Once considered the zenith of air travel luxury, the long-gone Boeing 314 Clipper could transport pampered flyers to faraway, exotic locales in only a matter of days. The enormous airliner, first launched in 1936, had the amazing range of 5,200 miles and a maximum airspeed of 199 mph. It could carry up to 74 passengers and 10 crew members, had 7 private sleeping compartments, a 14-seat dining room and some models even had a private suite in the tail section.
It’s official. Newtown, Pennsylvania is cool. But only the seventh coolest small town in America, to be precise.
The borough took the seventh spot in the “Coolest Small Town” competition by Budget Travel Magazine.
With 15,082 votes, Newtown came in ahead of towns in Colorado, Florida, California, and more.
Close behind Newtown was Cedar Key, Fla., with 14,304 votes. Just ahead of Newtown, in fifth place, was Phoenicia, N.Y. with 15,451 votes. Lewisburg, W. Va. was voted the number one coolest town with 139,118 votes. I know, it’s hard to believe that any town in West Virginia could win this contest. (full disclosure-I voted for Newtown & Cedar Key)
Late last year, Newtown was selected as one of 20 finalists in the competition by the magazine’s editors. But it was the online popular vote that put the borough in the winning tier.
Newtown will now be photographed and featured in the September 2011 issue of Budget Travel magazine. Look for us in the pics; we’ll be the blog in the funny hat.
Our lantsman Jason Diamond over at the brilliant website Jewcy.com has come up with 
a list of the “50 Most Essential Works of Jewish Fiction of the Last 100 Years”. The criteria to make this august list included any work that could be considered “Jewish fiction” written by a Jewish author or dealing heavily with Jewish topics.
The top 5 on the list are:
1. The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
2. In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust (who knew he was a yidl )
3. Portnoy’s Complaint by Philip Roth
4. Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
5. Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
So, take a gander at the List and see what you think. Personally, I have some quibbles with it, but don’t we always.
The very clever photoblog Corpus Libris is an amusing compilation of people manipulating bookcovers so that their gestures match the images on the covers. It was originally created by our brilliant friends at LA’s Skylight Books featuring themselves. But now you can get in on the fun by submitting your own photos.
I was pleased to receive a review copy of Arin Greenwood’s debut novel, Tropical 
Depression. Inspired by Greenwood’s own escape to the South Pacific island of Saipan, Tropical Depression is a laugh-out-loud romp with just enough existential angst to keep it grounded.
What happens when a twenty-something, slightly neurotic, non-practicing Jewish lawyer loses her white shoe law firm job, her NYC apartment and the love of her life in one fateful day? Tropical Depression chronicles the adventures of Nina Barker as she absconds to the fictional South Pacific island of Miramar and attempts to reinvent herself.
Greenwood’s charming roman à clef is no light-weight, postcard travel novel, but is instead a sometimes heartbreaking, but more often hilarious, look at what happens when we take that leap into the unknown. Tropical Depression is a delightful, funny and 
altogether satisfying read.
Tropical Depression author Arin Greenwood is back in the States for now and agreed to answer some interview questions:
Who are you reading now?
I just finished reading Dear American Airlines, which was very funny and sad – I read a lot in the “travel/life gone wrong” genre, I’d say. Before that I just read Invisible a Paul Auster novel – I love Paul Auster, even though his books all kind of blend together into one giant (and completely enjoyable) Paul Auster mega-novel. I’ll be going to the bookstore today to get a new book to read – any recommendations ?
Who are your top five authors ?
It’s too hard to narrow it down to an overall top five – but here are five authors whose books I’ve really enjoyed in the last year (that’s easier !) :
Martin Page – I just discovered him last year. He’s a french writer. He writes funny, mean little books.
Calvin Trillin – Everything he writes is delightful. I read one of his food/travel books last year and was charmed as always by him.
Hal Herzog – I loved his book Some We Love, Some We Eat, about human/animal psychology and ethics. He ponders, for example, why cockfighting is verboten while Chicken McNuggets are freely promoted – it can’t be for the sake of the chickens, since roosters bound for fights are treated a lot better ( and are killed more humanely ) than fowl bound for McDonalds. It’s good stuff.
Beth Raymer – I couldn’t put down her gambling memoir Lay the Favorite when I was reading it last year.
Patti Smith – Her book, Just Kids, about her time in NYC with Robert Mapplethorpe, is amazing in so many ways. She presents herself as a wonderful character. her relationship with Mapplethorpe is so complicated and interesting.
What was you favorite book growing up ?
Old Yeller – I was obsessed with dogs. Dogs and Horses. I was always reading dog and horse books when I was a kid.
What book(s) changed your life ?
Different books have been important to me at different times in my life… Maybe I’ll say a book of Edgar Allen Poe stories that I was reading one day when I was ten. I was reading it on a bus to summer camp, and the girl who became my best friend came over and started talking to me because she’d also read the book. So a book of Edgar Allen Poe stories changed my life in a really good way.
Who should star in the movie of Tropical Depression ?
My mother wants Natalie Portman. We’ll see if we can get her after she’s won the Oscar.
What three word best describe Tropical depression ?
Hilarious, Heartbreaking, Humble ?
Artist Todd McLeelan’s newest project, Disassembly, deconstructs all manner of useful devices and gadgets. While I love my computers, I still miss my old Royal. You can see more of Todd’s work on his website. Click on New Work .
If you haven’t been hooked yet by the hilarious new website, Malcolm Gladwell Book Generator, you must give it a try. When you visit the website, just click on “generate new bestseller” and a new title will be generated.
Here are a few examples:
An unpublished collection of short stories by the groundbreaking author Dashiell Hammett, often named as the originator of hardboiled noir fiction, has been discovered in Austin, Texas. Hammett, best-known for the novels The Maltese Falcon, The Thin Man and Red Harvest died in 1961.
The fifteen short stories were found by The Strand magazine editor, Andrew Gulli, at the University of Texas, Harry Ransom Center literary archives. Gulli plans to publish one of the stories in his crime fiction magazine later this month and eventually publish all fifteen in a book.
It’s not yet known why these stories were in the archive, exactly when then were written or if Hammett had planned to publish them at all.
Last Saturday thousands of Britons staged protests around the UK to highlight their concerns about library closings and cutbacks. Many of the events were organized by 
Voices for the Library, which was created last year by dedicated librarians, information professional and writers to provide a forum for individuals and communities to support their libraries.
Posters reimagined by Phil Bradley
Travel Between The Pages 