Question: What was the projected second quarter growth rate revision

Answer: up to 3.8 percent

That put the seasonally adjusted annual rate at an estimated $1.08 trillion, the highest level since May 2008. The report also revised the June increase in construction spending to 0.7 percent, from 0.1 percent previously. Groundbreakings for houses, apartment complexes and commercial centers have helped improve overall economic growth. The government said last week that the economy expanded at an annual rate of 3.7 percent in the April-to-June quarter, after edging up just 0.6 percent in the first quarter. “We expect housing activity will continue to strengthen, underpinning greater residential investment in the coming quarters,” said Gregory Daco, head of United States macroeconomics at the forecasting firm Oxford Economics. <hl> After the construction spending report, analysts at Barclays projected that the economy was on track to grow 2.6 percent in the third quarter and that the second-quarter growth rate would be revised up to 3.8 percent . <hl>

That put the seasonally adjusted annual rate at an estimated $1.08 trillion, the highest level since May 2008. The report also revised the June increase in construction spending to 0.7 percent, from 0.1 percent previously. Groundbreakings for houses, apartment complexes and commercial centers have helped improve overall economic growth. The government said last week that the economy expanded at an annual rate of 3.7 percent in the April-to-June quarter, after edging up just 0.6 percent in the first quarter. “We expect housing activity will continue to strengthen, underpinning greater residential investment in the coming quarters,” said Gregory Daco, head of United States macroeconomics at the forecasting firm Oxford Economics. After the construction spending report, analysts at Barclays projected that the economy was on track to grow 2.6 percent in the third quarter and that the second-quarter growth rate would be revised <hl> up to 3.8 percent <hl>.

After the construction spending report, analysts at Barclays projected that the economy was on track to grow 2.6 percent in the third quarter and that the second-quarter growth rate would be revised <hl> up to 3.8 percent <hl> .


Question: How much did spending on government buildings slip by?

Spending on government building projects slipped 1 percent, although it has risen over the last year largely because of the construction and maintenance of highways and streets.

Answer: 1 percent

<hl> Spending on government building projects slipped 1 percent , although it has risen over the last year largely because of the construction and maintenance of highways and streets. <hl>

Spending on government building projects slipped <hl> 1 percent <hl>, although it has risen over the last year largely because of the construction and maintenance of highways and streets.

Spending on government building projects slipped <hl> 1 percent <hl> , although it has risen over the last year largely because of the construction and maintenance of highways and streets.


Question: What slipped by 1 percent?

Answer: Spending on government building projects

<hl> Spending on government building projects slipped 1 percent, although it has risen over the last year largely because of the construction and maintenance of highways and streets. <hl>

<hl> Spending on government building projects <hl> slipped 1 percent, although it has risen over the last year largely because of the construction and maintenance of highways and streets.


Question: Why did government spending on building projects rise over the last year?

Answer: the construction and maintenance of highways and streets.

<hl> Spending on government building projects slipped 1 percent, although it has risen over the last year largely because of the construction and maintenance of highways and streets. <hl>

Spending on government building projects slipped 1 percent, although it has risen over the last year largely because of <hl> the construction and maintenance of highways and streets. <hl>


Question: What effect on government building project spending did the construction and maintenance of highways and streets have?

Answer: risen over the last year

<hl> Spending on government building projects slipped 1 percent, although it has risen over the last year largely because of the construction and maintenance of highways and streets. <hl>

Spending on government building projects slipped 1 percent, although it has <hl> risen over the last year <hl> largely because of the construction and maintenance of highways and streets.


Question: How does the author feel about conflict in the middle east in regards to US intervention?

The war against radical Islamic militancy is not our fight. It is a struggle among Muslims for the soul and the future of the Muslim world. In the end, only Muslims can determine the outcome. Make no mistake: We in the United States and the West have an important national security stake in that outcome. But we should not try to win on our own what only local forces can sustain, particularly when our effort to help only makes their success less likely. The United States has a compelling national interest in providing limited but critical support to Muslim allies who are pursuing their own interests, but must avoid playing into the hands of those who would paint those allies as quislings who serve American interests. In the course of exercising such strategic patience we should remember that the threat posed to us by radical Islam, while real, is not an existential one. The extremists may pose a fundamental danger to the moderate majority in much of the Muslim world; but very few American civilians have fallen victim to Islamic terror since 9/11, and Shariah is unlikely to be imposed in Texas.

Answer: Islamic militancy is not our fight

<hl> The war against radical Islamic militancy is not our fight . <hl> It is a struggle among Muslims for the soul and the future of the Muslim world. In the end, only Muslims can determine the outcome. Make no mistake: We in the United States and the West have an important national security stake in that outcome. But we should not try to win on our own what only local forces can sustain, particularly when our effort to help only makes their success less likely. The United States has a compelling national interest in providing limited but critical support to Muslim allies who are pursuing their own interests, but must avoid playing into the hands of those who would paint those allies as quislings who serve American interests. In the course of exercising such strategic patience we should remember that the threat posed to us by radical Islam, while real, is not an existential one. The extremists may pose a fundamental danger to the moderate majority in much of the Muslim world; but very few American civilians have fallen victim to Islamic terror since 9/11, and Shariah is unlikely to be imposed in Texas.

The war against radical <hl> Islamic militancy is not our fight <hl>. It is a struggle among Muslims for the soul and the future of the Muslim world. In the end, only Muslims can determine the outcome. Make no mistake: We in the United States and the West have an important national security stake in that outcome. But we should not try to win on our own what only local forces can sustain, particularly when our effort to help only makes their success less likely. The United States has a compelling national interest in providing limited but critical support to Muslim allies who are pursuing their own interests, but must avoid playing into the hands of those who would paint those allies as quislings who serve American interests. In the course of exercising such strategic patience we should remember that the threat posed to us by radical Islam, while real, is not an existential one. The extremists may pose a fundamental danger to the moderate majority in much of the Muslim world; but very few American civilians have fallen victim to Islamic terror since 9/11, and Shariah is unlikely to be imposed in Texas.

The war against radical <hl> Islamic militancy is not our fight <hl> .


Question: Who does the author think is responsible for solving the conflicts?

Answer: only Muslims can determine the outcome

The war against radical Islamic militancy is not our fight. It is a struggle among Muslims for the soul and the future of the Muslim world. <hl> In the end, only Muslims can determine the outcome . <hl> Make no mistake: We in the United States and the West have an important national security stake in that outcome. But we should not try to win on our own what only local forces can sustain, particularly when our effort to help only makes their success less likely. The United States has a compelling national interest in providing limited but critical support to Muslim allies who are pursuing their own interests, but must avoid playing into the hands of those who would paint those allies as quislings who serve American interests. In the course of exercising such strategic patience we should remember that the threat posed to us by radical Islam, while real, is not an existential one. The extremists may pose a fundamental danger to the moderate majority in much of the Muslim world; but very few American civilians have fallen victim to Islamic terror since 9/11, and Shariah is unlikely to be imposed in Texas.

The war against radical Islamic militancy is not our fight. It is a struggle among Muslims for the soul and the future of the Muslim world. In the end, <hl> only Muslims can determine the outcome <hl>. Make no mistake: We in the United States and the West have an important national security stake in that outcome. But we should not try to win on our own what only local forces can sustain, particularly when our effort to help only makes their success less likely. The United States has a compelling national interest in providing limited but critical support to Muslim allies who are pursuing their own interests, but must avoid playing into the hands of those who would paint those allies as quislings who serve American interests. In the course of exercising such strategic patience we should remember that the threat posed to us by radical Islam, while real, is not an existential one. The extremists may pose a fundamental danger to the moderate majority in much of the Muslim world; but very few American civilians have fallen victim to Islamic terror since 9/11, and Shariah is unlikely to be imposed in Texas.

In the end, <hl> only Muslims can determine the outcome <hl> .


Question: What does the author think the true nature of conflict in the middle east is about?

Answer: It is a struggle among Muslims for the soul and the future of the Muslim world

The war against radical Islamic militancy is not our fight. <hl> It is a struggle among Muslims for the soul and the future of the Muslim world . <hl> In the end, only Muslims can determine the outcome. Make no mistake: We in the United States and the West have an important national security stake in that outcome. But we should not try to win on our own what only local forces can sustain, particularly when our effort to help only makes their success less likely. The United States has a compelling national interest in providing limited but critical support to Muslim allies who are pursuing their own interests, but must avoid playing into the hands of those who would paint those allies as quislings who serve American interests. In the course of exercising such strategic patience we should remember that the threat posed to us by radical Islam, while real, is not an existential one. The extremists may pose a fundamental danger to the moderate majority in much of the Muslim world; but very few American civilians have fallen victim to Islamic terror since 9/11, and Shariah is unlikely to be imposed in Texas.

The war against radical Islamic militancy is not our fight. <hl> It is a struggle among Muslims for the soul and the future of the Muslim world <hl>. In the end, only Muslims can determine the outcome. Make no mistake: We in the United States and the West have an important national security stake in that outcome. But we should not try to win on our own what only local forces can sustain, particularly when our effort to help only makes their success less likely. The United States has a compelling national interest in providing limited but critical support to Muslim allies who are pursuing their own interests, but must avoid playing into the hands of those who would paint those allies as quislings who serve American interests. In the course of exercising such strategic patience we should remember that the threat posed to us by radical Islam, while real, is not an existential one. The extremists may pose a fundamental danger to the moderate majority in much of the Muslim world; but very few American civilians have fallen victim to Islamic terror since 9/11, and Shariah is unlikely to be imposed in Texas.

<hl> It is a struggle among Muslims for the soul and the future of the Muslim world <hl> .


Question: How does the author think US intervention will affect the chances of success at beating back Islamic Militance?

Answer: our effort to help only makes their success less likely

The war against radical Islamic militancy is not our fight. It is a struggle among Muslims for the soul and the future of the Muslim world. In the end, only Muslims can determine the outcome. Make no mistake: We in the United States and the West have an important national security stake in that outcome. <hl> But we should not try to win on our own what only local forces can sustain, particularly when our effort to help only makes their success less likely . <hl> The United States has a compelling national interest in providing limited but critical support to Muslim allies who are pursuing their own interests, but must avoid playing into the hands of those who would paint those allies as quislings who serve American interests. In the course of exercising such strategic patience we should remember that the threat posed to us by radical Islam, while real, is not an existential one. The extremists may pose a fundamental danger to the moderate majority in much of the Muslim world; but very few American civilians have fallen victim to Islamic terror since 9/11, and Shariah is unlikely to be imposed in Texas.

