Lit Hub Daily: July 16, 2024
THE BEST OF THE LITERARY INTERNET
TODAY: In 1951, The Catcher in the Rye is published by Little Brown and Company.
- Did anyone ask us? No. Did we do it anyway? Of course. We compiled 71 of the best books of the century so far (that The New York Times missed). | Lit Hub
- Rebecca Solnit on why switching candidates doesn’t make sense: “This nation is in a civil war of sorts, against the Trump-led attempt to end democracy in America and establish autocracy.” | Lit Hub Politics
- Jane Ciabattari talks to Laura Van Den Berg about merging autofiction with speculative fiction. | Lit Hub In Conversation
- “Until Judy Blume’s 1973 novel Deenie, girls didn’t masturbate in children’s literature.” Rachelle Bergstein on how Judy Blume helped destigmatize masturbation. | Lit Hub Criticism
- “When I sit down to write, I think about the story elements that transport me as a reader, and I hope that my work will find its way to other readers who feel the same.” Caroline Carlson on writing escapist literature. | Lit Hub Craft
- Ruby Todd on the allure of comets and the age-old experience of watching the skies. | Lit Hub Science
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Joy Williams on the stories of Brad Watson: “The mix, the shifts in intent and tone, makes for a heady experience, a soulful half-comic songbook of cries and fears and play.” | Lit Hub Criticism
Article continues after advertisement - Brad Watson, M. S. RedCherries, Hyeseung Song, and more! These new books are out today. | Lit Hub Reading Lists
- “It was summertime. She was currently sitting in the backseat of a car on a dark, damp evening, looking out of the rolled-down window, consciously relaxing her muscles by group.” Read from Halle Butler’s new novel, Banal Nightmare. | Lit Hub Fiction
- “As disabled writers work to see themselves reflected in Kahlo’s paintings, they might also shift their gaze ever so slightly to recognize the myriad others who have gathered around her hoping to catch a glimpse.” Jess Libow explores how disabled writers have taken up Frida Kahlo’s image and legacy. | Los Angeles Review of Books
- Marianne Hirsch considers “the dangers of building Holocaust memory on victimization alone.” | The Point
- “But instead of asking ‘why aren’t there more comics in the Whitney?’ maybe the more important question is: Is the neglect of the fine art establishment worth sweating?” Sean McCarthy’s guide to comics at the Whitney Biennial. | The Comics Journal
- Anna Badkhen asks “What is exile?” through the lens of Hisham Matar’s novel My Friends. | Words Without Borders
- On being a first-timer at the Five Hundred Ponies Sale: “I heard about the auction from a coworker of mine at the equine therapy barn in Queens where I used to work as a stablehand.” | The Paris Review
- Ryan Berger examines wealth and decadence in the works of J.G. Ballard. | Reactor
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