In search of bookstore gold: A 1965 English translation of Dino Buzzati’s short stories supposedly existed, but it couldn’t be found, until one day Kevin Brockmeier was browsing in a bookstore in Nebraska.
Bookstores are magical. So are libraries: “One variety of library magic is the magic of play, as seen in libraries with hidden staircases, false doorways, and secret rooms. Then there is the magic of serendipity. The history of libraries is rich with stories of chance encounters with priceless manuscripts, lost letters, rare editions, and scandalous memoirs. Less illustrious discoveries are part of the everyday experience of libraries. There is a magic, too, of creation. How many great and minor works were inspired by and assembled inside library reading rooms and among the stacks?”
The “dark ladies” of American letters were supposedly cold and vicious. What were they really like? “Dorothy Parker, long an inspiration to many a sardonic brunette, takes her place as the first in Dean's line of women—and her ghost lingers long after she's left the page. Parker made her name through a series of, well, sharp reviews, observational pieces, light verse, and, eventually, short stories. But it wasn't very fun being Dorothy Parker, seeing through everything, including herself.”
Chaos at the Swedish Academy: Three members have resigned their lifetime seats in protest to how the Academy has handled a sexual harassment complaint. It’s not the only time judges have attempted to resign: “In 1989, three judges quit when the academy did not denounce Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini’s call for the death of author Salman Rushdie after the publication of The Satanic Verses, but the academy declined to accept their resignations.”
Art collector dies in Trump Tower fire.
Essay of the Day:
The cruise ship Symphony of the Seas is big—really big. In Wired, Oliver Franklin-Wallis explains how it was built and how cruise ships changed from playground for pensioners to mini cities on water:
“ Symphony of the Seas – which, on its maiden voyage from Barcelona in March 2018 became the largest passenger ship ever built – is about five times the size of the Titanic. At 362 metres long, you could balance it on its stern and its bow would tower over all but two of Europe’s tallest skyscrapers. Owned and operated by Miami-based cruise line Royal Caribbean, it can carry nearly 9,000 people and contains more than 40 restaurants and bars; 23 pools, jacuzzis and water slides; two West End-sized theatres; an ice rink; a surf simulator; two climbing walls; a zip line; a fairground carousel; a mini-golf course; a ten-storey fun slide; laser tag; a spa; a gym; a casino; plus dozens more shopping and entertainment opportunities. To put it another way, Symphony of the Seas might be the most ludicrously entertaining luxury hotel in history. It just also happens to float.
“Picture a cruise ship. You’re likely imagining crisped-pink pensioners bent double over shuffleboard, cramped cabins, bad food and norovirus. And, once upon a time, you’d have been right. But in the last decade or so, cruise ships have gone from a means of transport to vast floating cities with skydiving simulators ( Quantum of the Seas), go-karting ( Norwegian Joy), bumper cars ( Quantum again) and ice bars ( Norwegian Breakaway). Restaurants offer menus designed by Michelin-starred chefs. As a result, the cruise industry is experiencing a golden age, boosted by millennials and explosive growth in tourists from China. More than twenty-five million people set sail on a cruise liner in 2017.
“‘Most people’s idea of a cruise is ‘Oh God, I’m going to be packed in with five thousand people I don’t want to talk to and getting bored out of my tree,’ says Tom Wright, founder of WKK Architects, who has worked on cruise ships and land hotels. ‘In fact, it’s like going to a hotel that just moves magically over night.’ (As one cruiser I met on Symphony’s fan page put it, ‘We get to see five destinations, and I only have to unpack once.’)
“For many, a maiden cruise is rarely the last. From Southampton to Venice to Barbados, ports are full of white-hulled ships packed with repeat customers. Industry satisfaction ratings regularly exceed 94 per cent. And, as Richard Fain is fond of saying: nobody gets those kinds of numbers. Not even chocolate companies.”
Photos: The monasteries of Meteora
Poem: Jacqueline Osherow, “Autumn, Berlin”
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