The war against radical Islamic militancy is not our fight. It is a struggle among Muslims for the soul and the future of the Muslim world. In the end, only Muslims can determine the outcome. Make no mistake: We in the United States and the West have an important national security stake in that outcome. But we should not try to win on our own what only local forces can sustain, particularly when <hl> our effort to help only makes their success less likely <hl>. The United States has a compelling national interest in providing limited but critical support to Muslim allies who are pursuing their own interests, but must avoid playing into the hands of those who would paint those allies as quislings who serve American interests. In the course of exercising such strategic patience we should remember that the threat posed to us by radical Islam, while real, is not an existential one. The extremists may pose a fundamental danger to the moderate majority in much of the Muslim world; but very few American civilians have fallen victim to Islamic terror since 9/11, and Shariah is unlikely to be imposed in Texas.

But we should not try to win on our own what only local forces can sustain, particularly when <hl> our effort to help only makes their success less likely <hl> .


Question: What does the author pose as one key reason for why average Americans do not support more active intervention?

Answer: very few American civilians have fallen victim to Islamic terror since 9/11,

The war against radical Islamic militancy is not our fight. It is a struggle among Muslims for the soul and the future of the Muslim world. In the end, only Muslims can determine the outcome. Make no mistake: We in the United States and the West have an important national security stake in that outcome. But we should not try to win on our own what only local forces can sustain, particularly when our effort to help only makes their success less likely. The United States has a compelling national interest in providing limited but critical support to Muslim allies who are pursuing their own interests, but must avoid playing into the hands of those who would paint those allies as quislings who serve American interests. In the course of exercising such strategic patience we should remember that the threat posed to us by radical Islam, while real, is not an existential one. <hl> The extremists may pose a fundamental danger to the moderate majority in much of the Muslim world; but very few American civilians have fallen victim to Islamic terror since 9/11, and Shariah is unlikely to be imposed in Texas. <hl>

The war against radical Islamic militancy is not our fight. It is a struggle among Muslims for the soul and the future of the Muslim world. In the end, only Muslims can determine the outcome. Make no mistake: We in the United States and the West have an important national security stake in that outcome. But we should not try to win on our own what only local forces can sustain, particularly when our effort to help only makes their success less likely. The United States has a compelling national interest in providing limited but critical support to Muslim allies who are pursuing their own interests, but must avoid playing into the hands of those who would paint those allies as quislings who serve American interests. In the course of exercising such strategic patience we should remember that the threat posed to us by radical Islam, while real, is not an existential one. The extremists may pose a fundamental danger to the moderate majority in much of the Muslim world; but <hl> very few American civilians have fallen victim to Islamic terror since 9/11, <hl> and Shariah is unlikely to be imposed in Texas.


Question: Who is the young transgendered person featured in the TV show "All That Jazz?"

Several reality series, some still in the planning stages, are centered on transgender people, like TLC’s “All That Jazz,” about the teenage transgender activist Jazz Jennings, and VH1’s “TransAmerica,” about the model and activist Carmen Carrera. Nick Adams, the director of programs for transgender media at the gay rights organization Glaad, said that any time a transgender celebrity comes forward with his or her story, “it goes a very long way toward educating people about who we are and the challenges that we face.” “Every transgender person’s journey is unique, and by choosing to share this story, Bruce Jenner adds another layer to America’s understanding of what it means to be transgender,” Mr. Adams said in a statement on Friday night. Mr. Adams, who is transgender, said that media portrayals of transgender people had improved since he transitioned 18 years ago. But, he said, such reports need to more fully explore what it means to be transgender.

Answer: Jazz Jennings

<hl> Several reality series, some still in the planning stages, are centered on transgender people, like TLC’s “All That Jazz,” about the teenage transgender activist Jazz Jennings , and VH1’s “TransAmerica,” about the model and activist Carmen Carrera. <hl> Nick Adams, the director of programs for transgender media at the gay rights organization Glaad, said that any time a transgender celebrity comes forward with his or her story, “it goes a very long way toward educating people about who we are and the challenges that we face.” “Every transgender person’s journey is unique, and by choosing to share this story, Bruce Jenner adds another layer to America’s understanding of what it means to be transgender,” Mr. Adams said in a statement on Friday night. Mr. Adams, who is transgender, said that media portrayals of transgender people had improved since he transitioned 18 years ago. But, he said, such reports need to more fully explore what it means to be transgender.

Several reality series, some still in the planning stages, are centered on transgender people, like TLC’s “All That Jazz,” about the teenage transgender activist <hl> Jazz Jennings <hl>, and VH1’s “TransAmerica,” about the model and activist Carmen Carrera. Nick Adams, the director of programs for transgender media at the gay rights organization Glaad, said that any time a transgender celebrity comes forward with his or her story, “it goes a very long way toward educating people about who we are and the challenges that we face.” “Every transgender person’s journey is unique, and by choosing to share this story, Bruce Jenner adds another layer to America’s understanding of what it means to be transgender,” Mr. Adams said in a statement on Friday night. Mr. Adams, who is transgender, said that media portrayals of transgender people had improved since he transitioned 18 years ago. But, he said, such reports need to more fully explore what it means to be transgender.

Several reality series, some still in the planning stages, are centered on transgender people, like TLC’s “All That Jazz,” about the teenage transgender activist <hl> Jazz Jennings <hl> , and VH1’s “TransAmerica,” about the model and activist Carmen Carrera.


Question: On what channel is "All That Jazz" shown?

Answer: TLC

<hl> Several reality series, some still in the planning stages, are centered on transgender people, like TLC ’s “All That Jazz,” about the teenage transgender activist Jazz Jennings, and VH1’s “TransAmerica,” about the model and activist Carmen Carrera. <hl> Nick Adams, the director of programs for transgender media at the gay rights organization Glaad, said that any time a transgender celebrity comes forward with his or her story, “it goes a very long way toward educating people about who we are and the challenges that we face.” “Every transgender person’s journey is unique, and by choosing to share this story, Bruce Jenner adds another layer to America’s understanding of what it means to be transgender,” Mr. Adams said in a statement on Friday night. Mr. Adams, who is transgender, said that media portrayals of transgender people had improved since he transitioned 18 years ago. But, he said, such reports need to more fully explore what it means to be transgender.

Several reality series, some still in the planning stages, are centered on transgender people, like <hl> TLC <hl>’s “All That Jazz,” about the teenage transgender activist Jazz Jennings, and VH1’s “TransAmerica,” about the model and activist Carmen Carrera. Nick Adams, the director of programs for transgender media at the gay rights organization Glaad, said that any time a transgender celebrity comes forward with his or her story, “it goes a very long way toward educating people about who we are and the challenges that we face.” “Every transgender person’s journey is unique, and by choosing to share this story, Bruce Jenner adds another layer to America’s understanding of what it means to be transgender,” Mr. Adams said in a statement on Friday night. Mr. Adams, who is transgender, said that media portrayals of transgender people had improved since he transitioned 18 years ago. But, he said, such reports need to more fully explore what it means to be transgender.

Several reality series, some still in the planning stages, are centered on transgender people, like <hl> TLC <hl> ’s “All That Jazz,” about the teenage transgender activist Jazz Jennings, and VH1’s “TransAmerica,” about the model and activist Carmen Carrera.


Question: On what channel is "TransAmerica" shown?

Answer: VH1

<hl> Several reality series, some still in the planning stages, are centered on transgender people, like TLC’s “All That Jazz,” about the teenage transgender activist Jazz Jennings, and VH1 ’s “TransAmerica,” about the model and activist Carmen Carrera. <hl> Nick Adams, the director of programs for transgender media at the gay rights organization Glaad, said that any time a transgender celebrity comes forward with his or her story, “it goes a very long way toward educating people about who we are and the challenges that we face.” “Every transgender person’s journey is unique, and by choosing to share this story, Bruce Jenner adds another layer to America’s understanding of what it means to be transgender,” Mr. Adams said in a statement on Friday night. Mr. Adams, who is transgender, said that media portrayals of transgender people had improved since he transitioned 18 years ago. But, he said, such reports need to more fully explore what it means to be transgender.

Several reality series, some still in the planning stages, are centered on transgender people, like TLC’s “All That Jazz,” about the teenage transgender activist Jazz Jennings, and <hl> VH1 <hl>’s “TransAmerica,” about the model and activist Carmen Carrera. Nick Adams, the director of programs for transgender media at the gay rights organization Glaad, said that any time a transgender celebrity comes forward with his or her story, “it goes a very long way toward educating people about who we are and the challenges that we face.” “Every transgender person’s journey is unique, and by choosing to share this story, Bruce Jenner adds another layer to America’s understanding of what it means to be transgender,” Mr. Adams said in a statement on Friday night. Mr. Adams, who is transgender, said that media portrayals of transgender people had improved since he transitioned 18 years ago. But, he said, such reports need to more fully explore what it means to be transgender.

Several reality series, some still in the planning stages, are centered on transgender people, like TLC’s “All That Jazz,” about the teenage transgender activist Jazz Jennings, and <hl> VH1 <hl> ’s “TransAmerica,” about the model and activist Carmen Carrera.


Question: What is the name of the person who directs entertainment at GLAAD?

Answer: Nick Adams

Several reality series, some still in the planning stages, are centered on transgender people, like TLC’s “All That Jazz,” about the teenage transgender activist Jazz Jennings, and VH1’s “TransAmerica,” about the model and activist Carmen Carrera. <hl> Nick Adams , the director of programs for transgender media at the gay rights organization Glaad, said that any time a transgender celebrity comes forward with his or her story, “it goes a very long way toward educating people about who we are and the challenges that we face.” <hl> “Every transgender person’s journey is unique, and by choosing to share this story, Bruce Jenner adds another layer to America’s understanding of what it means to be transgender,” Mr. Adams said in a statement on Friday night. Mr. Adams, who is transgender, said that media portrayals of transgender people had improved since he transitioned 18 years ago. But, he said, such reports need to more fully explore what it means to be transgender.

