Have we ceased to understand the world?

Let's talk Benjamín Labatut.

Dear book clubbers,   Oh boy am I excited to talk When We Cease to Understand the World with you. Meet me here at our full discussion post and we'll get into it. And don't forget to RSVP for our conversation with Benjamín Labatut! Plus, keep an eye out for our conversation about this book with Unexplainable, coming to your podcast feeds on April 13.  COMING UP NEXT Thursday, March 31, noon ET: Virtual live event with author Benjamín Labatut.  Reader questions are encouraged! Wednesday, April 13: Unexplainable episode on everything we've learned from When We Cease to Understand the World goes live THE LATEST IN BOOKS AT VOX This week, I reviewed Julia May Jonas's excellent debut novel Vladimir, about a 50-something martini-drinking hostage taker. (Vlad's the kidnapee, not the kidnapper, FYI.) Plus, Aja Romano has a lovely and affectionate overview of the career of Georgette Heyer, "the Agatha Christie of romance novels." NOTABLE BOOKS COVERAGE AROUND THE WEB Here's some of the best writing about books and related subjects published across the internet in the past two weeks.   It's March, which means the Morning News Tournament of Books is here! The opening rounds include both When We Cease to Understand the World and our October pick, Lauren Groff's Matrix, so there's a lot for the Vox Book Clubber about town to dig into. In the Guardian, Katerina Sergatskova describes how Ukrainians, encouraged by the government to purchase books during the pandemic, are now using those books to barricade their homes. Speaking of Ukrainian books: American publishers are newly invested in the idea of showcasing Ukraine's distinctive literary heritage to the West. In the New York Times, Alexandra Alter has a look at the new demand for translators. And speaking of the New York Times, the venerable Book Review editor Pamela Paul announced this week that she'll be moving to the Times opinion section. At LitHub, Dan Sheehan has a list of potential replacements. At the Atlantic, Deborah Cohen tells the story of Death Be Not Proud, the first American grief memoir.  In Esquire, Adrienne Westenfeld takes a look at the (ahem) art of the literary newsletter.  I have a great weakness for the Cut's How I Get It Done series, and Margaret Atwood's is a delight. Her home used to be owned by a cult called Therafields! At Gawker, Tom Whyman delves into how to read a Really Long Book. At Politico, Colin Dickey examines the current state of conservative publishing, where the pundits are angry and the books are boring.  Amazon announced last week that it's closing its brick-and-mortar bookstores. At the New Republic, Alex Shephard says good riddance. In the Baffler, Jessa Crispin has a portrait of the shifting semiotics behind saying that Ulysses is your favorite book. At BookRiot, Arvyn Cerézo has a list of publishing predictions of the past decade that never came true. I can confirm that I heard them all confidently recited at publishing school in 2010, and not a single one of them came to pass.   Happy reading, Constance     This email was sent to edwardlorilla1986.paxforex@blogger.com. Manage your email preferences or unsubscribe. If you value Vox's unique explanatory journalism, support our work with a one-time or recurring contribution.   View our Privacy Notice and our Terms of Service.   Vox Media, 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, Floor 12, Washington, DC 20036. Copyright © 2022. All rights reserved.