Lit Hub Daily: February 16, 2023

• Edward Achorn on the miraculous week in Chicago that changed Abraham Lincoln’s life—and the fate of the United States. | Lit Hub History
• A. Natasha Joukovsky on the brief, artistic superabundance of Art Nouveau prodigy Aubrey Beardsley. | Lit Hub Art

• What writers looking for motivation can glean from the I Ching. | Lit Hub Craft

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• Mind-control research, paranormal activity, and CIA assassins: Matthew Connelly looks into what US intelligence agencies hide from the public (and why). | Lit Hub Politics

• The birth of Superman—or, how two Jewish kids in 1930s Cleveland altered the course of American pop culture. | Lit Hub History

• “There is something in all of us that craves the shadow side of abject humiliation.” Camonghne Felix on computers and childhood trauma. | Lit Hub

• “What would 1984 be like if Winston Smith had an endearing personality?” Five Book Reviews You Need to Read This Week. | Book Marks

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• Ibram X. Kendi reflects on the ongoing relevance of Carter G. Woodson’s The Miseducation of the Negro. | The Atlantic

• A deep dive into the cryptic literary references of… Olivia Wilde. | The Cut

• Fun book news: We’re getting a sequel to the viral murder mystery Cain’s Jawbone—written by one of the few people who solved it. | The Guardian

• “Every moment of stability in my life feels temporary and nothing feels predictable, but how bad can things really be if we’re all laughing?” Jo Hylton on Moonstruck and bad luck. | Catapult

• Paulo Scott offers a literary tour through São Paulo. | The New York Times

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• Jack Weatherford considers the little-known connection between Charleston literary life and Mongolia. | Charleston Mercury

• 200 New York Times writers have signed an open letter calling out the paper’s anti-trans bias. | The Hub

Also on Lit Hub: How sailors predict weather on the open ocean • New poetry by Meret Oppenheim • Read from Richard Bausch’s latest novel, Playhouse