Lit Hub Daily: April 23, 2020

• “The experience of teaching about disaster in disaster, distanced but intimate, reminds me of what teaching can be.” Jane Costlow on learning at a distance during a pandemic. | Lit Hub
• “Most of us would be better off if we did not drink tea or coffee.” When coffee truthers W.O. Atwater and Frederick Winslow Taylor tried to destroy America’s mornings. | Lit Hub Food
• Elizabeth F. Thompson on Syria’s doomed struggle for independence after WWI, and the ruse that changed Middle Eastern history. | Lit Hub History
• ON THE VBC: On Sheltering, Emma Straub on writing a true-to-life novel that now feels like fantasy • Alia Volz discusses writing as healing, on Personal Space. | Lit Hub
• A reading list for unpacking a messy world: Bethany Saltman recommends five memoirs with passion. | Lit Hub Memoir
• “I am, as we all are, terrified of not being able to breathe. It’s the most primal fear.” On balancing panic and relief in a pandemic. | Lit Hub
• Patrick Cockburn on the rise and fall of ISIS, and what comes next. | Lit Hub Politics
• Ruth Franklin on reading Stephen King during a pandemic, Nicole Flattery on a gargantuan Andy Warhol biography, and more of the Reviews You Need to Read This Week. | Book Marks
• TaraShea Nesbit takes a moment to appreciate the art of the slow, complex crime novel. | CrimeReads
• “We must play with our food.” Wayne Koestenbaum on the writer’s obligation(s) in the age of X. | The Paris Review
• If you’re finding it difficult to read right now, you’re not alone. Rebecca Makkai, Idra Novey, and more writers recall the moments they fell out with reading—and what brought them back. | The Believer
• Now might be a good time to pick up that book you’ve been intimidated to start for years. | Washington Post
• From vegetable-centered cooking to low-waste tips, these books focus on sustainable living. | Bon Appetit
• Crossword puzzle makers recommend some great games to play while social distancing. | The New Yorker
• Nnedi Okorafor has a new novella coming soon. Read an excerpt from it here. | io9
• To mark World Book Day (April 23), Airbnb is hosting various online experiences, from a literary-themed tequila class to a therapy book club with a comedy writer. | Travel + Leisure
• Deirdre Bair, biographer of Beckett and De Beauvoir, has died at 84. | The New York Times

Also on Lit Hub: “Alone for a Week”: A poem by Jane Kenyon • Read an excerpt from Sebastian Barry’s new novel A Thousand Moons.