Arts

Karen Russell has a new short-story collection out, her first book since 2011's best-selling Swamplandia! The stories range from senior citizen vampires sucking lemons and wondering about their future, to a war veteran whose wounds are both locked up inside, and bright and bold across his body.

When Sampson Davis was in high school, he and two of his friends made a pact that they would someday become doctors. All three of them did. Along with those friends — and now fellow doctors — George Jenkins and Rameck Hunt, Davis co-authored a 2003 book called The Pact, about that promise and the way it shaped their lives.

There are a lot of places these days to look for all kinds of love, especially online. But what's an aging intellectual who loves William Gass, Philip Glass and a good merlot to do?

The distinguished New York Review of Books celebrates its 50th anniversary this month. It is noted for its rigorous writing and stellar cerebral lit stars — and its personal ads.

Laurence Olivier, whose interpretations of Shakespeare's signature roles were often considered definitive, adapted several of those roles for film. He wrote and directed widely praised versions of Hamlet, Henry V and Richard III.

As New York Fashion Week looks ahead to fall 2013, we're taking a moment to look back at one of the 20th century's most well-known designers — and how life as a designer has changed since his time.

In the early '80s, Italy's Taviani brothers, Paolo and Vittorio, made one of the true modern masterpieces, The Night of the Shooting Stars. Set in the last days of World War II, when Germans laid mines all over Tuscan villages and Fascists loyal to Mussolini killed their own countrymen, it was a very cruel film.

When it's early-mid February, the mind naturally turns to those fundamentals of the good life: love and football.

Who are you rooting for this season? If it's the Phoenix Sins, then watch out--your starting lineup may include sloth, gluttony, envy and pride. Puzzle guru John Chaneski has taken the names of U.S. pro sports teams and swapped out a vowel for the letter "i" to imagine some hilarious team names you might hesitate to wear proudly on a jersey.