McSweeney's Latest - Grantland

McSweeney's is always up to something, and has had a very busy year.

First they added their new food quarterly - Lucky Peach, and now we have Grantland. 

Bill Simmons gathers some of the most interesting and literate sportswriters to pique your interest.  This issue includes an interview with Don Delillo (the only writer who made me excited to read about football (End Zone)), you may be more familiar with his more recent giant baseball related novel, Underworld.  Chad Harbach writes about life as a Milwaukee Brewers fan, Katie Baker interests you in the rise of the female marathoner, and of course there are essays about the Penn State scandal, football head injuries, and Michael Schur has something to say about the on-going Red Sox ups and downs.

Plus you get the snazzy cover which opens up to a double-sided poster with George "The Ice Man" Gervin on the inner side.

July 9 -- Summer Fun

Now there is a new issue of WASHINGTON TRAILS in for summer fun outside.  If you check in our Regions & Travels section, you might find fun tips in AMERICAN ROAD, SUNSET (which has more fun local info than in days gone by), NORTHWEST TRAVEL, or places further afield -- Montana, Alaska, New York, Italy.

Meanwhile, you could check out a few new arrivals.

Brick is all about Lego, it is the Summer Music! issue from The Believer, a Writers Digest special on writing for Kids, Hi Fructose in the Pop Culture section but mostly about edgy art,  Foam is becoming more about fashion for Surf Girls but their models are girls who can swim and surf.  Or check out  Cooler, with a little more surfing.

Graduation? Summer? A little time to read something substantial?

Summer comes around, and many places come out with lists of "Summer Reading",  easy stuff to read at the beach.  Or you can be like me and some friends of mine, summer is when you have time to sink your teeth into something more demanding.  I rather like Latin or Greek authors for the summer or geology  (don't tell!  but sometimes I have a little trouble keeping up with magazines that zip by ephemerally and not on a geologic time scale.)

So here are a few recent arrivals in the literary / ideas section.  Granta does the "F" word*, Prairie Schooner, A Public Space, Chicago Review, Raritan (Conservatism and Counterrevolution, I F Stone an Enemy of the State), and then the standby, McSweeney's Believer.  Paris Review should be in very soon.

 

* the "F" word, F is for feminism.

Early July Titles

A few titles from early July, some regulars, some new, some offbeat.

Vanity Fair has something for everyone. Dennis Hopper's last inteview, architecture, Angelina, and Maureen Dowd.

The latest issue of The Inner Swine came in. He has a website and a blog. As you can probably see from the picture, it is a traditional low tech zine. Ink on paper, staples, two bucks. But Inner Swine is still around, he even has perfectbound collections. The cover states: "I am old. Old, old, old; More complaining than usual; More fiction than usual; More country music than usual...." We usually sell out, so check it out in the literary section with the other zines.

Monocle with the annula July-August double issue, 25 Most Livable Cities.

Ode has an article on urban farming.

Apartamento is new to us, in the fun smaller format.

Scarlet, another new title to us, from the UK. A racier answer to Red.

And Boundary Waters Journal, just for me. Because I like canoes, and still hope to go there some day.