“I was collecting names even before I decided to write the book. One treasure trove was a plaque I came across at an old resort in Rhode Island that listed the winners of summer lawn bowling tournaments from the 1950s until now.” That’s Maggie Shipstead on how she came up with the wonderfully preppy characters that pop up in her madcap comedy of manners, Seating Arrangements, the newest B&N Recommends selection. In an exclusive interview, Maggie talks to Tess Taylor about translating WASPs, literary influences from Cheever and Updike to Perotta and Eugenides. And then there are the exploding whales…
Most holidays have only one Mood Setting: Fun. Christmas, the Fourth of July, Groundhog Day—these holidays don’t depend on your relationship status, they’re just moments where everyone pauses to celebrate, appreciate, and render themselves more or less unconscious via feasting (well, maybe not so much Groundhog Day, but we’re working on it). Valentine’s Day, on […]
There’s nothing quite like the experience of reading as a child. Whether under the covers with a flashlight or sitting under a shady tree, we remember the books we read as kids like no others. This special bond sometimes works in reverse too, as books we read as adults somehow transport us back to our […]