This Week’s Reading, 27.5.12

This week: The future according to ’70s Japan, Einstein on praying, 10 over-rated books, and Leos Carax isn’t a people person.

• Leader image: Portion of Janda Zdenek’s ‘Romana’ – full image and artist’s site here.

• “Who is the public? All I know is it’s a bunch of people who will be dead very soon” – Quote of Cannes so far, from Leos Carax

• The crushing reality of earnings for self-published writers

• Young girl pens letter to Einstein asking, ‘Do scientists pray?’ (And he replies)

• Juan Jose Saer gets a deserved nod

• Visions of the future, courtesy of 1970s Japan

• The new Brautigan biography reviewed

• Fantasies, by Mike Ingram

• Alejandro Jodorowsky’s ‘Rise of the Dolls’ festival

• New collection of Ezra Pound letters incoming

• 10 epidemically over-rated books. Kerouac, DeLillo, Salinger. Spot when the compiler runs out of ideas/can’t be arsed continuing (hint: vampires)

• “Christian tattooing in Bosnia and Herzegovina was a very common widespread custom among members of the Croatian Roman Catholic community during the Turkish occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1463–1878) and up until the 20th century”

• For giving us such a fine quote, the trailer for Leos Carax’ Holy Motors: