Sven Birkets writes lovingly of Cynthia Ozick: “Ozick is not repudiating her literary mentor, but she cuffs him, and in doing so suggests — as she does in these engaged and deftly turned essays — not only that great literature can withstand sharp inquiry from readers but also that such inquiry is vital.”

1966: Mao Tse Tung, at 73, claims to swim some 9 miles across the Yangtze River.

2006: Pat Robertson claims to have leg-pressed 2,000 pounds at the age of 73.

One would think that Robertson’s people would have vetted this hilarious irony with their dear leader. But I like to think that there’s an insider working at The 700 Club with a marvelous sense of humor.

The BBC is reporting that Charles Webb has sold a sequel to The Graduate to Random House. Webb was initially reported by the BBC to be facing eviction. The book will be published in June 2007. Unfortunately, since Webb signed away any and all film rights for sequels based on The Graduate, it remains to be seen whether or not Hollywood will bestow Webb with a small stipend, assuming that someone decides that a cinematic sequel is worthwhile.

A quick reminder to all that, this week, it’s Television week (and I refer not to that ignoble, phosphor-flickering box you have sitting in the corner threatening to abscond with your time, but the novel by Jean-Phillipe Toussaint) over at the LBC. On this end, a podcast featuring translator Jordan Stump will be posted on Friday that you really won’t want to miss — particularly if you’re interested in the current state of translators in the publishing industry.

MSNBC: “The head of the Nepal Mountaineering Association urged the government on Saturday to take action against a sherpa who reportedly stripped off on top of Mount Everest.”