Monthly Archives: November 2014

Two more writers name Updike bio a favorite

Posted on November 30, 2014 by James Plath

The Minneapolis Star Tribune posted an updated article on “Holiday Books: Our critics choose their 10 favorite books”— though, not to nit-pick, what the headline writer ought to have said was “Our 10 critics choose their favorite book.” And Malcolm … Continue reading →

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A HeraldScotland best books round-up includes Updike

Posted on November 29, 2014 by James Plath

HeraldScotland, the online version of The Herald and Sunday Herald, posted a list of “Books Of The Year 2015: Herald Choices,” book recommendations from their “well-read panel” compiled by Lesley McDowell. Adam Begley’s biography, Updike, was one of the picks by … Continue reading →

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Begley bio makes two more lists

Posted on November 28, 2014 by James Plath

Adam Begley’s bio continues to get attention more than half a year after its publication. The latest are a couple more inclusions on lists: The Chicago Tribune‘s Kevin Nance featured Updike as one of their “Fiction, nonfiction books to gift.” Updike by … Continue reading →

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New Republic shares Updike postcard

Posted on November 28, 2014 by James Plath

On November 23, 2014, the New Republic posted an article about correspondence titled “Woolf, Updike, and Nabokov: The Best Letters to the Editor in New Republic History,” featuring a postcard from Updike that read, “Dear Mr. Evett—Received my book and … Continue reading →

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More on Moran and Updike’s trash

Posted on November 24, 2014 by James Plath

Liam O’Brien, of Melville House, posted a think-piece on his blog about Paul Moran and his epic scrounging of Updike’s trash, responding to a recently published essay on “Finding John Updike” that appeared in Texas Monthly. “The natural question that … Continue reading →

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Another list includes the Begley bio

Posted on November 23, 2014 by James Plath

The New Statesman posted “Books of the Year: NS friends and contributors choose their favorite reading of 2014,” and Leo Robson, a freelance writer who contributes regularly to the NS, Financial Times, and the Times Literary Supplement,  included Updike in his … Continue reading →

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Begley bio makes Washington Post notable list

Posted on November 21, 2014 by James Plath

The Washington Post published a list of “50 notable works of nonfiction,” and it’s no surprise that the much-praised biography Updike, by Adam Begley, made the list. Entries are alphabetical, so Updike comes near the end, and the annotation is … Continue reading →

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On Tom Wolfe, Russell Brand, and JU

Posted on November 20, 2014 by James Plath

Ed Smith posted a new installment in his New Statesman column, “Ed Smith’s Left Field,” in which he considers Russell Brand in the context of Tom Wolfe in the context of John Updike and other writers who slammed Wolfe for … Continue reading →

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Call for Updike papers for ALA 2015

Posted on November 19, 2014 by James Plath

The John Updike Society: Call for Papers The John Updike Society will sponsor two sessions at the American Literature Association Conference, May 21-24, 2015 at West Copley Place, Boston Mass. Papers are welcome on any aspect of John Updike’s life … Continue reading →

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Crimson writer offers tribute, reading rec

Posted on November 19, 2014 by James Plath

Earlier today, Victoria Zhuang, a Harvard Crimson staffer, posted a tribute to John Updike in the guise of a reading recommendation:  “Staff Rec: ‘Higher Gossip’; Tribute to a Prose Poet.”  After sharing the emotion she felt upon hearing of Updike’s … Continue reading →

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