Literary Hub
Literary Hub
  • Craft and Criticism
    • Literary Criticism
    • Craft and Advice
    • In Conversation
    • On Translation
  • Fiction and Poetry
    • Short Story
    • From the Novel
    • Poem
  • News and Culture
    • History
    • Science
    • Politics
    • Biography
    • Memoir
    • Food
    • Technology
    • Bookstores and Libraries
    • Film and TV
    • Travel
    • Music
    • Art and Photography
    • The Hub
    • Style
    • Design
    • Sports
  • BUY A HAT
  • Lit Hub Radio
    • The Lit Hub Podcast
    • Awakeners
    • Fiction/Non/Fiction
    • The Critic and Her Publics
    • Windham-Campbell Prizes Podcast
    • Memoir Nation
    • Beyond the Page
    • First Draft: A Dialogue on Writing
    • Thresholds
    • The Cosmic Library
    • Culture Schlock
  • Reading Lists
    • The Best of the Decade
  • Book Marks
    • Best Reviewed Books
  • CrimeReads
    • True Crime
    • The Daily Thrill
  • Log In
  • Craft and Criticism
    • Literary Criticism
    • Craft and Advice
    • In Conversation
    • On Translation
  • Fiction and Poetry
    • Short Story
    • From the Novel
    • Poem
  • News and Culture
    • History
    • Science
    • Politics
    • Biography
    • Memoir
    • Food
    • Technology
    • Bookstores and Libraries
    • Film and TV
    • Travel
    • Music
    • Art and Photography
    • The Hub
    • Style
    • Design
    • Sports
  • BUY A HAT
  • Lit Hub Radio
    • The Lit Hub Podcast
    • Awakeners
    • Fiction/Non/Fiction
    • The Critic and Her Publics
    • Windham-Campbell Prizes Podcast
    • Memoir Nation
    • Beyond the Page
    • First Draft: A Dialogue on Writing
    • Thresholds
    • The Cosmic Library
    • Culture Schlock
  • Reading Lists
    • The Best of the Decade
  • Book Marks
    • Best Reviewed Books
  • CrimeReads
    • True Crime
    • The Daily Thrill
  • Log In
Jonathan Lee on Hooking a Reader with the First Line

Jonathan Lee on Hooking a Reader with the First Line

“No one wants to feel the writer trying too hard.”

By Jonathan Lee | May 20, 2022

10 Great Novels on Freedom of Expression That Aren't <em>1984</em>

10 Great Novels on Freedom of Expression That Aren't 1984

Jonathan Lee Recommends Stories of the Personal and Political

By Jonathan Lee | February 9, 2017

Javier Marías on Dictatorship, Shakespeare, and Literary Ghosts

Javier Marías on Dictatorship, Shakespeare, and Literary Ghosts

"You know, I hate novels about writers, they are terribly boring and predictable."

By Jonathan Lee | November 1, 2016

On the Deep Disquiet of Finishing Your Book

On the Deep Disquiet of Finishing Your Book

Fernando Pessoa, Joy Williams, and the gap between writing and publishing

By Jonathan Lee | March 8, 2016

Best Reviewed
Books of the Week

  • The Silver Book
  • The Land in Winter
  • Evensong
  • Without Consent: A Landmark Trial and the Decades-Long Struggle to Make Spousal Rape a Crime
  • The History of Money: A Story of Humanity
  • The American Revolution: An Intimate History
    • My First Thriller: K.T. NguyenNovember 15, 2025 by Rick Pullen
    • Poker Face is Cancelled... But It Might Have an Alternate Afterlife?November 14, 2025 by Olivia Rutigliano
    • Top 5 Pregnant Women in Crime Movies and TVNovember 14, 2025 by Olivia Rutigliano
    • The Silver Book
    • The Best Reviewed Books of the Week
    • "Sublime The beating heart of em The Silver Book em is Nicholas and Donati s…"
  • Literary Hub

    Created by Grove Atlantic and Electric Literature


    Masthead

    About

    Sign Up For Our Newsletters

    How to Pitch Lit Hub

    Advertisers: Contact Us

    Privacy Policy

    Support Lit Hub - Become A Member