Thursday, November 15, 2012

Small press in NYC making books the old-fashioned way

The Crumpled Press based in New York is taking the publishing world back to its roots by producing hand-sewn books. Not only that, but their paper is made with wind energy and is recyclable.

Here's a quote from editor and founder Jordan McIntyre:

"With the advent of digital publishing, a lot of people ask me if I’m opposed [to it], thinking as a publisher I’m obsessed with the book as object. My answer is no. If you want to read a throwaway paperback that you may forget about, then read it on a Kindle. If you want something in your collection to last, if you love it, then it should be bound in a more caring manner."

Read the whole story and see pictures of Crumpled Press' books being bound by hand here.

And be sure to visit their website and buy something. These guys deserve it and you deserve their books!

Friday, November 9, 2012

Phillip Roth Throws in The Towel

In an interview with the French publication Les inRocks novelist Philip Roth has said he will retire from writing.

"At the end of his life, the boxer Joe Louis said: 'I did the best I could with what I had,'" Roth said. "This is exactly what I would say of my work: I did the best I could with what I had."

To read more on Salon, and to find the link to the original article in French, click here.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Two of Japan's Greatest

Check out this conversation between two of Japan's literary heavyweights, Kazuo Ishiguro and Kenzaburo Oe, from Grand Street, a lit mag that no longer exists.



"The observations you just made about the reception of Mishima in Europe are accurate. Mishima’s entire life, certainly including his death by seppuku, was a kind of performance designed to present the image of an archetypal Japanese. Moreover, this image was not the kind that arises spontaneously from a Japanese mentality. It was the superficial image of a Japanese as seen from a European point of view, a fantasy. Mishima acted out that image just as it was. He created himself exactly in accordance with it. That was the way he lived, and that was the way he died" -Oe