Several reality series, some still in the planning stages, are centered on transgender people, like TLC’s “All That Jazz,” about the teenage transgender activist Jazz Jennings, and VH1’s “TransAmerica,” about the model and activist Carmen Carrera. <hl> Nick Adams <hl>, the director of programs for transgender media at the gay rights organization Glaad, said that any time a transgender celebrity comes forward with his or her story, “it goes a very long way toward educating people about who we are and the challenges that we face.” “Every transgender person’s journey is unique, and by choosing to share this story, Bruce Jenner adds another layer to America’s understanding of what it means to be transgender,” Mr. Adams said in a statement on Friday night. Mr. Adams, who is transgender, said that media portrayals of transgender people had improved since he transitioned 18 years ago. But, he said, such reports need to more fully explore what it means to be transgender.

<hl> Nick Adams <hl> , the director of programs for transgender media at the gay rights organization Glaad, said that any time a transgender celebrity comes forward with his or her story, “it goes a very long way toward educating people about who we are and the challenges that we face.”


Question: Which subject is considered off limits?

By Alice Gregory Doing something for 40-plus hours a week will determine a great deal of what goes on in your mind. There’s a sentiment pervasive among the people I know that one should not talk about work while socializing. Religion is not off limits, politics is not off limits, but work most definitely is. One of the greatest compliments you can pay a host of a party is to say, in an email the following day: “That was so much fun. I didn’t talk about work once.” In her recently published diary, “The Folded Clock,” the novelist Heidi Julavits writes: “I prefer to have dinner parties where nobody talks about their careers. Isn’t that the mark of a failed dinner party?” I adore Julavits’s books — this one in particular — but I completely disagree.

Answer: work

By Alice Gregory Doing something for 40-plus hours a week will determine a great deal of what goes on in your mind. <hl> There’s a sentiment pervasive among the people I know that one should not talk about work while socializing. <hl> Religion is not off limits, politics is not off limits, but work most definitely is. One of the greatest compliments you can pay a host of a party is to say, in an email the following day: “That was so much fun. I didn’t talk about work once.” In her recently published diary, “The Folded Clock,” the novelist Heidi Julavits writes: “I prefer to have dinner parties where nobody talks about their careers. Isn’t that the mark of a failed dinner party?” I adore Julavits’s books — this one in particular — but I completely disagree.

By Alice Gregory Doing something for 40-plus hours a week will determine a great deal of what goes on in your mind. There’s a sentiment pervasive among the people I know that one should not talk about <hl> work <hl> while socializing. Religion is not off limits, politics is not off limits, but work most definitely is. One of the greatest compliments you can pay a host of a party is to say, in an email the following day: “That was so much fun. I didn’t talk about work once.” In her recently published diary, “The Folded Clock,” the novelist Heidi Julavits writes: “I prefer to have dinner parties where nobody talks about their careers. Isn’t that the mark of a failed dinner party?” I adore Julavits’s books — this one in particular — but I completely disagree.


Question: How many hours a week will influence a lot of your thinking?

Answer: 40-plus hours

<hl> By Alice Gregory Doing something for 40-plus hours a week will determine a great deal of what goes on in your mind. <hl> There’s a sentiment pervasive among the people I know that one should not talk about work while socializing. Religion is not off limits, politics is not off limits, but work most definitely is. One of the greatest compliments you can pay a host of a party is to say, in an email the following day: “That was so much fun. I didn’t talk about work once.” In her recently published diary, “The Folded Clock,” the novelist Heidi Julavits writes: “I prefer to have dinner parties where nobody talks about their careers. Isn’t that the mark of a failed dinner party?” I adore Julavits’s books — this one in particular — but I completely disagree.

By Alice Gregory Doing something for <hl> 40-plus hours <hl> a week will determine a great deal of what goes on in your mind. There’s a sentiment pervasive among the people I know that one should not talk about work while socializing. Religion is not off limits, politics is not off limits, but work most definitely is. One of the greatest compliments you can pay a host of a party is to say, in an email the following day: “That was so much fun. I didn’t talk about work once.” In her recently published diary, “The Folded Clock,” the novelist Heidi Julavits writes: “I prefer to have dinner parties where nobody talks about their careers. Isn’t that the mark of a failed dinner party?” I adore Julavits’s books — this one in particular — but I completely disagree.


Question: Which subject was not considered off limits, besides religion?

Answer: politics

By Alice Gregory Doing something for 40-plus hours a week will determine a great deal of what goes on in your mind. There’s a sentiment pervasive among the people I know that one should not talk about work while socializing. <hl> Religion is not off limits, politics is not off limits, but work most definitely is. <hl> One of the greatest compliments you can pay a host of a party is to say, in an email the following day: “That was so much fun. I didn’t talk about work once.” In her recently published diary, “The Folded Clock,” the novelist Heidi Julavits writes: “I prefer to have dinner parties where nobody talks about their careers. Isn’t that the mark of a failed dinner party?” I adore Julavits’s books — this one in particular — but I completely disagree.

By Alice Gregory Doing something for 40-plus hours a week will determine a great deal of what goes on in your mind. There’s a sentiment pervasive among the people I know that one should not talk about work while socializing. Religion is not off limits, <hl> politics <hl> is not off limits, but work most definitely is. One of the greatest compliments you can pay a host of a party is to say, in an email the following day: “That was so much fun. I didn’t talk about work once.” In her recently published diary, “The Folded Clock,” the novelist Heidi Julavits writes: “I prefer to have dinner parties where nobody talks about their careers. Isn’t that the mark of a failed dinner party?” I adore Julavits’s books — this one in particular — but I completely disagree.


Question: Who is the author for The Folded Clock?

Answer: Heidi Julavits

By Alice Gregory Doing something for 40-plus hours a week will determine a great deal of what goes on in your mind. There’s a sentiment pervasive among the people I know that one should not talk about work while socializing. Religion is not off limits, politics is not off limits, but work most definitely is. One of the greatest compliments you can pay a host of a party is to say, in an email the following day: “That was so much fun. I didn’t talk about work once.” <hl> In her recently published diary, “The Folded Clock,” the novelist Heidi Julavits writes: “I prefer to have dinner parties where nobody talks about their careers. <hl> Isn’t that the mark of a failed dinner party?” I adore Julavits’s books — this one in particular — but I completely disagree.

By Alice Gregory Doing something for 40-plus hours a week will determine a great deal of what goes on in your mind. There’s a sentiment pervasive among the people I know that one should not talk about work while socializing. Religion is not off limits, politics is not off limits, but work most definitely is. One of the greatest compliments you can pay a host of a party is to say, in an email the following day: “That was so much fun. I didn’t talk about work once.” In her recently published diary, “The Folded Clock,” the novelist <hl> Heidi Julavits <hl> writes: “I prefer to have dinner parties where nobody talks about their careers. Isn’t that the mark of a failed dinner party?” I adore Julavits’s books — this one in particular — but I completely disagree.


Question: What kind of language does DeWitt write in?

Joe’s is a descriptivist moralism made evident by empty jargon, meaningless tautologies and cheerful resignation. “Let’s face it,” he likes to say, before making an assumptive declaration. “If you’re in sales” is one of his favorite introductory phrases. A refrain is the literary term for what in life we would call an “annoying verbal tic.” Repeat a line over and over in a book, and it’s an aesthetic choice that your readers will react to with an approving nod. Repeat a line over and over again in speech and whoever you’re talking to will fidget and try to get away from you. In DeWitt’s novel, the redundancy does both. Like the authors of the best science fiction, DeWitt applies logistical rigor to a riotously imaginative premise. Were the world of the book the same as the world we live in, we’d never tolerate the mundanity she provides: the bureaucratic hurdles, the financial negotiations, the material impediments to tricking out toilets with glory holes. But it’s just this kind of gratuitous information that lends the novel its necessary plausibility; it’s just this kind of boring nuance that makes up a good part of a worker’s day (or so I hear). DeWitt’s satirical prose, which is rich in italics and ridden with corporate platitudes, succeeds in the unlikely task of getting the reader both to laugh with derision and to agree, however reluctantly, with the optimism and sick logic of our protagonist. Almost nothing is more satisfying than observing improvement. Like time-lapse footage of a construction site, “Lightning Rods” is an account of progress, a record of how someone became skillful at something. That the “something” here is anonymous sex on demand as a means of increasing corporate profit is both funny and horrifying.

Answer: satirical prose

Joe’s is a descriptivist moralism made evident by empty jargon, meaningless tautologies and cheerful resignation. “Let’s face it,” he likes to say, before making an assumptive declaration. “If you’re in sales” is one of his favorite introductory phrases. A refrain is the literary term for what in life we would call an “annoying verbal tic.” Repeat a line over and over in a book, and it’s an aesthetic choice that your readers will react to with an approving nod. Repeat a line over and over again in speech and whoever you’re talking to will fidget and try to get away from you. In DeWitt’s novel, the redundancy does both. Like the authors of the best science fiction, DeWitt applies logistical rigor to a riotously imaginative premise. Were the world of the book the same as the world we live in, we’d never tolerate the mundanity she provides: the bureaucratic hurdles, the financial negotiations, the material impediments to tricking out toilets with glory holes. But it’s just this kind of gratuitous information that lends the novel its necessary plausibility; it’s just this kind of boring nuance that makes up a good part of a worker’s day (or so I hear). <hl> DeWitt’s satirical prose , which is rich in italics and ridden with corporate platitudes, succeeds in the unlikely task of getting the reader both to laugh with derision and to agree, however reluctantly, with the optimism and sick logic of our protagonist. <hl> Almost nothing is more satisfying than observing improvement. Like time-lapse footage of a construction site, “Lightning Rods” is an account of progress, a record of how someone became skillful at something. That the “something” here is anonymous sex on demand as a means of increasing corporate profit is both funny and horrifying.

