The Caustic Cover Critic admires the “big, bold” work of Andy Smith, who designed the UK cover for Brady Udall’s latest (which I reviewed here). . . . Omnivoracious interviews my old buddy and soccer fanatic David Hirshey about his new book previewing the World Cup. . . . John Crace gives Christopher Hitchens’ new memoir the Digested Read treatment: “At the age of three I entered a dialogue with TS Eliot on his misuse of myth, so it was a shock to arrive at Balliol and hear from my esteemed friend, James Fenton, that I was only the second cleverest person in the world.” . . . At the New Yorker’s Book Bench, Macy Halford and Jon Michaud exchange ideas about the role of love in Amy Bloom’s new collection of stories, whether it’s a conqueror/destroyer or an “amoral force.” . . . A friend of this site, Jim Hanas, has a story (with a cover designed by Patrick Borelli, another friend) being auctioned off to benefit the literary mag One Story. . . . Mark Athitakis takes up the issue of why (and whether) American novelists don’t devote themselves to exploring one place anymore, and he cites a remarkable statistic: 37% of respondents to a poll say they’ve never lived outside their hometown. . . . The real-life pendulum featured in Umberto Eco’s Foucault’s Pendulum has been “irreparably damaged” by a crash to the floor. . . . John Eklund previews some fall book releases with a quiz. Sample question: “What did Shelley describe as ‘profuse strains of unpremeditated art?’” . . . I came across this a little while ago, but I was just reminded of it: Where’s Waldo? as read by Warner Herzog. One of the funniest things I’ve recently seen.