John Updike’s Want List At 17 Noted in the just published Selected Letters of John Updike, edited by James Schiff: a postcard sent by a 17 year old John Updike to Barnes & Noble, dated June 15, 1949, requesting the following books be held for him: ______________________________________________________________ Unfortunate Cover Art By now, I shouldn’t be surprised when I run across
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At Wit’s End Redux It’s hard to believe that nearly a year has passed since At Wit’s End came out (it was in stores November of 2024). Here we are three-quarters of the way through The New Yorker‘s centennial (February of 2025 through February 2026) and At Wit’s End remains the only book out there this year celebrating the magazine’s
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George Price: “The Chuckling Champion Of The Washed-Out Man” We expect puffery in advertising, and this ad for the late great George Price’s 1940 cartoon collection, Good Humor Man, doesn’t disappoint (“the year’s biggest and best book of humor”). I like the “chuckling champion” but “washed-out man” seems a bit, well, odd as a selling point. Price’s cartoon world was
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Once again going through issues of The New Yorker, chronologically (the last time I did it I was researching Peter Arno), I came across things I hadn’t noticed before (or had noticed but hadn’t saved). Here’re are just a few from my recent stroll through The New Yorker‘s past: I enjoyed this ad from the issue of December 21, 1929
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