Critical Reads, May 11, 2012: The Wild Things Edition

This week it was a mix of wild literary things and more sedate stuff. Walking on the wild side, there was the death of beloved children's book author Maurice Sendak, prince charmings who weren't so very charming, and boozy literary lunches. On more sedate notes, Maria Popova discussed doubling the nerd factor by graphing Victorian literary trends and Tinhouse revealed that a lot of writers aren't out living it up Beatnik style but exercising discipline at the gym.

Understanding Children, Yet Wanting Them to Grow Up a Bit (NY Times)

Dwight Garner, like pretty much everyone else, is a fan of Maurice Sendak, who died this week. The fond portrait he paints, however, is not one of some nice little man writing nice little bedtime stories. Instead, Garner appreciates Sendak's bristly side, as when Sendak said of e-books, "I hate them. It's like making believe there's another kind of sex. There isn't another kind of sex. There isn't another kind of book! A book is a book is a book." I have officially been shamed from ever again looking at "another kind of sex" on the subway.

Graphing Jane Austen: Using Science to Extrapolate the Human Condition from Victorian Literature (Brain Pickings)

What happens when math and literature collide? Well, Jane Austen graphs of course! According to new research, what people like are stories with "good guys" against "bad guys," where the differences between good and bad are more palpable than the differences between men and women, and where social values are portrayed.

The Appeals and Perils of the One Word Book Title (The Millions)

Bill Morris recalls a liquid lunch in which Gary Fisketjon gave him a copy of one of my all-time favorite novels, David Gates' Jernigan. Evidently this led to quite a few musings, both drunk and sober, on the dangers and merits of one-word titles. Shout-outs include other Critical Mob favorites like C by Tom McCarthy.

Super Sad True Habits of Highly Effective Writers (Tinhouse)

This is the second week that I'm touting a Courtney Maum blog post. What can I say? Lady knows how to make a girl laugh. In Part 1 of "Super Sad True Habits of Highly Effective Writers," Maum confesses her own writing habits, which fall somewhere between pagan ritual and cheesy mood-lighting a la romance novels.

The Trouble With Prince Charming or He Who Trespassed Against Us (The Rumpus)

Ms. Roxanne Gay has an axe to grind with fairy tales as she asks why Prince Charming always ends up being such a dud. In this literary equivalent of TLC's "No Scrubs," Gay notes that fairy tales seem always to ask the female protagonists to accept the happy ending with Prince Charming, but not before making some sacrifice. And the happy ending isn't even all that happy when it's comprised of a life with pretty lame Prince Charming figures.

** Part of our Critical Reads series.