Lit Hub Daily: October 16, 2018

• “If this doesn’t fill you with wonder, it’s not the fault of the dress.” Michael Cunningham falls in love at an Alexander McQueen retrospective and it is lovely. | Lit Hub
• “Every adoption story has a villain.” Alice Stephens on writing (and rewriting) the narrative of her life. | Lit Hub
• All-star librarian Kristen Arnett talks to all-star author of The Library Book Susan Orlean about Pete Davidson and Ariana Grande (just kidding, this is mainly about libraries). | Lit Hub
• And here is part two in our not-at-all-controversial series of books that defined the decades: it’s the 1910s! | Lit Hub
• Feeling a little blue? Fall got you down? Viv Groskop recommends a reading of The Master and Margarita. | Lit Hub
• Mysteries about mysteries: Lisa Levy profiles Sara Gran and her hard-boiled detective, Claire DeWitt. | CrimeReads
• We Can’t Breathe author Jabari Asim on five classic American essay collections. | Book Marks
• First they came for Ondaatje, then they came for Didion. Next up, Denis Johnson probably. | Popula
• “What was that we just read? What did it mean? What happened? What was it about?” When reading Diane Williams, Ben Marcus is untroubled by his ignorance. | The Paris Review
• Literature loves a plague: on what makes an illness culturally compelling. | JSTOR
• “We are here to help each other get through this thing … whatever it is.” On reading Kurt Vonnegut to cope with death. | The Millions
• When the author stands naked: Robert Fay on reality, artistic immortality, and the slippage of the authorial veil. | 3 Quarks
• “I just wanted to write a book, to my mama.” Bim Adewunmi profiles Kiese Laymon after the publication of his new memoir, Heavy. | BuzzFeed Reader
• The finalists for the Thurber Prize for American Humor have been announced. | Thurber House
• “It has provoked a restlessness in me.” Val McDermid on what it’s like to judge the Booker Prize. | The New York Times

Also on Lit Hub: Jabari Asim on slavery and the prison-industrial complex • Growing up brown on the US-Mexico border • Read from Unsheltered