News & Features » August 2013 » Weekly Roundup for 8/30/13

Weekly Roundup for 8/30/13

Every Friday, the Akashic team highlights industry news, reviews, and features from around the web. This week’s roundup comes to you from Akashic interns Melissa Bean and Yaima Villarreal!

Now you can find your Charles Bukowski fix online. A massive, yet uncompleted, archive of his letters and poems is now available through bukowski.net. What’s your favorite piece from the late Bukowski? Personally, I loved the poem “Bluebird” enough to sit through 5 hours of ribcage tattooing to get something in its honor.

Fans of Markus Zusak’s novel The Book Thief will be happy to know that the official trailer for the movie is out. So, what do you think of Sophie Neliesse as Liesel? After checking out the trailer, I know what I’ll be doing come November 15th; lining up at the box office, waiting to purchase a ticket!Fans of Markus Zusak’s novel The Book Thief will be happy to know that the official trailer for the movie is out. So, what do you think of Sophie Nélisse as Liesel? After checking out the trailer, I know what I’ll be doing come November 15th—lining up at the box office, waiting to purchase a ticket!

Sometimes, when authors don’t have anything nice to say, they immortalize it in print.

This is completely not safe for work but hilarious none the less: Fifty Shades of Grey summarized in the style of Dr. Seuss. Who knew whimsy and whips went so well together?

In his New Yorker article “Why Teach English?” Adam Gopnik writes, “You choose a major, or a life, not because you see its purpose, which tends to shimmer out of sight like an oasis, but because you like its objects.” A wonderful sentiment as we head back to school, but I wonder if the loan offices will accept it as payment?

To whom it may concern: If you’re ever in doubt about when to use “whom” or “who” in a sentence, look no further than this hilarious comic from our friends at The Oatmeal. Potato-shaped caricatures wielding flamethrowers help unravel this grammatical mystery through a series of adorable diagrams. Who else is breathing a sigh of relief?

Does it matter that US universities aren’t assigning classics to their incoming freshman, instead opting for more contemporary human interest books? Ashley Throne from the Guardian believes that it does, stating that it “points to the death of a shared literary culture.” How do you feel: is this yet another hole in the sinking ship of American literacy, or a sign that colleges are learning that most 18-year-olds can’t handle Chaucer on their own?

Attention all bibliophiles: if you’re looking for something to occupy your time this fall, look no further than the TODAY Book Club! On August 20th, the TODAY show launched an interactive online forum for book lovers everywhere, and first up on the list is the highly anticipated debut novel from 21-year-old Samantha Shannon, The Bone Season.

Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google+. Ever since these social media giants came into our lives and took over the Internet, modern courtship has never been the same. Whether or not you agree with this statement, Penguin Press seems to think that it’s at least a subject worth discussing, which is why they’re giving $3.5 million dollars to actor Aziz Ansari to write a book on the topic. The Parks and Recreation star is scheduled to release a book in 2015, where he will explore it means to be single in the age of technology. Note to self: Must remember to tweet this article later . . .

Want a writing challenge you can really sink your literary teeth into? Head over to the 30 Day Challenge Archive Tumblr and check out the writing prompts they’ve provided for anyone looking for a new way to vanquish the demon that is writer’s block.

Posted: Aug 30, 2013

Category: Weekly Roundup | Tags: Melissa Bean, Weekly Roundup, What Just Happened, Yaima Villarreal