT’S LIKE TO BE A KID AGAIN.
More at Co.Design
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![Robot tea infuser
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