TODAY: In 1882, Anthony Trollope, who weeks earlier had suffered a “fit of the giggles” from reading F. Anstey’s comic novel Vice Versa, dies after a stroke, probably brought on by the fit of laughter.
- Perennial Nobel short-lister Nuruddin Farah answers our 10 bookish questions (and gives love to his favorite poets). | Lit Hub
- “Honestly, he’s so much smarter than almost everybody.” A profile of Richard Macksey, the man who introduced Derrida to America. | Lit Hub
- The grandfather of new nature writing was a bird-loving poet: meet John Clare, pioneering nature writer and amateur ornithologist. | Lit Hub
- What happens when your writers’ retreat burns to the ground? Janis Cooke Newman on rebuilding Lit Camp. | Lit Hub
- Introducing the new editor of The Yale Review: Meghan O’Rourke. | Lit Hub
- “What is most exciting about Canadian literature in this moment is the diversity of stories and the plurality of the voices telling them.” Toward a national literature that reflects the make-up of nation. | Lit Hub
- The best new crime podcasts of 2018, as recommended by podcast correspondent Emily Rose Stein. | CrimeReads
- Our Best Reviewed Books of 2018 roundup rolls on today as we spotlight the best reviewed Poetry collections and Mystery, Crime, & Thriller books of the year. | Book Marks
- “I was mad it was so good.” Elisa Gabbert on writerly jealousy and the five words of Sylvia Plath’s she most wishes she had written. | The Paris Review
- Bushel & Peck Books, a children’s publishing house, has a plan to combat low literacy rates in low-income areas. | Melville House
- Maybe 2018 was just one long nod to transgressive literature from the 1890s. | The Washington Post
- On the tiny town—and the tiny texts—that made French literature available to the masses. | Atlas Obscura
- “If we can get books out there fast enough to take advantage of the insane news cycle, I think we’re fine.” Trump made book publishers a lot of money in 2018. | Vulture
- “Don’t be that nutty book fiend!” Some surely unneeded advice from professionals on how to declutter your books. | Realtor
- “These are the books that I adored, that moved me, that I would pass on to anyone.” Ada Limon’s year in reading. | The Millions
Also on Lit Hub: Essential child-rearing advice from 18th century Germany (including: no hats ever) • Benjamin Markovits on watching basketball alone and abroad • Read a story from Yukiko Motoya’s collection The Lonesome Bodybuilder
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