Omnivoracious has a nice look at JG Ballard's collected first lines. Only the short stories, though, so no "Later, as he sat on the balcony eating the dog..."

• Mark Twain on the rage of party.

• In praise of the midlist.

• White Noise prettified in startlingly appropriate way.

• Stigmatise the word "content" – as either online jargon-fiends or the pedants who obsess about them have done – and what do you get? Discontent.