Lit Hub Daily: February 2, 2022

Happy birthday to the most scrotumtightening novel of them all: James Joyce’s Ulysses turns 100 today. | Lit Hub

“When I’m not getting my children through this wretched time, I write books.” Miranda Beverly-Whittmore on The Lost Daughter, and the intersection of art and motherhood. | Lit Hub Craft

Leanne Shapton talks to Jordan Kisner on Thresholds about the desire to “always go bigger.” | Lit Hub Radio

Claire Woodcock on the need to radically rethink how we organize information in the Library of Congress. | Lit Hub

“Rum, sugar, rice. Curry, pepper, thyme. Each ingredient carries a story.” Charmaine Wilkerson on how food is its own kind of language. | Lit Hub Food

Why Whitney Houston’s rendition of the national anthem still matters: Gerrick Kennedy on the legendary 1991 performance. | Lit Hub Music

Florida Man author Tom Cooper talks Moby-Dick, terrible sex scenes, and novels set in the Sunshine State. | Book Marks

WATCH: On Keen On, Maeve Higgins talks about America as an unfinished experiment, and Thomas J. Main looks at identity politics as a way to restore confidence in government. | Lit Hub Virtual Book Channel

Alex Shephard investigates the motives of Filippo Bernardini, the man accused of orchestrating an elaborate plot to steal hundreds of manuscripts from book publishers. | The New Republic

“This isn’t about censorship, it’s about what’s fun.” How the New York Times crossword puzzle editors navigate contentious language issues. | Kotaku

Lovia Gyarkye considers the lessons of Octavia E. Butler’s Fledgling. | The Atlantic

“A victory that doesn’t quite feel like a victory.” Sarah Raughley considers the publishing industry’s sudden interest in Black authors. | The Walrus

Christopher Newfield talks to Jeffrey J. Williams about the false promises of universities. | Los Angeles Review of Books

Remembering Robert C. Hayden, a historian and educator who authored books about Black history. | The Boston Globe

How Arthur Conan Doyle engaged with the scientific thinking of his era. | The New Yorker