Posts tagged as Reading is Fundamental
Three Rotten Classic Books I Never Want to See Again
When I was in school, I was forced to read any number of books that I hated. By this method, schools do a pretty solid job of turning off many kids from reading for good. God forbid you should read anything "fun," or "readable," or "not boring and shitty." No, no: It's a steady diet of Johnny Tremain and opaque Toni Morrison novels for you. Your assignment tonight is to read 70 pages of Song of Solomon, or slit your wrists and never come back to school. LEARNING. READ MORE
Long Reads: The New Website Most Important to the Future of the Internet
It's the future of the Internet—the just-launched Long Reads website! Previously conducted solely through Twitter, the Long Reads project is now live, searchable and full of wordy goodness. Here's where you can help: the most-frequently suggested sources for Long Reads are good but a little traditional, including as they do the Times and the New Yorker and those usual suspects. And also the list of writers being added are a little expected too (and with only one woman in the top ten—Jill Lepore!). You can help! This is the one time we actually agree with the usually fascist advice that if you see something, say something. You too can use The Twitters and the hashtag #longreads to do more important things than discussing your cat's bowel movements!
Terrible News: Sarah Palin 4 Kidz Biography On Hold
The "young readers" Christian biography of Sarah Palin has been shelved. Too bad, because it sounds great! "Vanity Fair, which published a critical post-mortem on the McCain campaign, is called a 'widely read gossip magazine.'" Well, half-right.
The "Twilight Saga: Eclipse†Trailer Charitably Rates A 3rd Grade Reading Level
After a stock shot from a helicopter-mounted camera zooming over green woods towards a lake nestled in the mountains, the characters of the Twilight saga once again come stumbling forth to present drama and turn into wolves and, apparently, get engaged to vampires. The script, chopped up for the trailer, is a mix of dramatic statement and narrative exposition. To understand it in written form, you would need to have completed the third grade, according to readability tests. READ MORE
WaPo News and Mag Divisions Report Massive Losses; Revenue Plummets
You may have noticed some very glowing stories this morning about the Washington Post Company! The AP says: "Washington Post Co. quadruples 4Q profit"! That is true! Now, this is a company with many different arms. Two of the wings, the cable TV stations and the Kaplan education services, provide fully 75% of the company's income. But what about the newspapers and magazines, you ask, from which the company takes its name? Well they are in the toilet, actually, and had a very bad year. READ MORE
The Awl Bookmobile: John Ortved's "The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History"
John Ortved's "The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History" is out and available for purchase by you! (It is currently only #285 in books on Amazon; you can help!) Would you like to try a small sample? In this excerpt, we learn about how love money hurt the show's co-developers Matt Groening, Sam Simon and James L. Brooks. READ MORE
