Link Rodeo

It's a link round-up today.

• An interview with Marjane Satrapi about her new book Embroideries. The new book is about what Iranian women talk about when they are alone. Turns out it's mostly sex

  Satrapi's women relatives and friends drink tea and talk over a favorite subject -- sex. Embroideries is an X-rated (and actually entertaining) version of The View -- one where grandmothers, mothers, and granddaughters talk about hymen restoration, the virtues of being a mistress, and the questionable aesthetic value of the penis. In Embroideries, Satrapi documents the ways in which strong-willed women in Iran have fought back -- in secretly gleeful silence or through overt rebellion -- against misogynistic traditions and piggish men. The book is also a celebration of these women's resilience, their tough-mouthed, tender-hearted talk over tea. Satrapi spoke with me on the phone about geriatric sex, the appeal of the ass, and the promise of young women in Iran today.

• Here's an interesting piece that I found via extension 337 that attempts to explain "What blogs are vs. what they are not." Not book related, but if you blog, worth a look.
• Notebooks. I love notebooks. It began with a Hello Kitty locking diary, moved on to a Donny and Marie diary sans lock, then to blank books and now I have discovered Moleskines, but oh I am tempted to try something from Book Factory. Meant for scientific folks, they could be infinitely useful for creative projects or even a regualr journal. What excites me most is that they have a table of contents page. I know, I'm weird. (link via 43 Folders)
• A fascinating article about hyperlexia, a condition that "combines autismlike speech and social problems with a jump-start on reading." By studying those with hyperlexia, researchers are learning much about the brain in general and the reading brain in particular. By the way, reading a lot doesn't mean you are hyperlexic. Only one in 5,000 have the condition and it doesn't sound like anything a sane person would want to suffer from. So those of us who read too much (is that really possible??) need to find some other excuse for spouses, friends and family. (link via Mind Hacks)