Perusing the links

The literary awards circuit seems to have just ended, but it’s getting a fresh start on the merry go round as Jenni Murray is announced as the overall chair of the Orange Prize judging committee.

The New York Sun’s Eleni Gage asks tough questions about Curtis Sittenfeld’s debut novel PREP–specifically, what can we do to keep kids from being bombarded with all things youth culture? (registration required)

And speaking of Sittenfeld, who’s been positively everywhere of late, she writes for the NY Observer about the curious phenomenon of being a young writer compared to Sylvia Plath, and what it really means anyway. (And because I am a total blog geek, you may find the post that got her all riled up right here. Surprising, since the blogger in question’s actually a fan of her work…)

Looks like Amazon’s not just a vehicle for putting flameworthy reviews or looking for upcoming books–it’s a potential way to measure literary tastes, according to Mikhail Gronas, a Dartmouth professor of Russian Lit.

If you’re in the UK and absolutely adore your independent bookshop, tell the Guardian about it so they can create a database.

Faber and Faber, fresh of celebrating their 75th anniversary of existence, will divorce itself from major distribution to go out on its own, and take a few notable companies like Profile and Canongate with them.

Marilynne Robinson talks to the Seattle Times’ Book editor, Mary Ann Gwinn, about GILEAD, spirituality, and her obsession with reading.

OK this is just a bit freaky — only last night was I joking with my brother about writing a piece called “John Updike’s advice for children” and what do I see this morning (thanks to MobyLives) but a story where he,um, does just that. Whoa.

It’s interesting to read this take on William Nicholson’s debut adult novel THE SOCIETY OF OTHERS stressing the cinematic moments and criticizing the lack of pure novelistic feel, considering that I felt rather differently about it (which you’ll read about in a review to be published later.)

Will Billy Crystal become the next Mitch Albom? With the news that his play 700 SUNDAYS will be published in book format, it just might happen.

And finally, this piece of news seems like a no-brainer to me, pun probably intended.