Joe’s is a descriptivist moralism made evident by empty jargon, meaningless tautologies and cheerful resignation. “Let’s face it,” he likes to say, before making an assumptive declaration. “If you’re in sales” is one of his favorite introductory phrases. A refrain is the literary term for what in life we would call an “annoying verbal tic.” Repeat a line over and over in a book, and it’s an aesthetic choice that your readers will react to with an approving nod. Repeat a line over and over again in speech and whoever you’re talking to will fidget and try to get away from you. In DeWitt’s novel, the redundancy does both. Like the authors of the best science fiction, DeWitt applies logistical rigor to a riotously imaginative premise. Were the world of the book the same as the world we live in, we’d never tolerate the mundanity she provides: the bureaucratic hurdles, the financial negotiations, the material impediments to tricking out toilets with glory holes. But it’s just this kind of gratuitous information that lends the novel its necessary plausibility; it’s just this kind of boring nuance that makes up a good part of a worker’s day (or so I hear). DeWitt’s <hl> satirical prose <hl>, which is rich in italics and ridden with corporate platitudes, succeeds in the unlikely task of getting the reader both to laugh with derision and to agree, however reluctantly, with the optimism and sick logic of our protagonist. Almost nothing is more satisfying than observing improvement. Like time-lapse footage of a construction site, “Lightning Rods” is an account of progress, a record of how someone became skillful at something. That the “something” here is anonymous sex on demand as a means of increasing corporate profit is both funny and horrifying.

DeWitt’s <hl> satirical prose <hl> , which is rich in italics and ridden with corporate platitudes, succeeds in the unlikely task of getting the reader both to laugh with derision and to agree, however reluctantly, with the optimism and sick logic of our protagonist.


Question: What ability is demonstrated in Lightning Rods?

Answer: rigor

Joe’s is a descriptivist moralism made evident by empty jargon, meaningless tautologies and cheerful resignation. “Let’s face it,” he likes to say, before making an assumptive declaration. “If you’re in sales” is one of his favorite introductory phrases. A refrain is the literary term for what in life we would call an “annoying verbal tic.” Repeat a line over and over in a book, and it’s an aesthetic choice that your readers will react to with an approving nod. Repeat a line over and over again in speech and whoever you’re talking to will fidget and try to get away from you. In DeWitt’s novel, the redundancy does both. <hl> Like the authors of the best science fiction, DeWitt applies logistical rigor to a riotously imaginative premise. <hl> Were the world of the book the same as the world we live in, we’d never tolerate the mundanity she provides: the bureaucratic hurdles, the financial negotiations, the material impediments to tricking out toilets with glory holes. But it’s just this kind of gratuitous information that lends the novel its necessary plausibility; it’s just this kind of boring nuance that makes up a good part of a worker’s day (or so I hear). DeWitt’s satirical prose, which is rich in italics and ridden with corporate platitudes, succeeds in the unlikely task of getting the reader both to laugh with derision and to agree, however reluctantly, with the optimism and sick logic of our protagonist. Almost nothing is more satisfying than observing improvement. Like time-lapse footage of a construction site, “Lightning Rods” is an account of progress, a record of how someone became skillful at something. That the “something” here is anonymous sex on demand as a means of increasing corporate profit is both funny and horrifying.

Joe’s is a descriptivist moralism made evident by empty jargon, meaningless tautologies and cheerful resignation. “Let’s face it,” he likes to say, before making an assumptive declaration. “If you’re in sales” is one of his favorite introductory phrases. A refrain is the literary term for what in life we would call an “annoying verbal tic.” Repeat a line over and over in a book, and it’s an aesthetic choice that your readers will react to with an approving nod. Repeat a line over and over again in speech and whoever you’re talking to will fidget and try to get away from you. In DeWitt’s novel, the redundancy does both. Like the authors of the best science fiction, DeWitt applies logistical <hl> rigor <hl> to a riotously imaginative premise. Were the world of the book the same as the world we live in, we’d never tolerate the mundanity she provides: the bureaucratic hurdles, the financial negotiations, the material impediments to tricking out toilets with glory holes. But it’s just this kind of gratuitous information that lends the novel its necessary plausibility; it’s just this kind of boring nuance that makes up a good part of a worker’s day (or so I hear). DeWitt’s satirical prose, which is rich in italics and ridden with corporate platitudes, succeeds in the unlikely task of getting the reader both to laugh with derision and to agree, however reluctantly, with the optimism and sick logic of our protagonist. Almost nothing is more satisfying than observing improvement. Like time-lapse footage of a construction site, “Lightning Rods” is an account of progress, a record of how someone became skillful at something. That the “something” here is anonymous sex on demand as a means of increasing corporate profit is both funny and horrifying.


Question: What is almost more satisfying than anything else?

Answer: observing improvement

Joe’s is a descriptivist moralism made evident by empty jargon, meaningless tautologies and cheerful resignation. “Let’s face it,” he likes to say, before making an assumptive declaration. “If you’re in sales” is one of his favorite introductory phrases. A refrain is the literary term for what in life we would call an “annoying verbal tic.” Repeat a line over and over in a book, and it’s an aesthetic choice that your readers will react to with an approving nod. Repeat a line over and over again in speech and whoever you’re talking to will fidget and try to get away from you. In DeWitt’s novel, the redundancy does both. Like the authors of the best science fiction, DeWitt applies logistical rigor to a riotously imaginative premise. Were the world of the book the same as the world we live in, we’d never tolerate the mundanity she provides: the bureaucratic hurdles, the financial negotiations, the material impediments to tricking out toilets with glory holes. But it’s just this kind of gratuitous information that lends the novel its necessary plausibility; it’s just this kind of boring nuance that makes up a good part of a worker’s day (or so I hear). DeWitt’s satirical prose, which is rich in italics and ridden with corporate platitudes, succeeds in the unlikely task of getting the reader both to laugh with derision and to agree, however reluctantly, with the optimism and sick logic of our protagonist. <hl> Almost nothing is more satisfying than observing improvement . <hl> Like time-lapse footage of a construction site, “Lightning Rods” is an account of progress, a record of how someone became skillful at something. That the “something” here is anonymous sex on demand as a means of increasing corporate profit is both funny and horrifying.

Joe’s is a descriptivist moralism made evident by empty jargon, meaningless tautologies and cheerful resignation. “Let’s face it,” he likes to say, before making an assumptive declaration. “If you’re in sales” is one of his favorite introductory phrases. A refrain is the literary term for what in life we would call an “annoying verbal tic.” Repeat a line over and over in a book, and it’s an aesthetic choice that your readers will react to with an approving nod. Repeat a line over and over again in speech and whoever you’re talking to will fidget and try to get away from you. In DeWitt’s novel, the redundancy does both. Like the authors of the best science fiction, DeWitt applies logistical rigor to a riotously imaginative premise. Were the world of the book the same as the world we live in, we’d never tolerate the mundanity she provides: the bureaucratic hurdles, the financial negotiations, the material impediments to tricking out toilets with glory holes. But it’s just this kind of gratuitous information that lends the novel its necessary plausibility; it’s just this kind of boring nuance that makes up a good part of a worker’s day (or so I hear). DeWitt’s satirical prose, which is rich in italics and ridden with corporate platitudes, succeeds in the unlikely task of getting the reader both to laugh with derision and to agree, however reluctantly, with the optimism and sick logic of our protagonist. Almost nothing is more satisfying than <hl> observing improvement <hl>. Like time-lapse footage of a construction site, “Lightning Rods” is an account of progress, a record of how someone became skillful at something. That the “something” here is anonymous sex on demand as a means of increasing corporate profit is both funny and horrifying.

Almost nothing is more satisfying than <hl> observing improvement <hl> .


Question: What does DeWitt apply to their novel that is also seen in science fiction literature?

Answer: logistical rigor

Joe’s is a descriptivist moralism made evident by empty jargon, meaningless tautologies and cheerful resignation. “Let’s face it,” he likes to say, before making an assumptive declaration. “If you’re in sales” is one of his favorite introductory phrases. A refrain is the literary term for what in life we would call an “annoying verbal tic.” Repeat a line over and over in a book, and it’s an aesthetic choice that your readers will react to with an approving nod. Repeat a line over and over again in speech and whoever you’re talking to will fidget and try to get away from you. In DeWitt’s novel, the redundancy does both. <hl> Like the authors of the best science fiction, DeWitt applies logistical rigor to a riotously imaginative premise. <hl> Were the world of the book the same as the world we live in, we’d never tolerate the mundanity she provides: the bureaucratic hurdles, the financial negotiations, the material impediments to tricking out toilets with glory holes. But it’s just this kind of gratuitous information that lends the novel its necessary plausibility; it’s just this kind of boring nuance that makes up a good part of a worker’s day (or so I hear). DeWitt’s satirical prose, which is rich in italics and ridden with corporate platitudes, succeeds in the unlikely task of getting the reader both to laugh with derision and to agree, however reluctantly, with the optimism and sick logic of our protagonist. Almost nothing is more satisfying than observing improvement. Like time-lapse footage of a construction site, “Lightning Rods” is an account of progress, a record of how someone became skillful at something. That the “something” here is anonymous sex on demand as a means of increasing corporate profit is both funny and horrifying.

Joe’s is a descriptivist moralism made evident by empty jargon, meaningless tautologies and cheerful resignation. “Let’s face it,” he likes to say, before making an assumptive declaration. “If you’re in sales” is one of his favorite introductory phrases. A refrain is the literary term for what in life we would call an “annoying verbal tic.” Repeat a line over and over in a book, and it’s an aesthetic choice that your readers will react to with an approving nod. Repeat a line over and over again in speech and whoever you’re talking to will fidget and try to get away from you. In DeWitt’s novel, the redundancy does both. Like the authors of the best science fiction, DeWitt applies <hl> logistical rigor <hl> to a riotously imaginative premise. Were the world of the book the same as the world we live in, we’d never tolerate the mundanity she provides: the bureaucratic hurdles, the financial negotiations, the material impediments to tricking out toilets with glory holes. But it’s just this kind of gratuitous information that lends the novel its necessary plausibility; it’s just this kind of boring nuance that makes up a good part of a worker’s day (or so I hear). DeWitt’s satirical prose, which is rich in italics and ridden with corporate platitudes, succeeds in the unlikely task of getting the reader both to laugh with derision and to agree, however reluctantly, with the optimism and sick logic of our protagonist. Almost nothing is more satisfying than observing improvement. Like time-lapse footage of a construction site, “Lightning Rods” is an account of progress, a record of how someone became skillful at something. That the “something” here is anonymous sex on demand as a means of increasing corporate profit is both funny and horrifying.


Question: Who wrote Confessions of Felix Krull?

