Have you come across any click-worthy links this week? Our Google reader is always overflowing, and here are a few links we were especially excited about.
- This gallery of the best book covers that got away from the New York Times (via). Did you know that “Designers can generate as many as 50 covers for high-profile books”?
- An essay on the role of “hype”—real and perceived—in the literary world today, by Elif Bautman, the author of The Possessed and a 2010 Whiting Writer to Watch. Bautman closes the piece with a vow to write positive reviews of 5 books by living writers on Amazon, and post about them on her blog. We’ll be reading!
- What Your American Girl Doll Says About the Rest of Your Life cracked me up. I’m a Samantha/No American Girl Doll personality (my parents made me save up half the price, no small task for a 9-year-old, and the only “accessory” I got was the pattern set to make my own outfits for the doll with the help of my grandmother). Might have gone for Kirsten but living in Minnesota at the time, it felt too obvious.
- At BookPage, we’re big fans of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, made by a small Ohio-based company and sold at our beloved Hot N Cold. So imagine our excitement when we learned that Jeni was sharing her recipes in a new cookbook, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home, out this June from Artisan Books.
- The controversy over the Man Booker International Prize has been one of the most interesting publishing stories to hit this week. If you haven’t heard about Carmen Callil’s vocal resignation from the committee over their decision to give the prize to Philip Roth, Moby Lives offers a terrific rundown of critics’ commentary.
Have anything to add to the list?
Happy Friday! What are you reading this weekend?
I liked Samantha but associated more with Molly. But my folks never could afford them.