LongReads Round-Up Volume Six

#Film 

Can't wait to crack into this French film: http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2012/10/leos_carax_s_holy_motors_is_one_of_the_best_movies_of_2012.single.html 

#Literature

Amazon reviewer/scammer found out: http://moreintelligentlife.com/blog/all-shall-have-stars

Two pieces on the "literary fiction" genre:

The frequent aspects of "literary fiction": http://www.themillions.com/2012/10/literary-fiction-is-a-genre-a-list.html 
Just how often does literature mention a dog barking in the distance? http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2010/06/somewhere_a_dog_barked.single.html

Justin Cronin started off as mild mannered literary fiction author, and now has a bestselling horror adventure series: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/07/magazine/the-passage-of-justin-cronin.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1& 

Cormac McCarthy's early drafts of Blood Meridian: http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2012/10/cormac_mccarthy_s_blood_meridian_early_drafts_and_history_.html

I recently began reading The Gulag Archipelago, by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, about Soviet Union prison camps. Some relevant articles: 

The New York Times excellent posthumous survey of Solzhenitsyn's life and works: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/04/books/04solzhenitsyn.html?_r=0&pagewanted=all #obituary
The Economist looking for those literary dissidents in modern culture: http://www.economist.com/node/11885318?story_id=11885318
A tangent on Russian Intellectuals: http://www.economist.com/node/11880594

#Relationships


Adult friendship isn't always given that much respect... possibly because its seen as optional or expendable: http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2012/10/19/163260947/friendkeeping-the-close-relationships-we-could-but-cant-easily-let-go 


#Religion 

Poetry Foundation head editor Christian Wiman writes about terminal cancer, art, and accepting death: http://theamericanscholar.org/mortify-our-wolves/  #Dying

A Charismatic Christian's experiences with the devil: http://killingthebuddha.com/mag/confession/demon-dialogues/

Controversial ideas on the historical Jesus: http://killingthebuddha.com/mag/exegesis/the-gospel-of-primordial-androgyny/

A neurosurgeon recently wrote a book about his claims of experiencing heaven, where he says that the complete lack of scientific evidence is actually all the proof you need. Sam Harris wrote a very satisfying take down.

From the neurosurgeon: http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/10/07/proof-of-heaven-a-doctor-s-experience-with-the-afterlife.html
From Sam Harris: http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/this-must-be-heaven

#Urban Exploring

Photography Underground: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/29/nyregion/thecity/29shad.html?pagewanted=all

Travel Diary style in New York City: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/02/nyregion/02underground.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Below Paris: http://moreintelligentlife.com/content/places/going-souterrain?page=full