Welcome to Friday,
I’ve been working on a piece about reading and the enjoyment I find in it. That will go up next week, kicking off the essays for 2023.
In the meantime, here are the best things I’ve read around the Internet this week:
What does the reverse-course of Barnes & Noble tell us about the state of the book industry? I had no idea they had experimented with stand alone, ahem, restaurants? The new CEO, James Daunt’s first bookstore is what dreams are made of, placing beautiful and enticing copies of books front and center. Ted Goia breaks down the chain’s turnaround.
A list of works now in the public domain. I was surprised to see Gangs of New York here; I forget how long ago that was published.
An upcoming documentary of biographer Robert Caro gives insight into a specific part of his writing process – arguing with his editor. “Iron sharpens iron,” after all.
The impressive, always surprising legacy of Vivienne Westwood. I always found her influence on and within the punk rock scene of the 1970s fascinating.
Continuing his series on the apparent disappearance of genius, Erik Hoel shows us how previous generations raised geniuses. He emphasizes how the one on one arrangement allowed the student to stretch the limits of their thinking, rather than relying on memorization, as our current education models do. I think he is onto something with this theory. There is lots of good discussion in the comments, as well.
Have a creative weekend.
Currently reading: Building a Second Brain by Tiago Forte
Image: Croegaert, Georges. Taking Tea, 1848 – 1923.
