Letters in the Mail is his new venture, in which for $5 a month, subscribers will receive three to four letters from people like author Dave Eggers, comedian Margaret Cho, graphic novelist Dean Haspiel and novelist and TV producer, Jonathan Ames. The first letter comes from Elliot himself.

But what’s inside these letters are actually very short stories. Already 1,500 people have subscribed in a matter of weeks. Elliot was inspired by the Brooklyn outfit One Story, which send one story per week for $21 a year.

The letters are made to look authentic by having doodles, real signatures and return addresses. Just sign up and they’ll be in a mailbox near you.

“The technology I like is the American paperback edition of Freedom. I can spill water on it and it would still work! So it’s pretty good technology. And what’s more, it will work great 10 years from now. So no wonder the capitalists hate it. It’s a bad business model,” Franzen said, during a press conference at the Festival in which he spoke about a number of different topics including President Obama, the financial system and the lack of Religion in his work and he also had plenty to say about the future of the book.

“Maybe nobody will care about printed books 50 years from now, but I do. When I read a book, I’m handling a specific object in a specific time and place. The fact that when I take the book off the shelf it still says the same thing – that’s reassuring.”

Jonathan Franzen has a forthcoming book of essays “Farther Away” coming out in April. The title piece is his reflections on the suicide of his best friend and writer David Foster Wallace, who would have celebrated his 50th birthday yesterday.

So Happy Valentine’s Day to all the book lovers out there!

5. Fight Club by Chuck Palaniuk

Fight club resonates with people who are anti-authority and Tyler Durden is their hero. This one tattoo is an iconic image because Tyler was, among other things, a soap maker.

4. The Little Prince by Antoine  de Saint-Exupery

The watercolor images inspire many tattoos but also the appreciation of the world’s beauty and wonder. This tattoo is of the prince himself.

3. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

This book reminds us of our childhoods and we grow up so fast, that maybe it’s a symbol of who we were as children: wild, carefree and full of imagination. This is tattoo is of Max in his iconic wolf outfit.

2. Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

There are a lot of tattoos of Alice in Wonderland out there. There are quotes, images and the cast of characters are depicted frequently: Alice, The Mad Hatter and especially the Cheshire Cat. Here is a depiction of the tree, the cheshire cat and a few other characters.

1. Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnetgut

This classic novel of war and time travel resonates with people in the mantra “So It Goes,” which represents the owner’s coping with worry or loss. Here is a tattoo of the mantra on someone’s wrist, which is where people usually get the tattoo, oddly enough.

Cover Story behind Melissa Senate’s The Love Goddess’ Cooking School – Girlfriends Book Club

Books About Books – BookPage

The Loss of a Local Independent – Salem News

Lindsey Kelk Stuck on a Desert Island - Novel Escapes

Jonathan Franzen Goes to Washington – MediaBistro

Kristin Davis to Star in Television Adaptation of THE HAPPINESS PROJECT – Hollywood Reporter

Teen Fiction Cafe – great collaboration site of YA writers

The Story Siren – YA Book Reviews Central!

Jackson Pearce – YA writer and active blogger

Alyson Noel – Series favorite

Megan Kelley Hall – YA writer and anti-bullying activist

Books, Boys, Buzz – Inside look into the writing life of YA writers

Sara Zarr – YA author and consistent blogger (I’ve linked to one particularly poignant blog post where she writes about patting yourself on the back…something we all need to do a lot more of)

Book Blogger Appreciation Week Voting – My Friend Amy (sadly, BookFinds didn’t make the cut…but there’s always next year).

For the all the book groups out there – Book Group Expo

Decorating with Books – Bookslut

TLC Book Tours – Literate Housewife

A New Book Club Selection – Booking Mama

Alice Hoffman, rediscovered – Life and Times of a New New Yorker

Galley Cat predicts Oprah’s Pick – Galley Cat

Great selection by online bookclub, I might even take part – Everyday I Write the Book

Great review – Literarily

In Praise of Book Clubs – Lit Chick

Three Cups of Tea – Books on the Brain

Lit Links

A Creative To-Be-Read Pile Contest – The Literate Housewife

Fighting Over Women’s Cover Art – GalleyCat

Favorite Final Words – So Many Books, So Little Time

A Fun Summer Giveaway – Boston Bibliophile

Great interview with author Dani Shapiro – Everyday I Write the Book Blog

Ann Patchet writes about the lonely life on a book tour – Atlantic Monthly

Lizzie Skurnick writes about scandalous fiction – Jezebel

Great Potato Peel Society Review – USA Today

Stephenie Meyer discuss Breaking Dawn – Borders

Rediscover the Classics – 5 Minutes for Books

What’s on Your Nightstand? – A Year of Books

New Titles for the Fall – Buzz Girl

Stephen King’s Promotional Techniques – Book Room Reviews

Billie Letts is Back! – The Things We Read

The Heartbreak Diet is Comical – Books on the Brain

The Man Booker Long List – Books for Breakfast

Nicholas Sparks, Move Over! – USA Today

Books That Inspire Mosaics…and a cute site! – Insatiable Reader