J.D. Salinger Letters Discovered, Reveal Social Life, Unpublished Work
The celebrated author of teen angst and alienation novel The Catcher in the Rye was known for his reclusive behavior in his latter years. However, recently discovered letters reveal that J.D. Salinger may not have been the hermit he was thought to be. In correspondence to a friend from his teen years, Salinger is depicted as a man who enjoyed watching tennis, trips to the theater, and fast-food burgers—specifically from Burger King.... read more
Found in: Books, News11 Documentaries Coming to Theaters & DVD in Fall 2010
A decade ago, this would have been a list of Documentaries Your Video Store Might One Day Carry... read more
Found in: Blogs, List of the DayBuy J.D. Salinger's Toilet on eBay for $1 Million
The real-life, personally owned and used commode of recently deceased writer J.D. Salinger can now be yours, should you click the “Buy It Now” button on the toilet’s eBay auction. The catch is, of course, that the pricetag is a cool $1 million. But hey, you can make an offer too!... read more
Found in: Books, NewsA Dozen of Literature's Greatest Jerks
The other day, while listening to LCD Soundsystem’s “Dance Yrself Clean” the line, “Talking like a jerk / Except you are an actual jerk / And living proof that sometimes friends are mean” started knocking around in our heads, and it got us to thinking about all the jerks we’ve met in our lifetimes. From there, we started thinking about all the jerks we’ve read about in our lifetimes—there are plenty of literary characters we’ve encountered that almost make the real-life jerks seem tolerable. Below are a dozen that particularly stand out.... read more
Found in: Blogs, List of the DayCatcher in the Rye Sequel's Legal Battle Continues
Nearly a year ago, then-90-year-old J.D. Salinger—who passed away earlier this year —brought legal action against the writer, publishers and distributors of a Catcher in the Rye sequel. That legal battle is still ongoing, leaving the fate of the would-be sequel up in the air.... read more
Found in: Books, NewsFour Reasons I Reconsidered Catcher In The Rye
I expected to hate Catcher in the Rye. Except for a brief but tumultuous affair with Kerouac during my junior year of college, I’ve always been suspicious of educated, angst-ridden youths. Holden Caulfield’s legacy of torn leather jackets and frayed sweater vests—from Burroughs to Cuomo to Cera—is often written off in my mind as wholly foreign, worlds away from my rural upbringing and church-inspired need for small talk and donuts on Sunday.... read more
Found in: Blogs, List of the Day10 Frequently-Challenged Books Everyone Should Read
It should go without saying that, as a publication, we're pretty big fans of that whole freedom-of-speech thing. So, we couldn't help but notice the list of the 100 most frequently challenged books from 1990-2000, as reported by the American Library Association. These are all books that people have tried to keep out of libraries or other public venues because they are somehow deemed "inappropriate" or "dangerous." The whole thing is a little Fahrenheit 451 if you ask us. (Although, oddly, the great book about the dangers of censorship doesn't appear on the list of books people most commonly try... read more
Found in: Blogs, List of the DayJ.D. Salinger Sues Over Catcher Sequel
If J.D. Salinger continues to have his way, Holden Caulfield and his red hunting hat will remain within the sanctity of yellowed paperbacks pored over in high-school English classes and re-read for decades. That means no television, film or theater adaptations, thank you. And certainly no book sequels.... read more
Found in: Books, NewsALA launches 27th Banned Books Week
It seems fitting that this year's Banned Books Week began on the heels of Saturday's National Book Festival, hosted by Laura Bush in Washington, D.C. The freedom to read will be celebrated all over the country with events that typically include wine-and-cheese soirees at indie book stores, readings at metropolitan libraries and challenged-books displays behind glass cases in elementary schools. But there's an even simpler way to show your support your right to read what you want: pick up a banned book.... read more
Found in: Books, News
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