Lit Hub Daily: June 9, 2021

• The chunk of chilled rubber seen around the world: how legendary physicist Richard Feynman helped solve the Challenger disaster. | Lit Hub History

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• “I realize now that my sleeplessness coincided with my decision to become a writer.” Aminatta Forna on the pains of insomnia. | Lit Hub

• How did futurists come to believe in the promise of cryonic preservation? Philip Jaekl on Robert Ettinger and the sci-fi story that started it all. | Lit Hub Science

• “There is no place on Earth where human presence does not cast a shadow.” Including, writes Patricia Hanlon, America’s great wetlands. | Lit Hub Nature

• Need to put the spark back into your love life writing practice? Ron Hogan has some advice. | Lit Hub Craft

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• A reading list about home sweet home: Andy Abromowitz recommends Rebecca Makkai, Tove Ditlevsen, and more. | Lit Hub Reading Lists

• Brian Hall makes a case for approaching a writing project with the mentality of a carpenter. | Lit Hub Craft

• Eric Redman explores the shark-infested waters of Hawaiian detective fiction. | CrimeReads

• K. Jemisin’s Inheritance Trilogy, Toni Morrison’s Beloved, and more rapid-fire book recs from K-Ming Chang. | Book Marks

• WATCH: Hala Alyan, Te-Ping Chen, Joshua Mohr, and Thomas Grattan at the Franklin Park Reading Series. | Lit Hub Virtual Book Channel

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• Laura Miller laments the inability of readers (particularly on social media) to distinguish between a character’s viewpoint and that of the author. | Slate

• Lincoln Michel on how genre can function as generative constraint. | Countercraft

• “Part of the reason why I titled the book Somebody’s Daughter is that part of the point of the book is found family—friends, boyfriends, teachers.” Ashley C. Ford on her memoir, therapy, and anxiety. | Shondaland

• A Quest for Love: Jesse Thistle discusses growing up Métis, colonialism, and Indigenous history. | Publishers Weekly

• Danielle Henderson unpacks journaling, the meaning behind the title of her memoir, and writing about emotionally charged topics. | BookPage

• Leo Robson considers the life and legacy of critic J. Hillis Miller, the greatest American practitioner of deconstruction. | New Left Review

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• A brief history of the fire that destroyed three ancient Roman libraries—along with a score of rare texts. | JSTOR Daily

• “Here, amid the crowds and neon lights, he saw all kinds of queer stories unfold before his eyes.” A portrait of queer life in Taiwan. | Words Without Borders

Also on Lit Hub: Gillian Osborne on color theory and William Blake’s “The Ecchoing Green” • Read a poem by Zoë Hitzig • Read from Will McPhail’s graphic novel, In