“Beneath those stars is a universe of gliding monsters.” –Herman Melville, Moby-Dick

• President Obama (or more likely a staffer) responded to a letter from New England Independent Booksellers Association director Steve Fischer, who had expressed concern about Obama’s decision to appear at an Amazon fulfillment center. The letter is long and seems to be a form response about job creation and helping small businesses. It never mentions Amazon by name. (Publishers Weekly)
• Rap Genius breaks down “10 Great Literary References in Rap.” I don’t expect you’ll find any on Earl Sweatshirt‘s new album Doris, but you’d better listen to “Chum” a hundred more times to be sure.
• Choire Sicha‘s new book, Very Recent History: An Entirely Factual Account of a Year (c. AD 2009) in a Large City, blurs lines between fiction and non-fiction in a way that’s reminiscent of reality TV, if there were a reality TV show about gay men navigating the social landscape of New York City after AIDS. (The Millions)
• Birmingham’s new library has already earned the nickname ‘bling’ — it’s wrapped in a lattice of circles, which apparently celebrate the city’s history in the jewellery trade. (The Guardian)
• The only place people shop online is Amazon. (The Atlantic Wire)
• “I was doing a lot of beer bongs, I guess.” Meet the dude that drunkenly stole a bust of Robert Frost 25 years ago. (The Wichita Eagle)
• Jamie Oliver, a fan of forthcoming Melville House book The Stop, has decided to donate a copy of his latest cookbook to every library (over 4,000) in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. (The Guardian</em>)
• Parul Sehgal recommends I Await the Devil’s Coming on All Things Considered, saying MacLane is back in “all her glory” and “sounds like an off-kilter Walt Whitman.”
• “I want to create an omelet that expresses the meaninglessness of existence, but instead they taste like cheese.”–Jean-Paul Sartre’s cookbook
• Matthew Shear, Executive V-P and Publisher of St. Martin’s Press, has passed away at 57. John Sargent said some nice words about him. (PW)
• The Great Gatsby makes the list of books most frequently left in UK hotel rooms, but it’s last–E.L. James dominates. (The Guardian)

Two for Tuesday Friday: “Stairway to Heaven” and “Moby Dick” by Led Zeppelin