The Guardian lists the top 10 classic spy novels.
The Marquee Blog remembers Michael Jackson on the fourth anniversary of his death.
Tim O'Brien has won the 2013 Pritzker Military Library Literature Award for Lifetime Achievement in Military Writing.
PopMatters profiles singer-songwriter Josh Rouse.
Financial Times profiles four literary gardeners.
NPR Books recommends nonfiction books for summer reading.
County Grind interviews John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats via Twitter.
Ballast thares the story behind comedian Norm Macdonald's Twitter book club.
Morning Edition interviews keyboardist Chuck Leavell, also known as "the fifth Rolling Stone."
World Literature Today recommends four books about human trafficking.
The Record profiles singer-songwriter John Grant.
Offsetting unsettling lyrics about depression, self-hate, toxic relationships, religion-fueled ignorance and societal cruelty with utterly gorgeous melodies is one of the oldest tricks in the songwriter's handbook. But most excel at half of that combo while falling far short in the other. John Grant excels on both counts, plus he sings like an angel while displaying devilish wit. Imagine one of Paul Williams' soul-stirring classics for The Carpenters like "" with additional lyrics by Kurt Cobain, and you've got the gist of Grant gems like "."
Flavorwire recommends 10 great multicultural children's books.
Pitchfork interviews Stephen McRobbie of the Pastels.
Buzzfeed lists 14 books currently being adapted for film.
Win the Music Notes: A Journal notebook and a $100 Threadless gift certificate in this week's contest at Largehearted Boy.
Follow me on Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, Google+, Facebook, and Stumbleupon for links (updated throughout the day) that don't make the daily "Shorties" columns.
also at Largehearted Boy:
previous Shorties posts (daily news and links from the worlds of music, books, and pop culture)
100 Online Sources for Free and Legal Music Downloads
Atomic Books Comics Preview (the week's best new comics & graphic novels)
Book Notes (authors create playlists for their book)
daily mp3 downloads
Largehearted Word (the week's best new books)
Librairie Drawn & Quarterly Books of the Week (recommended new books, magazines, and comics)
musician/author interviews
Note Books (musicians discuss literature)
Try It Before You Buy It (mp3s and full album streams from this week's CD releases)
weekly music & DVD release lists