Rebel Wilson's Chapter on Sascha Baron Cohen Will Be Removed/Altered in Some Countries
Plus: Favorite independent bookstores, Rushdie says he isn't who you think he is, and more.
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Rebel Wilson’s book chapter on Sacha Baron Cohen struck from some copies
I don’t have any particular interest in Rebel Wilson’s book, but Cohen (or his legal/pr folks) have just stepped on a landmine that has The Streisand Effect written on it in Sharpie. So I now know, as do you, that in an effort to avoid litigation, Wilson, (or her legal/pr folk) is changing sections of her book about Cohen that say he is an ass and allegedly did some things that asses might do. Looks like the the U.S. version wasn’t altered at all (maybe because free speech in the U.S. are relatively stronger?). This starts to feel like a real L for Cohen.
Salman Rushdie Is Not Who You Think He Is
I just finished Knife yesterday, and my experience of it is not unlike Ezra Klein’s intro to his excellent interview with Rushdie: I felt myself feeling like I had Rushdie wrong. Knife is not what I expected, and I think that might be true for many people who read it. Rushdie himself writes in the book that he has felt misunderstood and mischaracterized for decades—and not just by nutters who want to kill him. I always suggest caution when writers (or anyone but especially writers) are doing the “people don’t understand me” thing or the “here is who I really am” thing. They might be doing writer things, which include crafting narratives for effect. Certainly Rushdie’s warmth for his family, genuine appreciation for his literary career (Andrew Wylie has never seemed so snuggly), and almost super-human equinamity in portraying a personal horror come through. But never forget, or at least include in your accounting of a book, that every word on the page is a choice the writer is making—and not, necessarily, the whole story.
Electric Literature’s Favorite Independent Bookstores
In honor of tomorrow’s National Independent Bookstore day, I pass along Electric Literature’s favorite independent bookstores. On a recent episode of the Book Riot Podcast, I asked listeners to name the most iconic bookstores in the U.S. They failed pretty spectacularly, at least according to the brief, which was about iconic bookstores. Instead, most people wrote charmingly and forcefully about how much their local bookstore is worth a visit. So while I have no particular affinity for the books on EL’s list, I do have an affinity for the affinity of others for their favorite bookstores, and I will read your 200-word homage to your favorite anytime.
That Old Back Magic: 9 Must-Read Historical Fantasy Books
First, Liberty wrote a terrific headline for this. Second, this is the most popular post on the old bookriot.com today, and I can see why. All of these books sound like immersive, got-lost-in-so-much-oops-there-went-the-day reading experiences.