Levi Stahl
@levistahl.bsky.social
Editor of The Getaway Car: A Donald Westlake Nonfiction Miscellany and The Daily Sherlock Holmes. Marketing Director at the University of Chicago Press. Board member of the Uptown People’s Law Center.
“When I suggested mediation, he kicked our dog.”
Jesus Christ, reading Dear Abby is among the most depressing experiences you can have with a newspaper.
Jesus Christ, reading Dear Abby is among the most depressing experiences you can have with a newspaper.
February 11, 2026 at 7:47 PM
“When I suggested mediation, he kicked our dog.”
Jesus Christ, reading Dear Abby is among the most depressing experiences you can have with a newspaper.
Jesus Christ, reading Dear Abby is among the most depressing experiences you can have with a newspaper.
I -loved- Spielberg’s West Side Story. One thing I appreciated was that in presenting the dancing, the film seemed to opt as often as possible for a fluid, moving camera over editing to establish motion and drama. The result is that you really understand where the the dancers are in the urban space.
At @musicboxtheatre.bsky.social to see Spielberg’s West Side Story, a movie that I, like almost everyone, missed because 2021 but about which I’ve heard great things.
Always feel like I’m with my people when there are lot of solo moviegoers besides me in the audience.
Always feel like I’m with my people when there are lot of solo moviegoers besides me in the audience.
February 11, 2026 at 5:18 PM
I -loved- Spielberg’s West Side Story. One thing I appreciated was that in presenting the dancing, the film seemed to opt as often as possible for a fluid, moving camera over editing to establish motion and drama. The result is that you really understand where the the dancers are in the urban space.
Reposted by Levi Stahl
new @relentlesspicnic.com available now, for free.
this episode is about music — how we mishear it, how we can be sure we hear it at all, how a demon can take hold of you and use you to produce it, and how sometimes instead of music there's the mass-market autobiography of a beloved '90s actor.
this episode is about music — how we mishear it, how we can be sure we hear it at all, how a demon can take hold of you and use you to produce it, and how sometimes instead of music there's the mass-market autobiography of a beloved '90s actor.
Smell Like I Sound | Stanley Picnic
Get more from Stanley Picnic on Patreon
www.patreon.com
February 11, 2026 at 3:41 PM
new @relentlesspicnic.com available now, for free.
this episode is about music — how we mishear it, how we can be sure we hear it at all, how a demon can take hold of you and use you to produce it, and how sometimes instead of music there's the mass-market autobiography of a beloved '90s actor.
this episode is about music — how we mishear it, how we can be sure we hear it at all, how a demon can take hold of you and use you to produce it, and how sometimes instead of music there's the mass-market autobiography of a beloved '90s actor.
have got to go to the college library now and get filthy amongst dirty books.
—J. R. R. Tolkien, letter to Edith Bratt of October 1914
—J. R. R. Tolkien, letter to Edith Bratt of October 1914
February 11, 2026 at 3:37 PM
have got to go to the college library now and get filthy amongst dirty books.
—J. R. R. Tolkien, letter to Edith Bratt of October 1914
—J. R. R. Tolkien, letter to Edith Bratt of October 1914
According to this article, my team and I will be responsible for marketing this journal.
Get in touch if you want a review copy, I guess?
Get in touch if you want a review copy, I guess?
Barstool Sports Spins Off New Literary Journal https://theonion.com/barstool-sports-spins-off-new-literary-journal/
February 11, 2026 at 3:34 PM
According to this article, my team and I will be responsible for marketing this journal.
Get in touch if you want a review copy, I guess?
Get in touch if you want a review copy, I guess?
“I give my respect to those who’ve earned it. To everyone else, I’m civil.”
February 11, 2026 at 2:00 PM
“I give my respect to those who’ve earned it. To everyone else, I’m civil.”
The last two English movies I’ve watched (Brief Encounter and The Deep Blue Sea) have both featured scenes where a character is passive-aggressively finicky about how someone else, without prior instructions about preferences, prepares tea for them.
February 11, 2026 at 1:05 PM
The last two English movies I’ve watched (Brief Encounter and The Deep Blue Sea) have both featured scenes where a character is passive-aggressively finicky about how someone else, without prior instructions about preferences, prepares tea for them.
The vanity of Boswell was a rare quality. It kept him alive and it gave a point to him.
—Virginia Woolf, “The Genius of Boswell”
—Virginia Woolf, “The Genius of Boswell”
February 11, 2026 at 11:54 AM
The vanity of Boswell was a rare quality. It kept him alive and it gave a point to him.
—Virginia Woolf, “The Genius of Boswell”
—Virginia Woolf, “The Genius of Boswell”
John Cheever, journal.
February 11, 2026 at 11:49 AM
John Cheever, journal.
Good morning, friends!
February 11, 2026 at 11:12 AM
Good morning, friends!
