Lit Hub Daily: August 1, 2019

• “Bigfoot’s deepest significance is what it tells us about ourselves.” John Zada on our relentless quest for Bigfoot. | Lit Hub
• What can a book do in the face of war? Rachel Seiffert considers Svetlana Alexievich’s Last Witnesses. | Lit Hub
• “It honestly feels like an author’s Fyre Festival up in here”: on the life and death of indie press Curbside Splendor. | Lit Hub
• Finish the summer strong with these August books, as recommended by the Lit Hub staff. | Lit Hub
• In honor of Herman Melville’s 200th birthday, read some perspectives on Moby-Dick (unless you would prefer not to): Suzanne Conklin Akbari on the encyclopedic genius of Melville’s masterpiece • Read an excerpt from a Moby-Dick pop-up book • On the literal (and figurative) whiteness of the white whale. | Lit Hub
• Five Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books to Watch For in August: feat. a 1920s-set Mexican fairy tale, a dark space opera, and R. F. Kuang’s sequel to The Poppy War. | Book Marks
• Jia Tolentino as the voice of a micro generation, P. T. Barnum the Prince of Humbugs, Daisy Johnson on Karen Russell’s dark fabulism, and more of the reviews you need to read this week. | Book Marks
• All the crime and mystery books you need to read this August, featuring new works from Lisa Lutz, Alex Segura, Javier Marias, and many more. | CrimeReads
• Louisville, KY is celebrating the Year of Gonzo in honor of Louisville native (and gonzo journalist par none) Hunter S. Thompson. | Courier Journal
• Italian chemist and author Primo Levi was born 100 years ago. His efforts to remember the victims and survivors of concentration camps and mass displacement resonate still. | DW
• The public library of Pittsfield, MA, the city where the author wrote Moby-Dick, will be designated a Literary Landmark by the American Library Association. | Berkshire Eagle
• “By focusing on trust, can we harness the power we channeled in being believed? Can trust be the cornerstone for a new model of power?” Saskia Vogel on private pain, public rage, and power. | Granta
• Lisa Marie Presley is writing a book that “promises shocking revelations about Michael Jackson and a completely new understanding of Elvis.” | Page Six
• Fantastical, interplanetary, infinite: are these the best libraries in fiction? | The Guardian
• There’s a newly translated John Steinbeck story about a chef and his cat—but also, was John Steinbeck a spy? | The Hub, The Daily Beast

Also on Lit Hub: The utopian dream and surveillance nightmare of electronic money • Can Four Weddings and a Funeral work as American TV? • Read from Adam O’Fallon Price’s novel The Hotel Neversink.