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“Still Richard” (31 Longreads in 31 Days, Day Five)
After recently absorbing long stories about murder, rape, and child death, I desperately needed a change of pace. So I welcomed the chance to read a profile of 64-year-old Richard Simmons, “Still Richard,” by David Davis for SBNation.com. I was suprised to find out that Simmons was still out there, actively teaching aerobics classes and…
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“Fatal Distraction” (31 Longreads in 31 Days, Day Four)
I started reading Gene Weingarten’s “Fatal Distraction” in March 2009. I didn’t get to the final page until yesterday. My first attempt to read the story stopped at page six. I couldn’t bring myself to finish it. “Fatal Distraction” is about people whose children die after being forgotten and left in cars, something that happens…
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“Urban Meyer Will be Home for Dinner” (31 Longreads in 31 Days, Day Three)
Sportswriting is often overlooked as a source of serious journalism, including long form narrative nonfiction. Yet many of my favorite nonfiction writers — Gary Smith, Gay Talese, Buzz Bissinger — have focused much of their talents on the world of sports. Wright Thompson’s “Urban Meyer Will Be Home for Dinner,” from the August 6 edition of…
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“The Bravest Woman in Seattle” (31 Longreads in 31 Days, Day Two)
This story, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing this year, has haunted me since I read it. It has lingered in the back of my mind and prompted me to double check the locks on my doors and windows before I go to bed. As a father, a husband, and a man, it…
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“How to Build An American Car” (31 Longreads in 31 Days, Day One)
Buried near the back of the October 2012 issue of Esquire, parked behind articles about Clint Eastwood, Mitt Romney, and vodka, is “How to Build An American Car,” a beautiful look at the people behind a new model of Cadillac. A story like this could be dull and tedious. Manufacturing is not usually a sexy,…
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31 Longreads in 31 Days
This year has been big for the appreciation of long-form nonfiction writing. 2012 marked the popularity of #longreads on twitter, as well as the rise of longreads.com, longform.org, and byliner.com. Ironically, at a time when “writing short” and the brevity of Twitter are celebrated, it’s never been easier to discover and appreciate great works of…
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Five few good reads this week
Between Feedly and Summify and Read it Later, it’s easier than ever for me to read great nonfiction and features about the craft of writing. If anything, there’s too much to keep up with. But here are a few great reads from the past week: 1. Roy Peter Clark on the first storytelling rule is…
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Getting lost in “Lost in the Waves”
I finally got around to reading Justin Heckert’s 2009 Men’s Journal feature, “Lost in the Waves,” which details how a father and his 12-year-old autistic son get swept out to the open sea. It’s a gripping, suspenseful, and moving story. One of the best nonfiction features I’ve read. Here’s one critical scene in the middle…
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A little narrative goes a long way
In last night’s NFC Championship game, which the Giants won 20-17 in overtime, the outcome pivoted twice on turnovers by San Francisco punt returner Kyle Williams. Williams muffed a punt late in the fourth quarter, which gave the ball back to the Giants, who shortly after took the lead. San Francisco managed to tie the…
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Simmons, Klosterman, and why writers write
In a recent “B.S. Report” podcast, Bill Simmons and guest Chuck Klosterman started talking about their upcoming ESPN-backed website project, which led into a fascinating discussion of what writing and publications inspired them when they were younger, where they see writing going on the web, and more broadly, what motivates them as writers. Check it…