Ten Stories Up

Literary cuteness via I Can Has Cheezburger

Forgive me, because I don't remember how I was referred to all these, and I always try to give a tip of the hat to the place I found them, but my link-keeping got slovenly.

1) In any case, I do remember reading about this "new" Agatha Christie story starring Hercule Poirot on Sarah Weinman's blog. Read "The Capture of Cerberus" at the Daily Mail here.

2) The San Jose Mercury News reprints Ruth La Ferla in the NYT who discusses how the economic recession is dimming the tone of chick lit. I suppose it's nice they bothered to notice, and I'm happy about the change, since I grew fatigued with the call-and-response of brand$ a while ago, though the article does contain this howler (emphasis mine):

And yet, even the most lurid accounts of conspicuous consumption have never been entirely escapist, says Mallory Young, the editor, with Suzanne Ferriss, of "Chick Lit: The New Woman's Fiction" (Routledge, 2005). "Chick lit usually responds through comedy to real situations confronting real women," Young maintains. Unlike romance novels, chick lit "recognizes and responds to the world outside," she says.

I know I mentioned going to a conference at- ahem- Princeton recently where sharp acedemics discussed, among other issues, how romance fiction (and I argue crime, too!) well reflects its time, adapting even faster than "non-genre" lit-rah-chure. If this editor thinks that so-called women's fiction is an entirely different species than those genres (and a necessarily superior one, of course) I say nyet.

3) The recession looks to have turned those stay-cations into greater traffic at living history sites. The Sun Inn is just one building, but complexes like Sturbridge Village are experiencing their best season in a decade. For (us) history fans, how's that for silver lining?

4) 3G speed developments and standardized book formats from Sony for their Daily Edition e-reader. Having better stuff available makes everything available better- bring it on!