J.K. Rowling has made her first visit to the U.S. in six years. It is rumored that she may visit again sometime in the next six years. But for now, let us avoid conjecture. The facts are this: Ms. Rowling ordered a ticket (or perhaps somebody else did). She boarded a plane. She may have had an in-flight meal. Let us hope it was a good one. Upon arriving in New York, she disembarked from the plane, went through customs, and found herself on the mainland, where she proudly announced to all interested parties that she was, in fact, in the United States again.
“It’s been six years,” said Rowling at a press conference. “I hope to come here again.”
Other British authors rumored to visit the States in the near future: Zadie Smith, Ian McEwan, Martin Amis, David Mitchell and Sarah Waters. It is believed that the majority of these authors will set foot in the United States within the next six years — perhaps earlier.
But, for now, we can celebrate J.K. Rowling’s feet touching American soil and mine this amazing event for news because the publishing industry is operating on summer hours and Richard Ford has yet to be unmuzzled.
Magic Hours by Tom Bissell: This marvelous collection of essays chronicles everything from film shoots to novelists rescued from oblivion. (The essay on the Underground Literary Alliance, with its portrait of raucous factions, unexpectedly reveals how soft today's literary world has become.) But if you peer between the cracks of these smart pieces, you may very well see how cultural lives are formed from the most unexpected life choices. And as we follow Bissell's development as a writer over the years, that goes for Bissell as well. (
Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway: Harkaway's latest novel greatly improves on his previous book, The Gone-Away World, which I'm already on record as praising. Angelmaker adopts genre elements without ever feeling like a genre book, and it leads me to believe that Harkaway is well on his way to a narrative grace close to China Miéville's. Yet inexplicably this very fun book, which includes an eightysomething badass named Edie Banister, a mysterious mechanical object that may destroy the world, farcical scenarios involving lawyers and the police, and some unexpectedly moving moments about fatherhood, doesn't appear to be getting much attention in American newspapers. Nothing from the snobs at The New York Times Book Review, nothing from The Washington Post. And since I can't get Harkaway on Bat Segundo, I hope this Jump Up and Down mention gets you hopping as well.
The Age of Insight by Eric Kandel: Unless you're really pressed for time, forget Jonah Lehrer. If you want to understand creativity and its relationship to neuroscience, then the bowtie-wearing Nobel laureate is your man. In addition to being a physically beautiful book (you will drool over many of the paintings), there are helpful overviews on optical illusions, science, biographical backgrounds, and many vital figures from the Vienna Secession. Kandel's enthusiasm (and his call for greater unity between the humanities and science) is contagious.