Bad news: Nikos (as I now believe it’s spelled), the magazine shop whose politically minded employees I reminisced about not long ago, is closing. I am sad about this in a way I can’t process just now.

Good news: smart young blogger folks who can’t wait to get magazines in the mail. Good news: this list in the Times of London of brilliant boarding school novels, including When JFK Was My Father, written by Amy Gordon, my warm and talented aunt.

News that may strike you either way: I’m going to Quebec till the 17th, so enjoy the posts by the Emdashes brain trust, including the extremely promising interns; Martin “The Squib Report” Schneider, who is particularly busy at the moment, so he may be a bit mum as well; the erudite Benjamin “The Katharine Wheel” Chambers; and, of course, Paul “The Wavy Rule” Morris, who will continue to delight you daily.

If you still find yourself without enough to think about over the next week, try your hand at Emdashes’ exclusive upside-down question-mark naming contest, which is getting very thrilling, and is open to further entries till August 25. ¿Clever? I know you are! When I get back, I’ll check out the new submissions, and by then, it’ll be the crucial last week of competition. This won’t be easy!