January 2012
26 posts
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Weekend New Book Round-Up
Books: We have them. You want them. Sometimes. Now is one of those times, because I am about to tell you what’s new and good.
In paperback:
Blood, Bones & Butter: This is a memoir by the woman who runs Prune. Astaff pick of Douglas, hated by the serial commatariat.
Open City: Teju Cole’s meandering novel about a man meandering through New York City.
Leaving the Atocha...
Robert Walser's Berlin Stories
nyrbclassics:
Today is the publication date for Robert Walser’s Berlin Stories, a collection of his early stories set in Berlin where he followed his elder brother in 1905, all in original translations by Susan Bernofsky. We thought we’d share the first story in the book, titled “Good Morning, Giantess!”:
It’s as if a giantess were shaking her curls and sticking one leg out of bed when—early...
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“I know few towns which inspire me with so great disgust and contempt.”
– Edgar Allen Poe on Brooklyn. Quoted in Dwight Garner’s review of New York Diaries: 1609 to 2009.
intervital asked: I want to read Anais Nin but I don't know if I should start off with her fiction, her diaries, or her biographies. What do you think I should try first?
jaimealyse asked: For the person looking for Atwoody, epistolary romances-- they may like AS Byatt! Possession is epistolary, in part, and although there is romance it is very unromantic. The Biographer's Tale is excellent, too. Maybe even better.
Anonymous asked: What would you recommend for a reader who enjoys Margaret Atwood, "House of Leaves", epistolary novels, and modern fantasies that don't center around romance?
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“I prefer women like books — very good and not too long.”
– Things I didn’t expect to find in Henry James’ The Portrait of a Lady: An “I like my women like I like my ______” joke. (It couldn’t be the first ever? There must be one in Chaucer: I liken mine wimman lyk I liken mine ______.)
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“It was impossible, while living there, to avoid all of the people who knew how...”
– Our own Sarah Gerard, on the BOMBLOG, writing about Florida, Charles Yu, and black holes.
The Situation in American Writing →
Our friends at Full Stop are polling authors on the situation in American writing, an update of a 1939 questionnaire sent out by the ye olde Partisan Review. We recommend (Maud Newton, Marilynne Robinson, Gary Shteyngart, George Saunders, etc. etc. etc.)!
Anonymous asked: Do you currently have part-time positions open for the McNally Jackson cafe?
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McNJ bookmonger Sandeep lists her 10 all-time... →
Anonymous asked: pity about the internship. sooooo, any tips for other possible places (apart from NYT and the obvious) for internships in the city then? should one of them be happening, i make sure i spend half the money of my student loan in your store. ALL the books.
rachelfershleiser asked: What about your top-sellers list was McNally-specific in a way we might not know about? Anything on there because of staff picks, special events, a certain staffer being nuts about it, an author living next door, etc?
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McNally J's Bestsellers of 2011
Here are McNally J’s bestselling books of 2011. It’s a list! 31 books long. Arbitrarily. I had to go get my laundry.
Just Kids, Patti Smith (Now also the bestselling book in McNJ’s history.)
A Visit from the Goon Squad, Jennifer Egan
On Booze, F. Scott Fitzgerald
Bossypants, Tina Fey
The Imperfectionists, Tom Rachman
The ReadyMade 100 Project Manual (printed on our book...
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December 2011
32 posts
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Anonymous asked: do you offer internships of some kind?
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Anonymous asked: My aunt loves... you know... "those" books. The Help. The Pirate's Daughter. White Oleander. Water for Elephants. Am I making sense? Maybe not. Maybe I shouldn't even be asking someone with such good taste. Anyway, she's 63, she used to be a discoqueenfaghag and was the first person to ever say the word "fuck" to me. Help?
“So it was decided that Emma would be prevented from reading novels. The project...”
– From the Lydia Davis translation of Madame Bovary. McNally Jackson: Poisonmongers.
throughtosomethingnew asked: any gift ideas for shakespeare lovers?
Anonymous asked: Hoping you can help. Looking for a book for a father-in-law type figure. He's from Spain, very liberal, very brainy. I scored big last year giving him Nicholson Baker's Human Smoke, which he loved, and he followed up reading House of Holes, which delighted him. I showed him a Javier Marias short story once, and he was not as smitten as I was. Sometimes he talks about wanting to know more...
meganlives asked: I'm having a pre-Christmas panic attack over what to get my dad. Usually I get him non-fiction, generic coffee-table books on "war" or "history." This year, I want to give him something he'll really love and actually READ. He likes non-fiction + history, is a veteran, and has little patience for pop culture or pretentious writing. Also, he's Southern and used to...
trivialkim asked: Late gift giving Q. My husband is a weekend fisherman, doesn't read a ton, but likes a good non-fiction book with a story line (loved "Cod", for example, enjoyed "Perfect Storm", likes Everest adventure type books). Any suggestions?
Anonymous asked: So, I have a gift-giving issue, if you're still taking those. I have a friend who is really into obscure literature from countries whose literature may not be well known here in the States. I could go on, but I do know she likes Scandinavian and Hungarian (she's currently reading the latest Nadas), but I also know that the recent passing of Vaclav Havel has gotten her to want reading...
annawiener asked: Hi Sam! Any gift ideas for someone whose 2011 favorites included Stone Arabia, Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, The Family Fang, and A Good Hard Look? Bonus points for books set somewhere other than New York City. Also, this someone may or may not be my mother, so I'm going to preemptively veto House of Holes. Many many thanks. xA
Anonymous asked: I'm looking for a good read over winter break before I head to Paris for the semester. Any suggestions?
Anonymous asked: I do have a question, if it's not too late! What recent novels might be good for someone who loves every word F. Scott Fitzgerald ever spewed?
How to give gifts
Since you guys aren’t taking advantage of the Ask box for your thorny giving problems, we put together a list of books for all the people you might need to buy for. They’ll be posted here today and tomorrow. Gird yourselves!