Literature has given us especially brilliant stories about office work — “Bartleby the Scrivener,” by Melville; “Something Happened,” by Joseph Heller; “Then We Came to the End,” by Joshua Ferris — and, also, oddly enough, about working in hotels: “An American Tragedy,” by Theodore Dreiser; “I Served the King of England,” by Bohumil Hrabal; “Confessions of Felix Krull,” by Thomas Mann. Another through-line, of work that is miserable to do, can be traced from Émile Zola to Upton Sinclair to Barbara Ehrenreich. But then there are books that are about work not by having some kind of work as their subject matter, but instead by being incarnations of an extraordinary amount of work: a luxurious, wonderful kind of work, the elective work of learning. In order to finish his vast projects, amid his other state responsibilities, Pliny barely slept, never married and had someone read to him or take dictation even as he prepared for his bath. His nephew tells the story of how once after a dinner, when a book was being read aloud and another diner interrupted to correct the reader’s pronunciation of a word, Pliny the Elder scolded him: “We have lost more than 10 lines through your interruption.”

Answer: Thomas Mann

<hl> Literature has given us especially brilliant stories about office work — “Bartleby the Scrivener,” by Melville; “Something Happened,” by Joseph Heller; “Then We Came to the End,” by Joshua Ferris — and, also, oddly enough, about working in hotels: “An American Tragedy,” by Theodore Dreiser; “I Served the King of England,” by Bohumil Hrabal; “Confessions of Felix Krull,” by Thomas Mann . <hl> Another through-line, of work that is miserable to do, can be traced from Émile Zola to Upton Sinclair to Barbara Ehrenreich. But then there are books that are about work not by having some kind of work as their subject matter, but instead by being incarnations of an extraordinary amount of work: a luxurious, wonderful kind of work, the elective work of learning. In order to finish his vast projects, amid his other state responsibilities, Pliny barely slept, never married and had someone read to him or take dictation even as he prepared for his bath. His nephew tells the story of how once after a dinner, when a book was being read aloud and another diner interrupted to correct the reader’s pronunciation of a word, Pliny the Elder scolded him: “We have lost more than 10 lines through your interruption.”

Literature has given us especially brilliant stories about office work — “Bartleby the Scrivener,” by Melville; “Something Happened,” by Joseph Heller; “Then We Came to the End,” by Joshua Ferris — and, also, oddly enough, about working in hotels: “An American Tragedy,” by Theodore Dreiser; “I Served the King of England,” by Bohumil Hrabal; “Confessions of Felix Krull,” by <hl> Thomas Mann <hl>. Another through-line, of work that is miserable to do, can be traced from Émile Zola to Upton Sinclair to Barbara Ehrenreich. But then there are books that are about work not by having some kind of work as their subject matter, but instead by being incarnations of an extraordinary amount of work: a luxurious, wonderful kind of work, the elective work of learning. In order to finish his vast projects, amid his other state responsibilities, Pliny barely slept, never married and had someone read to him or take dictation even as he prepared for his bath. His nephew tells the story of how once after a dinner, when a book was being read aloud and another diner interrupted to correct the reader’s pronunciation of a word, Pliny the Elder scolded him: “We have lost more than 10 lines through your interruption.”

Literature has given us especially brilliant stories about office work — “Bartleby the Scrivener,” by Melville; “Something Happened,” by Joseph Heller; “Then We Came to the End,” by Joshua Ferris — and, also, oddly enough, about working in hotels: “An American Tragedy,” by Theodore Dreiser; “I Served the King of England,” by Bohumil Hrabal; “Confessions of Felix Krull,” by <hl> Thomas Mann <hl> .


Question: Who was scolded by Pliny?

Answer: diner

Literature has given us especially brilliant stories about office work — “Bartleby the Scrivener,” by Melville; “Something Happened,” by Joseph Heller; “Then We Came to the End,” by Joshua Ferris — and, also, oddly enough, about working in hotels: “An American Tragedy,” by Theodore Dreiser; “I Served the King of England,” by Bohumil Hrabal; “Confessions of Felix Krull,” by Thomas Mann. Another through-line, of work that is miserable to do, can be traced from Émile Zola to Upton Sinclair to Barbara Ehrenreich. But then there are books that are about work not by having some kind of work as their subject matter, but instead by being incarnations of an extraordinary amount of work: a luxurious, wonderful kind of work, the elective work of learning. In order to finish his vast projects, amid his other state responsibilities, Pliny barely slept, never married and had someone read to him or take dictation even as he prepared for his bath. <hl> His nephew tells the story of how once after a dinner, when a book was being read aloud and another diner interrupted to correct the reader’s pronunciation of a word, Pliny the Elder scolded him: “We have lost more than 10 lines through your interruption.” <hl>

Literature has given us especially brilliant stories about office work — “Bartleby the Scrivener,” by Melville; “Something Happened,” by Joseph Heller; “Then We Came to the End,” by Joshua Ferris — and, also, oddly enough, about working in hotels: “An American Tragedy,” by Theodore Dreiser; “I Served the King of England,” by Bohumil Hrabal; “Confessions of Felix Krull,” by Thomas Mann. Another through-line, of work that is miserable to do, can be traced from Émile Zola to Upton Sinclair to Barbara Ehrenreich. But then there are books that are about work not by having some kind of work as their subject matter, but instead by being incarnations of an extraordinary amount of work: a luxurious, wonderful kind of work, the elective work of learning. In order to finish his vast projects, amid his other state responsibilities, Pliny barely slept, never married and had someone read to him or take dictation even as he prepared for his bath. His nephew tells the story of how once after a dinner, when a book was being read aloud and another <hl> diner <hl> interrupted to correct the reader’s pronunciation of a word, Pliny the Elder scolded him: “We have lost more than 10 lines through your interruption.”


Question: Which work was about working in hotels?

Answer: An American Tragedy

<hl> Literature has given us especially brilliant stories about office work — “Bartleby the Scrivener,” by Melville; “Something Happened,” by Joseph Heller; “Then We Came to the End,” by Joshua Ferris — and, also, oddly enough, about working in hotels: “ An American Tragedy ,” by Theodore Dreiser; “I Served the King of England,” by Bohumil Hrabal; “Confessions of Felix Krull,” by Thomas Mann. <hl> Another through-line, of work that is miserable to do, can be traced from Émile Zola to Upton Sinclair to Barbara Ehrenreich. But then there are books that are about work not by having some kind of work as their subject matter, but instead by being incarnations of an extraordinary amount of work: a luxurious, wonderful kind of work, the elective work of learning. In order to finish his vast projects, amid his other state responsibilities, Pliny barely slept, never married and had someone read to him or take dictation even as he prepared for his bath. His nephew tells the story of how once after a dinner, when a book was being read aloud and another diner interrupted to correct the reader’s pronunciation of a word, Pliny the Elder scolded him: “We have lost more than 10 lines through your interruption.”

Literature has given us especially brilliant stories about office work — “Bartleby the Scrivener,” by Melville; “Something Happened,” by Joseph Heller; “Then We Came to the End,” by Joshua Ferris — and, also, oddly enough, about working in hotels: “<hl> An American Tragedy <hl>,” by Theodore Dreiser; “I Served the King of England,” by Bohumil Hrabal; “Confessions of Felix Krull,” by Thomas Mann. Another through-line, of work that is miserable to do, can be traced from Émile Zola to Upton Sinclair to Barbara Ehrenreich. But then there are books that are about work not by having some kind of work as their subject matter, but instead by being incarnations of an extraordinary amount of work: a luxurious, wonderful kind of work, the elective work of learning. In order to finish his vast projects, amid his other state responsibilities, Pliny barely slept, never married and had someone read to him or take dictation even as he prepared for his bath. His nephew tells the story of how once after a dinner, when a book was being read aloud and another diner interrupted to correct the reader’s pronunciation of a word, Pliny the Elder scolded him: “We have lost more than 10 lines through your interruption.”

Literature has given us especially brilliant stories about office work — “Bartleby the Scrivener,” by Melville; “Something Happened,” by Joseph Heller; “Then We Came to the End,” by Joshua Ferris — and, also, oddly enough, about working in hotels: “ <hl> An American Tragedy <hl> ,” by Theodore Dreiser; “I Served the King of England,” by Bohumil Hrabal; “Confessions of Felix Krull,” by Thomas Mann.


Question: Who wrote An American Tragedy?

Answer: Theodore Dreiser

<hl> Literature has given us especially brilliant stories about office work — “Bartleby the Scrivener,” by Melville; “Something Happened,” by Joseph Heller; “Then We Came to the End,” by Joshua Ferris — and, also, oddly enough, about working in hotels: “An American Tragedy,” by Theodore Dreiser ; “I Served the King of England,” by Bohumil Hrabal; “Confessions of Felix Krull,” by Thomas Mann. <hl> Another through-line, of work that is miserable to do, can be traced from Émile Zola to Upton Sinclair to Barbara Ehrenreich. But then there are books that are about work not by having some kind of work as their subject matter, but instead by being incarnations of an extraordinary amount of work: a luxurious, wonderful kind of work, the elective work of learning. In order to finish his vast projects, amid his other state responsibilities, Pliny barely slept, never married and had someone read to him or take dictation even as he prepared for his bath. His nephew tells the story of how once after a dinner, when a book was being read aloud and another diner interrupted to correct the reader’s pronunciation of a word, Pliny the Elder scolded him: “We have lost more than 10 lines through your interruption.”

Literature has given us especially brilliant stories about office work — “Bartleby the Scrivener,” by Melville; “Something Happened,” by Joseph Heller; “Then We Came to the End,” by Joshua Ferris — and, also, oddly enough, about working in hotels: “An American Tragedy,” by <hl> Theodore Dreiser <hl>; “I Served the King of England,” by Bohumil Hrabal; “Confessions of Felix Krull,” by Thomas Mann. Another through-line, of work that is miserable to do, can be traced from Émile Zola to Upton Sinclair to Barbara Ehrenreich. But then there are books that are about work not by having some kind of work as their subject matter, but instead by being incarnations of an extraordinary amount of work: a luxurious, wonderful kind of work, the elective work of learning. In order to finish his vast projects, amid his other state responsibilities, Pliny barely slept, never married and had someone read to him or take dictation even as he prepared for his bath. His nephew tells the story of how once after a dinner, when a book was being read aloud and another diner interrupted to correct the reader’s pronunciation of a word, Pliny the Elder scolded him: “We have lost more than 10 lines through your interruption.”