At @musicboxtheatre.bsky.social to see Spielberg’s West Side Story, a movie that I, like almost everyone, missed because 2021 but about which I’ve heard great things.
Always feel like I’m with my people when there are lot of solo moviegoers besides me in the audience.
Always feel like I’m with my people when there are lot of solo moviegoers besides me in the audience.
February 11, 2026 at 12:55 AM
At @musicboxtheatre.bsky.social to see Spielberg’s West Side Story, a movie that I, like almost everyone, missed because 2021 but about which I’ve heard great things.
Always feel like I’m with my people when there are lot of solo moviegoers besides me in the audience.
Always feel like I’m with my people when there are lot of solo moviegoers besides me in the audience.
Here’s how Debussy’s Bruyères is going. The second half, not here, is actually easier, but I keep making silly mistakes, so you get the first half, which is getting close.
February 11, 2026 at 12:27 AM
Here’s how Debussy’s Bruyères is going. The second half, not here, is actually easier, but I keep making silly mistakes, so you get the first half, which is getting close.
“I’ve had a glorious winter. I’ve made strange friends for whom I care a great deal.”—Langston Hughes, letter
One last time: Issue 12 of my newsletter, This, Not That, is out, with quotes on winter from so many writers: Winifred Holtby, Robbie Cowen, Sarah Orne Jewett, James Schuyler, & many more.
One last time: Issue 12 of my newsletter, This, Not That, is out, with quotes on winter from so many writers: Winifred Holtby, Robbie Cowen, Sarah Orne Jewett, James Schuyler, & many more.
Issue 12: Taking a cue from Thoreau: “Let us sing winter.”
Now I cannot get enough of winter.
—Solvej Balle, On the Calculation of Volume
This is a dream of Winter, sweet as Spring.
—Edward Thomas, from “Swedes”
The winter stretches ahead, where all visio...
this-not-that.ghost.io
February 10, 2026 at 11:41 PM
“I’ve had a glorious winter. I’ve made strange friends for whom I care a great deal.”—Langston Hughes, letter
One last time: Issue 12 of my newsletter, This, Not That, is out, with quotes on winter from so many writers: Winifred Holtby, Robbie Cowen, Sarah Orne Jewett, James Schuyler, & many more.
One last time: Issue 12 of my newsletter, This, Not That, is out, with quotes on winter from so many writers: Winifred Holtby, Robbie Cowen, Sarah Orne Jewett, James Schuyler, & many more.
Reposted by Levi Stahl
“almost everything here has cold hands”
—Alice Oswald, from “Cold Streak”
Issue 12 of my newsletter, This, Not That, just shipped. It’s a commonplace book issue on the subject of winter, and it includes the Alice Oswald line above, plus Zadie Smith, Jules Renard, Christiane Ritter, & so many more!
—Alice Oswald, from “Cold Streak”
Issue 12 of my newsletter, This, Not That, just shipped. It’s a commonplace book issue on the subject of winter, and it includes the Alice Oswald line above, plus Zadie Smith, Jules Renard, Christiane Ritter, & so many more!
Issue 12: Taking a cue from Thoreau: “Let us sing winter.”
Now I cannot get enough of winter.
—Solvej Balle, On the Calculation of Volume
This is a dream of Winter, sweet as Spring.
—Edward Thomas, from “Swedes”
The winter stretches ahead, where all visio...
this-not-that.ghost.io
February 10, 2026 at 1:23 AM
“almost everything here has cold hands”
—Alice Oswald, from “Cold Streak”
Issue 12 of my newsletter, This, Not That, just shipped. It’s a commonplace book issue on the subject of winter, and it includes the Alice Oswald line above, plus Zadie Smith, Jules Renard, Christiane Ritter, & so many more!
—Alice Oswald, from “Cold Streak”
Issue 12 of my newsletter, This, Not That, just shipped. It’s a commonplace book issue on the subject of winter, and it includes the Alice Oswald line above, plus Zadie Smith, Jules Renard, Christiane Ritter, & so many more!
Good morning, friends!
February 10, 2026 at 11:14 AM
Good morning, friends!
How could a person get old and remain innocent?
—John Kessel, “A Clean Escape”
—John Kessel, “A Clean Escape”
February 10, 2026 at 3:10 AM
How could a person get old and remain innocent?
—John Kessel, “A Clean Escape”
—John Kessel, “A Clean Escape”
There was a silence with things going on in it.
—Dorothy Parker, “Here We Are”
—Dorothy Parker, “Here We Are”
February 10, 2026 at 2:55 AM
There was a silence with things going on in it.
—Dorothy Parker, “Here We Are”
—Dorothy Parker, “Here We Are”
Would it have been possible to be happy in Don Draper and Megan’s apartment? For anyone? Or was failure to live up to it inevitable?
February 10, 2026 at 2:50 AM
Would it have been possible to be happy in Don Draper and Megan’s apartment? For anyone? Or was failure to live up to it inevitable?
