This Week in Words – Nov 3

by Treehouse Editors

compiled by Rachel Bondurant

What’s so great about the short story? Let Lorin Stein tell you. He’s the editor for The Paris Review so I suggest we take him at his word.

Similarly, Ian McEwan praises the beauty and precision of the novella and argues for its merit in The New Yorker.

Vote for your favorite books of the year with the Goodreads Choice Awards. The first of three rounds is open for voting now. This is the kind of election I can get on board with.

Though there’s something I hate about the word “aftermath,” there’s no question that is what most of the East Coast is dealing with this weekend post-Sandy. Bookstores, libraries, and book owners were (of course) not immune to damage. Offering support in their own way: Melville House has some tips on saving your water-damaged books; and The New Yorker has a poem called “Into the Ark” by Wislaw Szymborska, a poet the bulk of whose work communicates most naturally the storm and the “pick up and keep moving” that follows.