Lit Hub Daily: December 23, 2022

TODAY: In 1823, the poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (more commonly known as “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas”) is first published, anonymously, in the Troy Sentinel (NY). Though the poem has long been attributed to Clement C. Moore, controversy remains over the true author.   

• Jess deCourcy Hinds asks a very important question: Could America even handle Iceland’s traditional Christmas “Book Flood”? (A merry Jólabókaflóðið to all who celebrate!) | Lit Hub

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• 23 excellent books to give as gifts, according to indie booksellers. | Lit Hub

• “All novelists are spies or should be.” Nickolas Butler on people-watching at a bar in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, population 14,778. | Lit Hub

• A survey of Hitchcock films not directed by Alfred Hitchcock. | CrimeReads

• Keri Blakinger has compiled a searchable database of banned books in prisons across the country. | The Marshall Project

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• Meg Zukin reflects on the year in BookTok drama. | Vulture

• Which authors—dead or alive—do other authors most want to attend their fantasy dinner parties? A look at the numbers. | The New York Times

• “Art is not scrubbing toilets. It’s not an unpleasant task most people would rather have the robots do. It is our heart.” Molly Crabapple on AI “art.” | Los Angeles Times

• Your guide to Charles Dickens. | The Guardian

• “There’s a world just out of sight, a garden growing—a pulsing, living thing that I need just as much as it needs me.” Julia Fine on unlocking the secret door to your novel. | Catapult

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Also on Lit Hub: Judith Thurman considers the work of Elena Ferrante • How TV can help us get better at Zoom • Linguistic lessons on the playground

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