–Stephen King tells us everything we need to know about writing.
— A small collection of vintage photos of the Mideast back before things got hairy. [via mr]

—Novels are for females:

If you are a young man and you pick up the book section, your primary impression of literature in English is going to be the kind of thing your mother’s book club reads. . . . Literature has veered away from story to be about psychology; male writers are as responsible for that as women . . . but I do think men are interested in things, why things work, why things happen, and men look for more comedy in fiction. We are bored by the earnestness of contemporary fiction.

One researcher also suggests that “the predominance of female teachers from daycare through grade school, and the preference for fiction as schoolroom reading material, has given boys the impression that reading is for girls.” That’s a depressing thought.