Literature has given us especially brilliant stories about office work — “Bartleby the Scrivener,” by Melville; “Something Happened,” by Joseph Heller; “Then We Came to the End,” by Joshua Ferris — and, also, oddly enough, about working in hotels: “An American Tragedy,” by <hl> Theodore Dreiser <hl> ; “I Served the King of England,” by Bohumil Hrabal; “Confessions of Felix Krull,” by Thomas Mann.


Question: What kind of feeling is derived by the author when reading work books?

I am especially partial to these kinds of “work” books, these generally antiquated, patient things, that instead of telling a story directly, indirectly relate the inevitably moving story of a person getting up every day, sufficiently hopeful that something will be yielded via an extravagant, chaotic gathering of data. I confess I use these “work” books the way other people use alcohol or exercise or SSRIs or sleeping pills — I turn to them for an altered state. Opening “Wild Talents” to a random page, I find Fort narrating how as a kid he had run out of everything but peach labels for the tinned food at his parents’ store, and so labeled all the tins — from tins of plums to tins of string beans — as peaches. Then, obliquely, he connects this to a string of unsolved murders across time and space.

Answer: an altered state

I am especially partial to these kinds of “work” books, these generally antiquated, patient things, that instead of telling a story directly, indirectly relate the inevitably moving story of a person getting up every day, sufficiently hopeful that something will be yielded via an extravagant, chaotic gathering of data. <hl> I confess I use these “work” books the way other people use alcohol or exercise or SSRIs or sleeping pills — I turn to them for an altered state . <hl> Opening “Wild Talents” to a random page, I find Fort narrating how as a kid he had run out of everything but peach labels for the tinned food at his parents’ store, and so labeled all the tins — from tins of plums to tins of string beans — as peaches. Then, obliquely, he connects this to a string of unsolved murders across time and space.

I am especially partial to these kinds of “work” books, these generally antiquated, patient things, that instead of telling a story directly, indirectly relate the inevitably moving story of a person getting up every day, sufficiently hopeful that something will be yielded via an extravagant, chaotic gathering of data. I confess I use these “work” books the way other people use alcohol or exercise or SSRIs or sleeping pills — I turn to them for <hl> an altered state <hl>. Opening “Wild Talents” to a random page, I find Fort narrating how as a kid he had run out of everything but peach labels for the tinned food at his parents’ store, and so labeled all the tins — from tins of plums to tins of string beans — as peaches. Then, obliquely, he connects this to a string of unsolved murders across time and space.

I confess I use these “work” books the way other people use alcohol or exercise or SSRIs or sleeping pills — I turn to them for <hl> an altered state <hl> .


Question: What things does the author compare the addiction of work books to?

Answer: alcohol or exercise or SSRIs or sleeping pills

I am especially partial to these kinds of “work” books, these generally antiquated, patient things, that instead of telling a story directly, indirectly relate the inevitably moving story of a person getting up every day, sufficiently hopeful that something will be yielded via an extravagant, chaotic gathering of data. <hl> I confess I use these “work” books the way other people use alcohol or exercise or SSRIs or sleeping pills — I turn to them for an altered state. <hl> Opening “Wild Talents” to a random page, I find Fort narrating how as a kid he had run out of everything but peach labels for the tinned food at his parents’ store, and so labeled all the tins — from tins of plums to tins of string beans — as peaches. Then, obliquely, he connects this to a string of unsolved murders across time and space.

I am especially partial to these kinds of “work” books, these generally antiquated, patient things, that instead of telling a story directly, indirectly relate the inevitably moving story of a person getting up every day, sufficiently hopeful that something will be yielded via an extravagant, chaotic gathering of data. I confess I use these “work” books the way other people use <hl> alcohol or exercise or SSRIs or sleeping pills <hl> — I turn to them for an altered state. Opening “Wild Talents” to a random page, I find Fort narrating how as a kid he had run out of everything but peach labels for the tinned food at his parents’ store, and so labeled all the tins — from tins of plums to tins of string beans — as peaches. Then, obliquely, he connects this to a string of unsolved murders across time and space.


Question: Which book tells the story of a boy working at his parents store?

Answer: Wild Talents

I am especially partial to these kinds of “work” books, these generally antiquated, patient things, that instead of telling a story directly, indirectly relate the inevitably moving story of a person getting up every day, sufficiently hopeful that something will be yielded via an extravagant, chaotic gathering of data. I confess I use these “work” books the way other people use alcohol or exercise or SSRIs or sleeping pills — I turn to them for an altered state. <hl> Opening “ Wild Talents ” to a random page, I find Fort narrating how as a kid he had run out of everything but peach labels for the tinned food at his parents’ store, and so labeled all the tins — from tins of plums to tins of string beans — as peaches. <hl> Then, obliquely, he connects this to a string of unsolved murders across time and space.

I am especially partial to these kinds of “work” books, these generally antiquated, patient things, that instead of telling a story directly, indirectly relate the inevitably moving story of a person getting up every day, sufficiently hopeful that something will be yielded via an extravagant, chaotic gathering of data. I confess I use these “work” books the way other people use alcohol or exercise or SSRIs or sleeping pills — I turn to them for an altered state. Opening “<hl> Wild Talents <hl>” to a random page, I find Fort narrating how as a kid he had run out of everything but peach labels for the tinned food at his parents’ store, and so labeled all the tins — from tins of plums to tins of string beans — as peaches. Then, obliquely, he connects this to a string of unsolved murders across time and space.

Opening “ <hl> Wild Talents <hl> ” to a random page, I find Fort narrating how as a kid he had run out of everything but peach labels for the tinned food at his parents’ store, and so labeled all the tins — from tins of plums to tins of string beans — as peaches.


Question: What is the name of the boy that ran out of peach labels?

Answer: Fort

I am especially partial to these kinds of “work” books, these generally antiquated, patient things, that instead of telling a story directly, indirectly relate the inevitably moving story of a person getting up every day, sufficiently hopeful that something will be yielded via an extravagant, chaotic gathering of data. I confess I use these “work” books the way other people use alcohol or exercise or SSRIs or sleeping pills — I turn to them for an altered state. <hl> Opening “Wild Talents” to a random page, I find Fort narrating how as a kid he had run out of everything but peach labels for the tinned food at his parents’ store, and so labeled all the tins — from tins of plums to tins of string beans — as peaches. <hl> Then, obliquely, he connects this to a string of unsolved murders across time and space.

I am especially partial to these kinds of “work” books, these generally antiquated, patient things, that instead of telling a story directly, indirectly relate the inevitably moving story of a person getting up every day, sufficiently hopeful that something will be yielded via an extravagant, chaotic gathering of data. I confess I use these “work” books the way other people use alcohol or exercise or SSRIs or sleeping pills — I turn to them for an altered state. Opening “Wild Talents” to a random page, I find <hl> Fort <hl> narrating how as a kid he had run out of everything but peach labels for the tinned food at his parents’ store, and so labeled all the tins — from tins of plums to tins of string beans — as peaches. Then, obliquely, he connects this to a string of unsolved murders across time and space.


Question: Which novel written by Rivka Galchen was published in 2008?

I open up Pliny to a random page and find him comparing the babies of different species. Of bears, he says: “When first born, they are shapeless masses of white flesh, a little larger than mice; their claws alone being prominent. The mother then licks them gradually into proper shape.” He then goes on to describe the babies of the human species: “Man is the only one that knows nothing, that can learn nothing without being taught; he can neither speak nor walk nor eat, and, in short, he can do nothing, at the prompting of nature only, but weep.” Rivka Galchen is a recipient of a William J. Saroyan International Prize for Fiction, a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers’ Award and a Berlin Prize, among other distinctions. Her fiction and nonfiction have appeared in numerous publications, including Harper’s and The New Yorker, which selected her for their list of “20 Under 40” American fiction writers in 2010. Her debut novel, the critically acclaimed “Atmospheric Disturbances,” was published in 2008. Her second book, a story collection titled “American Innovations,” was published in May.

Answer: Atmospheric Disturbances

I open up Pliny to a random page and find him comparing the babies of different species. Of bears, he says: “When first born, they are shapeless masses of white flesh, a little larger than mice; their claws alone being prominent. The mother then licks them gradually into proper shape.” He then goes on to describe the babies of the human species: “Man is the only one that knows nothing, that can learn nothing without being taught; he can neither speak nor walk nor eat, and, in short, he can do nothing, at the prompting of nature only, but weep.” Rivka Galchen is a recipient of a William J. Saroyan International Prize for Fiction, a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers’ Award and a Berlin Prize, among other distinctions. Her fiction and nonfiction have appeared in numerous publications, including Harper’s and The New Yorker, which selected her for their list of “20 Under 40” American fiction writers in 2010. <hl> Her debut novel, the critically acclaimed “ Atmospheric Disturbances ,” was published in 2008. <hl> Her second book, a story collection titled “American Innovations,” was published in May.

I open up Pliny to a random page and find him comparing the babies of different species. Of bears, he says: “When first born, they are shapeless masses of white flesh, a little larger than mice; their claws alone being prominent. The mother then licks them gradually into proper shape.” He then goes on to describe the babies of the human species: “Man is the only one that knows nothing, that can learn nothing without being taught; he can neither speak nor walk nor eat, and, in short, he can do nothing, at the prompting of nature only, but weep.” Rivka Galchen is a recipient of a William J. Saroyan International Prize for Fiction, a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers’ Award and a Berlin Prize, among other distinctions. Her fiction and nonfiction have appeared in numerous publications, including Harper’s and The New Yorker, which selected her for their list of “20 Under 40” American fiction writers in 2010. Her debut novel, the critically acclaimed “<hl> Atmospheric Disturbances <hl>,” was published in 2008. Her second book, a story collection titled “American Innovations,” was published in May.

Her debut novel, the critically acclaimed “ <hl> Atmospheric Disturbances <hl> ,” was published in 2008.


Question: Which animal is a little larger than mice when born?

