One of the characteristics I hope this board develops is -- how does one say this without sounding stuffy? -- an informed tone.
Likewise. And I don't think it's stuffy at all.
I am equally glad that the focus is on world literature and that English-language works are not off the table (that restriction would be too hard for me to cope with).
I actually considered that, at first. But then came to the conclusion that while it's not the main focus, you can't exclude them completely from something called
world literature, and a great deal of my own reading is comprised of books originally written in the English language.
I also hope that we can be open to approaching non-fiction genres and quality genre fiction: "literature" and good writing are wherever you find them. Lastly, I hope that the discussions here can be informed by the growing coverage of literature across the Web and blogosphere as well as the traditional print realm.
That is, in theory, my hope. I would still put non-fiction under literature (essays, biographies, memoirs, etc.). I know that I'll be posting my thoughts on
With Borges by Alberto Manguel, which I just bought there on my lunch hour. I've only read a few Borges short stories but I see myself interested in him for the influence he seems to have had, whether it be in Umberto Eco's
The Name Of The Rose, Mark Z. Danielewski's
House Of Leaves and I note that in another of my recent purchases, Paul Theroux's
The Old Patagonian Express, the writer gives an account of his experience reading to Borges, something
Adolfo Bioy Casares also did in his capacity as friend.
The blogosphere is proving great for literature coverage, whether it's the all encompassng news and reviews of
the Complete Review or a single review that gets people excited and coming together, such as
Asylum's review of Robert Walser's
The Assistant.