Literature and life
Literary critic Egor Mikhailov's Russian-language channel about books and the world around them: new translations, title puns, literary hoaxes and open calls.
What it is
"Literatura i zhizn" ("Literature and life") is a personal Telegram channel about books, written in Russian. It is run by literary critic Egor Mikhailov, as book roundups such as one by the publisher MIF describe it, and the bio keeps it simple: "I write about books and everything around them. There are no ads on this channel." Readers can support him through Boosty.
Why we picked it
There are plenty of book channels, and most are a stream of reviews. This one is more fun: it is the view of someone who lives inside the book world and notices what is funny or strange about it. When a sweet quote "about a kitten", supposedly from a medieval manuscript of the Canterbury Tales, spread across several channels, he looked into it and called it a fake. He digs up a university press book on the Jewish history of Westerns with an untranslatable pun for a title, Chai Noon. He suggests the Booker-shortlisted novel John of John should come out in Russian as "Dzhon Dzhonych".
There is useful stuff too: news of upcoming translations (like the first Russian edition of Ursula K. Le Guin's essays on writing), talks, competitions and open calls for researchers and writers, and links to his pieces elsewhere. Posts are short, so they suit a coffee break.
Where to start
- Find the post about the Canterbury Tales "kitten"; it shows how pretty stories get checked here.
- Scroll the recent announcements of new books and translations for a ready-made reading list.
- Look at the open calls if you write about culture yourself.
- Read the pieces he links to in other publications.
Who it's for
Heavy readers who want book news without press releases. Writers who can use competitions and open submission calls. Anyone who likes literature with a sense of humour. You will need to read Russian, as the jokes lean on wordplay.
Quick answers
Are there ads? The bio says there are none.
Is it book reviews? Partly, but it's mostly notes on the book world: new releases, oddities and events.
How often does it post? Nearly every day, sometimes several times.