Answer: bears

I open up Pliny to a random page and find him comparing the babies of different species. <hl> Of bears , he says: “When first born, they are shapeless masses of white flesh, a little larger than mice; their claws alone being prominent. <hl> The mother then licks them gradually into proper shape.” He then goes on to describe the babies of the human species: “Man is the only one that knows nothing, that can learn nothing without being taught; he can neither speak nor walk nor eat, and, in short, he can do nothing, at the prompting of nature only, but weep.” Rivka Galchen is a recipient of a William J. Saroyan International Prize for Fiction, a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers’ Award and a Berlin Prize, among other distinctions. Her fiction and nonfiction have appeared in numerous publications, including Harper’s and The New Yorker, which selected her for their list of “20 Under 40” American fiction writers in 2010. Her debut novel, the critically acclaimed “Atmospheric Disturbances,” was published in 2008. Her second book, a story collection titled “American Innovations,” was published in May.

I open up Pliny to a random page and find him comparing the babies of different species. Of <hl> bears <hl>, he says: “When first born, they are shapeless masses of white flesh, a little larger than mice; their claws alone being prominent. The mother then licks them gradually into proper shape.” He then goes on to describe the babies of the human species: “Man is the only one that knows nothing, that can learn nothing without being taught; he can neither speak nor walk nor eat, and, in short, he can do nothing, at the prompting of nature only, but weep.” Rivka Galchen is a recipient of a William J. Saroyan International Prize for Fiction, a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers’ Award and a Berlin Prize, among other distinctions. Her fiction and nonfiction have appeared in numerous publications, including Harper’s and The New Yorker, which selected her for their list of “20 Under 40” American fiction writers in 2010. Her debut novel, the critically acclaimed “Atmospheric Disturbances,” was published in 2008. Her second book, a story collection titled “American Innovations,” was published in May.

Of <hl> bears <hl> , he says: “When first born, they are shapeless masses of white flesh, a little larger than mice; their claws alone being prominent.


Question: Which genres does Rivka write for?

Answer: fiction and nonfiction

I open up Pliny to a random page and find him comparing the babies of different species. Of bears, he says: “When first born, they are shapeless masses of white flesh, a little larger than mice; their claws alone being prominent. The mother then licks them gradually into proper shape.” He then goes on to describe the babies of the human species: “Man is the only one that knows nothing, that can learn nothing without being taught; he can neither speak nor walk nor eat, and, in short, he can do nothing, at the prompting of nature only, but weep.” Rivka Galchen is a recipient of a William J. Saroyan International Prize for Fiction, a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers’ Award and a Berlin Prize, among other distinctions. <hl> Her fiction and nonfiction have appeared in numerous publications, including Harper’s and The New Yorker, which selected her for their list of “20 Under 40” American fiction writers in 2010. <hl> Her debut novel, the critically acclaimed “Atmospheric Disturbances,” was published in 2008. Her second book, a story collection titled “American Innovations,” was published in May.

I open up Pliny to a random page and find him comparing the babies of different species. Of bears, he says: “When first born, they are shapeless masses of white flesh, a little larger than mice; their claws alone being prominent. The mother then licks them gradually into proper shape.” He then goes on to describe the babies of the human species: “Man is the only one that knows nothing, that can learn nothing without being taught; he can neither speak nor walk nor eat, and, in short, he can do nothing, at the prompting of nature only, but weep.” Rivka Galchen is a recipient of a William J. Saroyan International Prize for Fiction, a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers’ Award and a Berlin Prize, among other distinctions. Her <hl> fiction and nonfiction <hl> have appeared in numerous publications, including Harper’s and The New Yorker, which selected her for their list of “20 Under 40” American fiction writers in 2010. Her debut novel, the critically acclaimed “Atmospheric Disturbances,” was published in 2008. Her second book, a story collection titled “American Innovations,” was published in May.


Question: Which species does Pliny says knows nothing yet can learn without being taught?

Answer: human

I open up Pliny to a random page and find him comparing the babies of different species. Of bears, he says: “When first born, they are shapeless masses of white flesh, a little larger than mice; their claws alone being prominent. The mother then licks them gradually into proper shape.” <hl> He then goes on to describe the babies of the human species: “Man is the only one that knows nothing, that can learn nothing without being taught; he can neither speak nor walk nor eat, and, in short, he can do nothing, at the prompting of nature only, but weep.” <hl> Rivka Galchen is a recipient of a William J. Saroyan International Prize for Fiction, a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers’ Award and a Berlin Prize, among other distinctions. Her fiction and nonfiction have appeared in numerous publications, including Harper’s and The New Yorker, which selected her for their list of “20 Under 40” American fiction writers in 2010. Her debut novel, the critically acclaimed “Atmospheric Disturbances,” was published in 2008. Her second book, a story collection titled “American Innovations,” was published in May.

I open up Pliny to a random page and find him comparing the babies of different species. Of bears, he says: “When first born, they are shapeless masses of white flesh, a little larger than mice; their claws alone being prominent. The mother then licks them gradually into proper shape.” He then goes on to describe the babies of the <hl> human <hl> species: “Man is the only one that knows nothing, that can learn nothing without being taught; he can neither speak nor walk nor eat, and, in short, he can do nothing, at the prompting of nature only, but weep.” Rivka Galchen is a recipient of a William J. Saroyan International Prize for Fiction, a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers’ Award and a Berlin Prize, among other distinctions. Her fiction and nonfiction have appeared in numerous publications, including Harper’s and The New Yorker, which selected her for their list of “20 Under 40” American fiction writers in 2010. Her debut novel, the critically acclaimed “Atmospheric Disturbances,” was published in 2008. Her second book, a story collection titled “American Innovations,” was published in May.


Question: What was Gehry's name originally?

When Goldberger describes how Goldberg became Gehry, he portrays a blend of someone who manipulates and is manipulated. Gehry says he opposed the name change. “I didn’t want to do it. You have to understand, I was super lefty, I was involved with liberal causes,” Goldberger quotes him saying. Gehry felt it was “a cop-out.” But Anita, the woman he had recently married, insisted. She was Jewish too, but her maiden name of “Snyder” had been less telling, and she had no use for “Goldberg.” Frank’s mother sided with Anita; his father objected. Frank, declaring his wife “one tough operator,” tells Goldberger: “If you knew Anita, you knew that I had to do it. I had no way out. I was in a corner.” He invented the spelling “Gehry” to simulate Goldberg by starting with G, maintaining a high-profile letter in the middle, and ending with a tail.

Answer: Goldberg

<hl> When Goldberg er describes how Goldberg became Gehry, he portrays a blend of someone who manipulates and is manipulated. <hl> Gehry says he opposed the name change. “I didn’t want to do it. You have to understand, I was super lefty, I was involved with liberal causes,” Goldberger quotes him saying. Gehry felt it was “a cop-out.” But Anita, the woman he had recently married, insisted. She was Jewish too, but her maiden name of “Snyder” had been less telling, and she had no use for “Goldberg.” Frank’s mother sided with Anita; his father objected. Frank, declaring his wife “one tough operator,” tells Goldberger: “If you knew Anita, you knew that I had to do it. I had no way out. I was in a corner.” He invented the spelling “Gehry” to simulate Goldberg by starting with G, maintaining a high-profile letter in the middle, and ending with a tail.

When <hl> Goldberg <hl>er describes how Goldberg became Gehry, he portrays a blend of someone who manipulates and is manipulated. Gehry says he opposed the name change. “I didn’t want to do it. You have to understand, I was super lefty, I was involved with liberal causes,” Goldberger quotes him saying. Gehry felt it was “a cop-out.” But Anita, the woman he had recently married, insisted. She was Jewish too, but her maiden name of “Snyder” had been less telling, and she had no use for “Goldberg.” Frank’s mother sided with Anita; his father objected. Frank, declaring his wife “one tough operator,” tells Goldberger: “If you knew Anita, you knew that I had to do it. I had no way out. I was in a corner.” He invented the spelling “Gehry” to simulate Goldberg by starting with G, maintaining a high-profile letter in the middle, and ending with a tail.

When <hl> Goldberg <hl> er describes how Goldberg became Gehry, he portrays a blend of someone who manipulates and is manipulated.


Question: Who interviewed Gehry?

Answer: Goldberger

<hl> When Goldberger describes how Goldberg became Gehry, he portrays a blend of someone who manipulates and is manipulated. <hl> Gehry says he opposed the name change. “I didn’t want to do it. You have to understand, I was super lefty, I was involved with liberal causes,” Goldberger quotes him saying. Gehry felt it was “a cop-out.” But Anita, the woman he had recently married, insisted. She was Jewish too, but her maiden name of “Snyder” had been less telling, and she had no use for “Goldberg.” Frank’s mother sided with Anita; his father objected. Frank, declaring his wife “one tough operator,” tells Goldberger: “If you knew Anita, you knew that I had to do it. I had no way out. I was in a corner.” He invented the spelling “Gehry” to simulate Goldberg by starting with G, maintaining a high-profile letter in the middle, and ending with a tail.

When <hl> Goldberger <hl> describes how Goldberg became Gehry, he portrays a blend of someone who manipulates and is manipulated. Gehry says he opposed the name change. “I didn’t want to do it. You have to understand, I was super lefty, I was involved with liberal causes,” Goldberger quotes him saying. Gehry felt it was “a cop-out.” But Anita, the woman he had recently married, insisted. She was Jewish too, but her maiden name of “Snyder” had been less telling, and she had no use for “Goldberg.” Frank’s mother sided with Anita; his father objected. Frank, declaring his wife “one tough operator,” tells Goldberger: “If you knew Anita, you knew that I had to do it. I had no way out. I was in a corner.” He invented the spelling “Gehry” to simulate Goldberg by starting with G, maintaining a high-profile letter in the middle, and ending with a tail.


Question: What woman insisted on the name change?

Answer: Anita

When Goldberger describes how Goldberg became Gehry, he portrays a blend of someone who manipulates and is manipulated. Gehry says he opposed the name change. “I didn’t want to do it. You have to understand, I was super lefty, I was involved with liberal causes,” Goldberger quotes him saying. Gehry felt it was “a cop-out.” <hl> But Anita , the woman he had recently married, insisted. <hl> She was Jewish too, but her maiden name of “Snyder” had been less telling, and she had no use for “Goldberg.” Frank’s mother sided with Anita; his father objected. Frank, declaring his wife “one tough operator,” tells Goldberger: “If you knew Anita, you knew that I had to do it. I had no way out. I was in a corner.” He invented the spelling “Gehry” to simulate Goldberg by starting with G, maintaining a high-profile letter in the middle, and ending with a tail.

