Celestial Homework, and Other News

This is Allen Ginsberg’s reading list for his class “Literary History of the Beats.” (Yes, he is on it.)
RIP children’s author Bernard Waber, who brought us Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile.
Australia’s Qantas Airlines is introducing a series of novels, Stories for Every Journey, designed to last the duration of each flight. (Well, not every journey; this seems to be specifically aimed at the “Bronze to Platinum One” customers.)
“‘Let me use your reading material as an impetus for awkward conversation’ is a time-honored tactic of creepers the world over.” A plea to be left in peace. [Editor’s note: That said, being randomly asked, in a Left Bank branch of Paul bakery, if I was reading “a novel of old Paris” remains one of the highlights of my life.]