Suspend Your Disbelief

Posts Tagged ‘Celeste Ng’

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Moby-Dick… typed on toilet paper. (Yes, you read that right.)

by Celeste Ng

Do you love paper books? How about toilet paper books? Enterprising eBay seller the_heppcat offers a copy of Moby-Dick typed on 6 rolls of (clean!) Cottonelle. Says the item description: There are four full rolls, one roll (epilogue) is about 1/5 of a roll and one half-roll All of the rolls of TP came out of a brand new — clean — package of 2-ply Cottonelle. They’ve been handled very gingerly and infrequently. As you’ll see in the following photos, one or two rolls have a tear at the beginning. This is where i was trying to pull the paper […]


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826 Michigan's "How to Write Like I Do Series"—This Weekend!

by Celeste Ng

Not a kid, but wish you could go to 826’s amazing writing programs? Now, thanks to 826 Michigan‘s How To Write Like I Do workshops, you can—and you don’t have to put your hair in pigtails and pretend to know about Bakugan. Inspired by a similar series at 826 Seattle, the How To Write Like I Do workshops for adults are held 5-6 times per year, led by writers like Daniel Alarcon and Peter Ho Davies. Novelist and UM MFA faculty member V.V. Ganeshananthan leads the next session February 4, 2012 (that’s tomorrow!) titled “The Reported Imagination: Journalism Techniques for […]


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"Masturbate frequently."

by Celeste Ng

We hear a lot about how writers find their inspiration. But how about other creative artists? The Guardian surveyed contemporary musicians, dancers, directors, and architects to find out where they got their creative inspiration. Much of their advice is unexpected, yet would be useful to writers as well. Here’s a sampler: Guy Garvey, musician: Spending time in your own head is important. When I was a boy, I had to go to church every Sunday; the priest had an incomprehensible Irish accent, so I’d tune out for the whole hour, just spending time in my own thoughts. I still do […]


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The problem with stories

by Celeste Ng

We love TED here at FWR–which, in case you haven’t encountered it before, you’re welcome, and I hope you didn’t have any work to do this month. This is an old TED talk, but one I hadn’t heard before and one I’ve been thinking about–particularly because it challenges the concept of storytelling. In his TED talk, writer/economist Tyler Cowen talks about why stories make him nervous and why we should be suspicious of stories. Here’s a snippet of the transcript: I was told to come here and tell you all stories, but what I’d like to do is instead tell […]


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How The Muppets Changed the Course of Self-Publishing

by Celeste Ng

Remember Amanda Hocking, the writer who’s now the poster child for self-publishing success? Well, she might never have been spurred to publish her work at all if it not for… The Muppets. The Guardian has the scoop: To understand the vital Muppet connection we have to go back to April 2010. We find Hocking sitting in her tiny, sparsely furnished apartment in Austin, Minnesota. She is penniless and frustrated, having spent years fruitlessly trying to interest traditional publishers in her work. To make matters worse, she has just heard that an exhibition about Jim Henson, the creator of the Muppets, […]


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I CAPTCHA the Castle

by Celeste Ng

You probably know what a CAPTCHA is, even if you didn’t know its name. Those warped words that you sometimes have to type out? That’s a CAPTCHA. Websites use them to prevent spambots from posting (spam) comments. Humans can read CAPTCHAs very easily. Robots, not so much. But did you know that although CAPTCHAs seem like gibberish, they actually help preserve and create literature? Some CAPTCHAs actually help digitize books and magazines: the reCAPTCHA system uses scanned words from old books. Every time a user like you types in the word, it helps the system decipher old books. Explains the […]


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Help give away 1,000,000 books on World Book Night!

by Celeste Ng

If you love a book, then give it away. Isn’t that how the saying goes? World Book Night launched in the UK in 2011, with thousands of people handing out copies of paperbacks. This year, it’s taking place in the U.S. too, on April 23, with plans to give away a MILLION books for free to “new or light readers.” The list of books includes lots of great titles, including The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, Little Bee by Chris Cleave, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Colllins, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao […]


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Maurice Sendak on The Colbert Report

by Celeste Ng

Earlier this week, Stephen Colbert interviewed the fantastically curmudgeonly Maurice Sendak on the Colbert Report. If you like either Colbert or Maurice Sendak, you’ll enjoy it. Like both, and you’ll be chortling with joy. Part 1: The Colbert Report Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c Grim Colberty Tales with Maurice Sendak Pt. 1 www.colbertnation.com Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog Video Archive Part 2: The Colbert Report Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c Grim Colberty Tales with Maurice Sendak Pt. 2 www.colbertnation.com Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog Video Archive


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Slaughterhouse 90210

by Celeste Ng

As you might guess from its name, Tumblr site Slaughterhouse 90210 pairs stills from TV shows with literary quotes—with both hilarious and thought-provoking results: If you think about it, My So-Called-Life and Anne of Avonlea are indeed thematic soulmates. And Mad Men and Doris Lessing’s The Golden Notebook make an inspired match. Still need convincing? “She felt, in every way it was possible, astonished that she had slept with him.” —Lorrie Moore, Like Life ‘Nuff said. Go check it out.


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Banned word—or best word?

by Celeste Ng

Did you know that periodically, the French comb through their language and pick out interloping words? The Academie Francaise, charged with publishing an official (if non-binding) dictionary of French, intermittently posts lists of banned English words that have wormed their way into the French language. In previous years, the Academie has suggested banning “le email,” “le blog,” and “le fast-food.” But this kind of linguistic purification isn’t just for the French. Lake Superior State University has come up with a list of banished words for 2012. Topping the list? “Amazing,” “baby bump,” and “shared sacrifice.” Other much-used words made it […]




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