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
The End-of-Summer Joy of Reading by a Motel Pool

The End-of-Summer Joy of Reading by a Motel Pool

Susan Harlan on One of Life's Simple Pleasures

By Susan Harlan | August 27, 2019

The Bittersweet Feeling of Reconnecting with a Forgotten Language

The Bittersweet Feeling of Reconnecting with a Forgotten Language

Susan Harlan on Rekindling an Old Friendship in the City of Lights

By Susan Harlan | August 12, 2019

Saying Goodbye to My Beloved<br> Local Bookstore

Saying Goodbye to My Beloved
Local Bookstore

Susan Harlan Offers an Appreciation of Winston-Salem's Bright Leaf Books

By Susan Harlan | April 24, 2019

An Attempt to See Paris Through the Eyes of Georges Perec

An Attempt to See Paris Through the Eyes of Georges Perec

Lunch on the Place Saint-Sulpice with My Literary Idol

By Susan Harlan | March 7, 2019

How to Read Caves

How to Read Caves

From Tennessee's Tuckaleechee Caverns to the
Caves of John Keats, Virgil, and Virginia Woolf

By Susan Harlan | January 19, 2018

Why Is It So Hard For a Woman to Read Alone in America?

Why Is It So Hard For a Woman to Read Alone in America?

On the Pleasures of Paris, City of Solitude and Poetry

By Susan Harlan | July 14, 2017

Best Reviewed
Books of the Week

  • The Pelican Child: Stories
  • Languages of Home: Essays on Writing, Hoop, and American Lives 1975-2025
  • On the Calculation of Volume (Book III)
  • The Ferryman and His Wife
  • Empire of Orgasm: Sex, Power, and the Downfall of a Wellness Cult
  • Mexico: A 500-Year History

In Praise of the Book Tower

By Susan Harlan | June 17, 2015

    • Sherlock Holmes, ScientistNovember 26, 2025 by Olivia Rutigliano
    • The Five Funniest Far Side Cartoons About DetectivesNovember 26, 2025 by Olivia Rutigliano
    • Which International Thriller Should You Binge This Weekend?November 26, 2025 by Dwyer Murphy
    • The Pelican Child: Stories
    • The Best Reviewed Books of the Week
    • "The stories in her hypnotic collection em The Pelican Child em are painterly and provocative…"
  • 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