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President Obama Throws Googly, Is Reading Joseph O'Neill's "Netherland"
Filed under: The Squib Report Tagged: Barack Obama, cricket, David Leonhardt, George Bush, Joseoph O'Neill, Kurt Andersen, novels, Zane Grey
Martin Schneider writes:
At least according to David Leonhardt in the New York Times. A few quick reactions.
1. I'm reading it too! I'm almost done (bet that overachiever Obama beats me to the end, though—I'm savoring). I'm fairly certain it's the first time that the president and I are reading the same novel at the same time. Did Clinton read Kurt Andersen's Turn of the Century? I didn't read any Zane Grey during the Bush years....
2. I admire Obama's taste. I've run into a few people on Twitter and elsewhere calling Netherland overrated, but surely it's a quality piece of work, even if one feels that it's been overpraised. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it yet, but then again, I'm not done yet. Leaning towards thumbs-up, though. What did you make of it?
3. I wonder how much Obama knows about cricket. I know next to nothing.
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Hello! We're a small band of media enthusiasts, culture addicts, and journalists based in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Emdashes, formerly a New Yorker fan site, is our collection of conversations—mostly civilized—about magazines, movies, politics, design, punctuation, and other things that stir us.
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Dashes, some say, “are particularly useful in a sentence that is long and complex.” Emdashes—like an em dash itself—provides a thoughtful pause amid the hubbub.
Emdashes, founded in 2004, is written and drawn by Emily Gordon, Martin Schneider, Pollux, Jonathan Taylor, and Benjamin Chambers, as well as occasional guest contributors. All posts before October 2008 are by Emily Gordon.
The site was designed by House of Pretty with illustrations by Jesse R. Ewing.
Additional drawings are by Carolita Johnson and Pollux (author of our web comic, "The Wavy Rule"). The Emdashes pencil logo is by Jennifer Hadley, based on a 1943 Dorothy Gray ad.
Other writing by Emily Gordon
- Writing on theater: reviews (for Time Out Chicago; imperfect but workable search results)
- Profile: Valerie Casey, Designers Accord founder, is spearheading the design of sustainability (for SXSW World)
- Feature: Rea Irvin: visionary art director, bon vivant, New Yorker founding father (for Print)
- Slide show: the Coney Island Mermaid Parade (for NYCgo.com)
- Feature: Muslim immigration iconography in the Netherlands, and an interview with Ayaan Hirsi Ali (for Print)
- Review: King's Gambit: A Son, a Father, and the World's Most Dangerous Game by Paul Hoffman (for Newsday)
- Homage: Celebrating lindy-hop legend Frankie Manning (for NYCgo.com)
- Inquiry: Does a New Republic redesign mean a change of tune? (for Print)
- Interview: James Surowiecki on what's next for the wisdom of crowds (for Assignment Zero)
- Interviews: four up-and-coming designers under 30 (for Print)
- Profile: novelist and dance critic Laura Jacobs (for Newsday)
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