TODAY: In 1908, Richard Wright is born.
- “How quickly do dogs forget?” Hanif Abdurraqib on book tours, vacations, and the joy of coming home. | Lit Hub
- From gutting fish to entertaining with Alison Roman, 12 of the fall’s tastiest cookbooks. | Lit Hub
- Meredith Talusan on the complexities of telling the Filipino immigrant’s story. | Lit Hub
- “How can you die when you still have all these clothes?” Donna Masini on familial anxiety, and the tyranny and comfort of things. | Lit Hub
- Let us now hear the tale of the Hodag, legendary monster of the mighty Midwest. | Lit Hub
- From the city of samurai to the gardens of nobility, all of Tokyo’s identities live on in its literature. | Lit Hub
- “As Palestinian refugees, we don’t have the luxury of despair. Instead, we choose beautiful resistance.” The activists who built a symbolic wall of oppression in the middle of London. | Lit Hub
- Toni Morrison’s Jazz, Alexander Chee’s How to Write an Autobiographical Novel, The Velveteen Rabbit, and more rapid-fire book recs from Laura van den Berg. | Book Marks
- Leah Schnelbach recommends 5 Sci-Fi and Fantasy books to watch for in September. | Book Marks
- “Yes, they are on the run, pursued. But the real tension comes from how they talk.” A.B. Jewell on the power of great noir dialogue. | CrimeReads
- “Prestige doesn’t pay the bills—money does”: As Condé Nast union negotiations continue, New Yorker fact-checkers will officially be recognized as employees rather than subcontractors. | Bloomberg
- Meet Alexandra Villasante, Julissa Arce and Mitali Perkins, first- and second-generation immigrant authors whose books for young readers depict the lives of undocumented children and teenagers. | NBC News
- “When we are born, we inherit ideas, philosophies, heritage, mythologies, the weight and trauma of systemic injustice.” Sarah M. Broom and Kaitlyn Greenidge in conversation. | The Cut
- On the connection between the sounds of words and their meanings—which may be deeper, and more important, than you think. | Aeon
- “We all know that men don’t understand women. How could they? Women spend the whole time trying to understand themselves.” Joanne O’Leary on the fiction of Nancy Hale. | Bookforum
- Read an interview with Nick Flynn about his latest collection, I Will Destroy You, which “was written in a state of consciously and actively attempting not to write.” | BOMB
- Steven King discusses his 61st(!) novel, which has some unintentional (and terrifying) parallels to the present moment. | The New York Times
Also on Lit Hub: Reading Women discuss Indigenous women writers from around the world • Wouldn’t you like to see photos of Judy Garland, Harry Belafonte, and more old Hollywood stars reading books? • Read a poem from Matthew Zapruder’s collection Father’s Day • An excerpt of Salman Rushdie’s Booker Prize-shortlisted novel Quichotte.