When Goldberger describes how Goldberg became Gehry, he portrays a blend of someone who manipulates and is manipulated. Gehry says he opposed the name change. “I didn’t want to do it. You have to understand, I was super lefty, I was involved with liberal causes,” Goldberger quotes him saying. Gehry felt it was “a cop-out.” But <hl> Anita <hl>, the woman he had recently married, insisted. She was Jewish too, but her maiden name of “Snyder” had been less telling, and she had no use for “Goldberg.” Frank’s mother sided with Anita; his father objected. Frank, declaring his wife “one tough operator,” tells Goldberger: “If you knew Anita, you knew that I had to do it. I had no way out. I was in a corner.” He invented the spelling “Gehry” to simulate Goldberg by starting with G, maintaining a high-profile letter in the middle, and ending with a tail.

But <hl> Anita <hl> , the woman he had recently married, insisted.


Question: Who sided with Anita?

Answer: Frank’s mother

When Goldberger describes how Goldberg became Gehry, he portrays a blend of someone who manipulates and is manipulated. Gehry says he opposed the name change. “I didn’t want to do it. You have to understand, I was super lefty, I was involved with liberal causes,” Goldberger quotes him saying. Gehry felt it was “a cop-out.” But Anita, the woman he had recently married, insisted. <hl> She was Jewish too, but her maiden name of “Snyder” had been less telling, and she had no use for “Goldberg.” Frank’s mother sided with Anita; his father objected. <hl> Frank, declaring his wife “one tough operator,” tells Goldberger: “If you knew Anita, you knew that I had to do it. I had no way out. I was in a corner.” He invented the spelling “Gehry” to simulate Goldberg by starting with G, maintaining a high-profile letter in the middle, and ending with a tail.

When Goldberger describes how Goldberg became Gehry, he portrays a blend of someone who manipulates and is manipulated. Gehry says he opposed the name change. “I didn’t want to do it. You have to understand, I was super lefty, I was involved with liberal causes,” Goldberger quotes him saying. Gehry felt it was “a cop-out.” But Anita, the woman he had recently married, insisted. She was Jewish too, but her maiden name of “Snyder” had been less telling, and she had no use for “Goldberg.” <hl> Frank’s mother <hl> sided with Anita; his father objected. Frank, declaring his wife “one tough operator,” tells Goldberger: “If you knew Anita, you knew that I had to do it. I had no way out. I was in a corner.” He invented the spelling “Gehry” to simulate Goldberg by starting with G, maintaining a high-profile letter in the middle, and ending with a tail.


Question: Who objected to Anita?

Answer: his father

When Goldberger describes how Goldberg became Gehry, he portrays a blend of someone who manipulates and is manipulated. Gehry says he opposed the name change. “I didn’t want to do it. You have to understand, I was super lefty, I was involved with liberal causes,” Goldberger quotes him saying. Gehry felt it was “a cop-out.” But Anita, the woman he had recently married, insisted. She was Jewish too, but her maiden name of “Snyder” had been less telling, and she had no use for “Goldberg.” <hl> Frank’s mother sided with Anita; his father objected. <hl> Frank, declaring his wife “one tough operator,” tells Goldberger: “If you knew Anita, you knew that I had to do it. I had no way out. I was in a corner.” He invented the spelling “Gehry” to simulate Goldberg by starting with G, maintaining a high-profile letter in the middle, and ending with a tail.

When Goldberger describes how Goldberg became Gehry, he portrays a blend of someone who manipulates and is manipulated. Gehry says he opposed the name change. “I didn’t want to do it. You have to understand, I was super lefty, I was involved with liberal causes,” Goldberger quotes him saying. Gehry felt it was “a cop-out.” But Anita, the woman he had recently married, insisted. She was Jewish too, but her maiden name of “Snyder” had been less telling, and she had no use for “Goldberg.” Frank’s mother sided with Anita; <hl> his father <hl> objected. Frank, declaring his wife “one tough operator,” tells Goldberger: “If you knew Anita, you knew that I had to do it. I had no way out. I was in a corner.” He invented the spelling “Gehry” to simulate Goldberg by starting with G, maintaining a high-profile letter in the middle, and ending with a tail.


Question: Who is strong in the Americas?

The transaction valued Wincor Nixdorf at 1.7 billion euros, or about $1.8 billion, including debt. It would create the world’s largest maker of A.T.M.s and extend the reach of the two companies: Diebold is strong in the Americas, and Wincor Nixdorf is strong in Europe. Under the terms of the deal, Diebold said it would pay about €52.50 a share for Wincor Nixdorf in cash and stock, representing a 35 percent premium over Wincor Nixdorf’s closing price in mid-October, when the companies confirmed they were in talks.

Answer: Diebold

The transaction valued Wincor Nixdorf at 1.7 billion euros, or about $1.8 billion, including debt. <hl> It would create the world’s largest maker of A.T.M.s and extend the reach of the two companies: Diebold is strong in the Americas, and Wincor Nixdorf is strong in Europe. <hl> Under the terms of the deal, Diebold said it would pay about €52.50 a share for Wincor Nixdorf in cash and stock, representing a 35 percent premium over Wincor Nixdorf’s closing price in mid-October, when the companies confirmed they were in talks.

The transaction valued Wincor Nixdorf at 1.7 billion euros, or about $1.8 billion, including debt. It would create the world’s largest maker of A.T.M.s and extend the reach of the two companies: <hl> Diebold <hl> is strong in the Americas, and Wincor Nixdorf is strong in Europe. Under the terms of the deal, Diebold said it would pay about €52.50 a share for Wincor Nixdorf in cash and stock, representing a 35 percent premium over Wincor Nixdorf’s closing price in mid-October, when the companies confirmed they were in talks.


Question: What is Wincor Nixdorf valued at in euros?

Answer: 1.7 billion euros

<hl> The transaction valued Wincor Nixdorf at 1.7 billion euros , or about $1.8 billion, including debt. <hl> It would create the world’s largest maker of A.T.M.s and extend the reach of the two companies: Diebold is strong in the Americas, and Wincor Nixdorf is strong in Europe. Under the terms of the deal, Diebold said it would pay about €52.50 a share for Wincor Nixdorf in cash and stock, representing a 35 percent premium over Wincor Nixdorf’s closing price in mid-October, when the companies confirmed they were in talks.

The transaction valued Wincor Nixdorf at <hl> 1.7 billion euros <hl>, or about $1.8 billion, including debt. It would create the world’s largest maker of A.T.M.s and extend the reach of the two companies: Diebold is strong in the Americas, and Wincor Nixdorf is strong in Europe. Under the terms of the deal, Diebold said it would pay about €52.50 a share for Wincor Nixdorf in cash and stock, representing a 35 percent premium over Wincor Nixdorf’s closing price in mid-October, when the companies confirmed they were in talks.

The transaction valued Wincor Nixdorf at <hl> 1.7 billion euros <hl> , or about $1.8 billion, including debt.


Question: Who is strong in Europe?

Answer: Wincor Nixdorf

<hl> The transaction valued Wincor Nixdorf at 1.7 billion euros, or about $1.8 billion, including debt. <hl> It would create the world’s largest maker of A.T.M.s and extend the reach of the two companies: Diebold is strong in the Americas, and Wincor Nixdorf is strong in Europe. Under the terms of the deal, Diebold said it would pay about €52.50 a share for Wincor Nixdorf in cash and stock, representing a 35 percent premium over Wincor Nixdorf’s closing price in mid-October, when the companies confirmed they were in talks.

The transaction valued <hl> Wincor Nixdorf <hl> at 1.7 billion euros, or about $1.8 billion, including debt. It would create the world’s largest maker of A.T.M.s and extend the reach of the two companies: Diebold is strong in the Americas, and Wincor Nixdorf is strong in Europe. Under the terms of the deal, Diebold said it would pay about €52.50 a share for Wincor Nixdorf in cash and stock, representing a 35 percent premium over Wincor Nixdorf’s closing price in mid-October, when the companies confirmed they were in talks.


Question: Who is the largest maker of A.T.M.s?

Answer: Wincor Nixdorf

<hl> The transaction valued Wincor Nixdorf at 1.7 billion euros, or about $1.8 billion, including debt. <hl> It would create the world’s largest maker of A.T.M.s and extend the reach of the two companies: Diebold is strong in the Americas, and Wincor Nixdorf is strong in Europe. Under the terms of the deal, Diebold said it would pay about €52.50 a share for Wincor Nixdorf in cash and stock, representing a 35 percent premium over Wincor Nixdorf’s closing price in mid-October, when the companies confirmed they were in talks.

The transaction valued <hl> Wincor Nixdorf <hl> at 1.7 billion euros, or about $1.8 billion, including debt. It would create the world’s largest maker of A.T.M.s and extend the reach of the two companies: Diebold is strong in the Americas, and Wincor Nixdorf is strong in Europe. Under the terms of the deal, Diebold said it would pay about €52.50 a share for Wincor Nixdorf in cash and stock, representing a 35 percent premium over Wincor Nixdorf’s closing price in mid-October, when the companies confirmed they were in talks.


Question: How much is each share?

Answer: €52.50

The transaction valued Wincor Nixdorf at 1.7 billion euros, or about $1.8 billion, including debt. It would create the world’s largest maker of A.T.M.s and extend the reach of the two companies: Diebold is strong in the Americas, and Wincor Nixdorf is strong in Europe. <hl> Under the terms of the deal, Diebold said it would pay about €52.50 a share for Wincor Nixdorf in cash and stock, representing a 35 percent premium over Wincor Nixdorf’s closing price in mid-October, when the companies confirmed they were in talks. <hl>

The transaction valued Wincor Nixdorf at 1.7 billion euros, or about $1.8 billion, including debt. It would create the world’s largest maker of A.T.M.s and extend the reach of the two companies: Diebold is strong in the Americas, and Wincor Nixdorf is strong in Europe. Under the terms of the deal, Diebold said it would pay about <hl> €52.50 <hl> a share for Wincor Nixdorf in cash and stock, representing a 35 percent premium over Wincor Nixdorf’s closing price in mid-October, when the companies confirmed they were in talks.