Remember a few months ago I was quite taken with a short story called “Jeane” by James Hopkin? Well, this week I found his debut novel, Winter Under Water,  in the the most unexpected of places. It was a remainder outlet in the city, which had an upstairs area where the books were priced 10 for $10 or $5 each. Of course I went up there and had a look around, but the place itself felt eerily quiet in the midst of the bustling metropolis. There wasn’t much to entice me, but I did find Winter Under Water and Susanna Moore’s In the Cut.

I took the past few days off, an internet sabbatical perhaps you could call it. Maybe it’s just me, but every so often the internet just becomes just too much and I feel myself going slightly screwy with information overload, to the point where it feels like the only possible release is a Scanners style explosion. However, the best remedy is usually to turn off the computer, remove myself from most, if not all, online services, and take some time to rejuvenate. If I were rich, this would probably involve expensive day spas and intensive massages by attractive young men;  instead I’ve just hung out with my Dad, worked (a surprisingly effective way to boost my self-confidence) and caught up on some (offline) reading.

In the time before deciding to take some time off the internet, I did come across some interesting links which might, if you’re not already suffering from hyper-information related illness, also be of interest to you.

• David Foster Wallace it turns out was a prolific book annotator. The University of Texas acquired his archive and have put examples of some of the items online. His annotations of a few novels can be seen, including a scribbled addition to a  portrait of Cormac McCarthy. Fittingly enough for a man with an impressive vocabulary, there is also a look inside his marked up dictionary.
• I’m not sure how I’d missed this previously, but the Carson McCullers Center of Columbus State University also has a blog, keeping interested parties up to date with the events and happenings organized by the center. One to keep an eye on, perhaps.
• Hey Oscar Wilde! It’s Clobberin’ Time!!! is a collection of visual interpretations and portraits of authors and fictional characters.
• And, finally, Toby Lichtig is determined to do what those of weaker resolve have failed time and time again, to give up book buying for six (6 … 6!! SIX!! SIX!1!?) months. Godspeed Toby Lichtig, godspeed.

[image credit: Virginia Frances Sterret, frontispiece to Old French Fairy Tales, by the Comtesse de Ségur. Philadelphia, 1920, via archive.org, found via Old Book Illustrations]