Erika Dreifus

Welcome to our Wednesday online gleanings.

• The film adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go opens today. The novel was amazing (though it couldn’t top The Remains of the Day). I’m never sure about seeing adaptations of admired novels. The Remains of the Day-the-movie certainly didn’t disappoint, but that doesn’t mean this movie won’t. Plus, you have to admit that Never Let Me Go has a pretty creepy premise. I don’t know. Are you planning to see the film? Have you already read the book?
• A new NPR column will track paperback releases. (via @book_tour)
• Reported widely: The Wall Street Journal is launching a book-review section.
• It is Book Blogger Appreciation Week (BBAW)! Thank you, book bloggers!
• David Abrams is on to something (see his comment on this post). The Writer’s Almanac reliably presents accessible and strong stuff. Case in point: Monday’s “A Difference of Fifty-Three Years,” by Noel Peattie.
• Looking for an academic job? Here are some helpful hints for creating and maintaining your cv.
• Sometimes, that connection with a single reader really is what matters. During my senior year in college, I wrote an honors thesis that didn’t earn the best grades or win the top prizes. But somewhere along the way, it was read by David Riesman (then an emeritus professor), who found it interesting enough to write me a complimentary note (which I still have–this was before e-mail) and invite me to his home to discuss the issues I’d written about. So when I saw this appreciation of Riesman’s own magnum opus in The Chronicle Review this week, lots of fond memories resurfaced.
• And while we’re combining writing and academics…here’s an intriguing “report from the borderland between history and journalism.”