Some nights you practice what you’re working on. Other nights, you wander through your fakebooks from Ellington to Ellington to Ellington to Ellington . . .
February 10, 2026 at 1:34 AM
Some nights you practice what you’re working on. Other nights, you wander through your fakebooks from Ellington to Ellington to Ellington to Ellington . . .
“almost everything here has cold hands”
—Alice Oswald, from “Cold Streak”
Issue 12 of my newsletter, This, Not That, just shipped. It’s a commonplace book issue on the subject of winter, and it includes the Alice Oswald line above, plus Zadie Smith, Jules Renard, Christiane Ritter, & so many more!
—Alice Oswald, from “Cold Streak”
Issue 12 of my newsletter, This, Not That, just shipped. It’s a commonplace book issue on the subject of winter, and it includes the Alice Oswald line above, plus Zadie Smith, Jules Renard, Christiane Ritter, & so many more!
Issue 12: Taking a cue from Thoreau: “Let us sing winter.”
Now I cannot get enough of winter.
—Solvej Balle, On the Calculation of Volume
This is a dream of Winter, sweet as Spring.
—Edward Thomas, from “Swedes”
The winter stretches ahead, where all visio...
this-not-that.ghost.io
February 10, 2026 at 1:23 AM
“almost everything here has cold hands”
—Alice Oswald, from “Cold Streak”
Issue 12 of my newsletter, This, Not That, just shipped. It’s a commonplace book issue on the subject of winter, and it includes the Alice Oswald line above, plus Zadie Smith, Jules Renard, Christiane Ritter, & so many more!
—Alice Oswald, from “Cold Streak”
Issue 12 of my newsletter, This, Not That, just shipped. It’s a commonplace book issue on the subject of winter, and it includes the Alice Oswald line above, plus Zadie Smith, Jules Renard, Christiane Ritter, & so many more!
Defoe forgets the attachment.
February 9, 2026 at 8:06 PM
Defoe forgets the attachment.
Reposted by Levi Stahl
Because I can tell y’all need some serious distraction:
I’ve dropped the ebook price for the first of Richard Stark’s Parker novels, The Hunter, to $2.99. Buy it direct below, or from any major ebook retailer.
You won’t regret it.
I’ve dropped the ebook price for the first of Richard Stark’s Parker novels, The Hunter, to $2.99. Buy it direct below, or from any major ebook retailer.
You won’t regret it.
The Hunter
Where it all begins: The first book in the action-packed classic crime series that's the basis for the forthcoming film Play Dirty! Richard Stark's Parker novels are the hardest of hard-boiled, classi...
press.uchicago.edu
February 6, 2026 at 2:58 PM
Because I can tell y’all need some serious distraction:
I’ve dropped the ebook price for the first of Richard Stark’s Parker novels, The Hunter, to $2.99. Buy it direct below, or from any major ebook retailer.
You won’t regret it.
I’ve dropped the ebook price for the first of Richard Stark’s Parker novels, The Hunter, to $2.99. Buy it direct below, or from any major ebook retailer.
You won’t regret it.
Remembered to photograph my Elizabeth Jane Howard shelf so that when I’m in London for the book fair next month I can buy the rest.
February 9, 2026 at 4:43 PM
Remembered to photograph my Elizabeth Jane Howard shelf so that when I’m in London for the book fair next month I can buy the rest.
Mary Walton’s Car is one of the handful of best narrative nonfiction books I have ever read. (Like everyone, I learned of it from @whetmoser.com and am grateful.)
TAURUS MENTIONED
that means i have to promote mary walton's "car: a drama of the american workplace," which is about the making of the taurus and my "best book only you've read" pick www.motortrend.com/features/bor...
that means i have to promote mary walton's "car: a drama of the american workplace," which is about the making of the taurus and my "best book only you've read" pick www.motortrend.com/features/bor...
What Is The Most 1990s Car? The Autopian is asking! www.theautopian.com/what-is-the-...
February 9, 2026 at 4:30 PM
Mary Walton’s Car is one of the handful of best narrative nonfiction books I have ever read. (Like everyone, I learned of it from @whetmoser.com and am grateful.)
Reposted by Levi Stahl
Issue 12 of my newsletter, This, Not That, will hit the mail tomorrow. It's a commonplace book issue, gathering quotes on winter from dozens of writers, including Thoreau, Elizabeth Hardwick, John Clare, Stevie Smith, Ali Smith, Charles Lamb, E. B. White, and many more. Sign up to get it tomorrow!
February 9, 2026 at 1:19 PM
Issue 12 of my newsletter, This, Not That, will hit the mail tomorrow. It's a commonplace book issue, gathering quotes on winter from dozens of writers, including Thoreau, Elizabeth Hardwick, John Clare, Stevie Smith, Ali Smith, Charles Lamb, E. B. White, and many more. Sign up to get it tomorrow!