There may well be more authors writing by hand, but fewer writing with their feet, and they will do so the old-fashioned way – albeit more labour-intensive – because they will be writing for fun. Ideas

Since stand-up comedians are now the last people to be taken seriously, Anthony Jeselnik has made it a point of honour to bring men back to fiction – which, according to market data, is the most ‘feminine’ type of reading, and, according to the most common cliché used by those who can’t be bothered to read, the most pointless.

What is the problem with the Left? The tyranny of merit and the usual temptation to confuse inequalities of opportunity with inequalities of outcome. But abolishing merit-based rewards does not make the world a fairer place

Analysing the most recent best-selling novels in Italy, Walter Siti notes the disappearance of the ‘problematic individual’ identified by György Lukács as the hero of the modern novel. Contemporary Italian fiction only sells if it demonstrates a clear distinction between good and bad characters and provides a continuous, explicit explanation of every implication.   

In the east, a day spent reading books earns you eighty cents; in the west, a quarter of an hour’s sleep earns you five dollars. I briefly toyed with the idea of moving to Singapore, only to then reconsider Pennsylvania 

Hammering one’s collarbone and pumping oneself full of steroids in a bid to imitate Christ and elevate oneself. Catholics obviously disapprove, whilst the more extreme elements of the American right are having a field day with it. 

At the Festivaletteratura, when Siri Hustvedt discusses her memoir on her marriage to Paul Auster, "Storie di fantasmi," it becomes clear that she does not wish to discuss the book so much as the truly infinitesimal probability that a man and a woman might look at one another, take a liking to one another, and stay together forever

On the one hand, they are seen as a chaotic place where people turn on one another; on the other, as a cruel place where students face discrimination. And the Prime Minister’s proposal might seem so progressive as to appear revolutionary

The great philosopher anticipated self-publishing and the role of today’s publisher: essential reading for anyone who criticises the retailer when the product is substandard

School textbooks are useless and far too expensive, and the publishers are shrewd profiteers. Unfortunately, in the long run, ignorance costs more