BURN PILE: "How to Write a Thesis," day jobs, and the joys of the "wrong comma"

Salman Rushdie reflects in the New Yorker on his time with Günter Grass. Through the late 1990s, every student in Italy hoping to earn the equivalent of a bachelor's degree would be expected to compose a thesis. Umberto Eco's 1977 advice on the "magical process of self-realization" has now become available in English for the first time: See this New Yorker piece on "How to Write a Thesis.

Do you feel an affinity, for the plentiful, abundant use of commas, such as that favored by certain New York copy-editors? Elisa Gabbert on on the "joys of the 'wrong comma'" for The Smart Set. See the original New Yorker story here.

A newly-discovered passage cut from "A Wrinkle in Time" illuminates the author's politics.

What good is a day job? One answer can be found in a late 18th century example. For The Millions. Earlier: Nell Zink on ideal work for The Paris Review Daily. Earlier still: on "working the double shift," back at The Millions.

Sherman Alexie talks about his books being banned - again. For KUOW Seattle.