Lit Hub Weekly: December 27 - 29, 2017

•  From a memoir by the founders of Black Lives Matter to Nicole Chung’s first book, 46 books by women of color to look forward to next year. | Electric Literature
• “As much as I admire Chanson Douce, I’ve almost wished I could unread it.” On Leïla Slimani’s dark, fascinating novel, the most-read book in France. | The New Yorker
• On the problem with Little Women: Can an adaptation really get around the fact it begins with Mr. March urging his girls to “conquer themselves?” | The Guardian
• “I’d love the chance to use filters that serve to expand a category instead of narrowing it, breach the boundaries of the familiar and provide something intersectional, liminal, unexpected.” In praise of strange books. | NPR
• “Outside of the book industry itself, who gives a crap when a book was published?” Against the ubiquitous end-of-year reading list. | The Cardiff Review
• They cannot let her keep the flowers: Short fiction by Hala Alyan. | The Rumpus
• “Every two or three months or so, I needed my Knausgaard fix.” On the experience of reading My Struggle. | The Point
• César Aira, Che Guevara, and beyond: 10 books representing Argentina’s rich and diverse literary culture. | Signature
• “And so I wanted people to become immersed in the book. I want time to be an issue with them.” An interview with Matthew McIntosh, author of theMystery.doc. | The Seattle Review of Books
• “If you could see every bird in the world, you’d see the whole world.” Jonathan Franzen (who else?) on the importance of birds. | National Geographic
• “A novelist could entertain, she could illuminate, but she must never swerve from the world as it is experienced.” On the work of Mary McCarthy. | The Nation
• The Kindle is just one screen in a culture overrun with them: Why evolving technologies haven’t (and won’t) fundamentally change books. | The New Republic
• Lolita, Our Town, and more: Legendary graphic designer Chip Kidd shares his favorite books. | Vulture

Also on Lit Hub: 

Literary Hub‘s top ten most popular stories of the year: from the elusive humanity of Donald Trump to virtuosic book hoarding • 19 books published this year that deserved more attention, as recommended by contributors to Freeman’s • 10 dark, dark short stories you can read online (for a break from holiday “cheer”) • Eric Thurm wonders where Hollywood’s endless reboot obsession can possibly go next… • Ali Smith on the dark, prescient genius of J.G. Ballard and his millennial novel, Super-Cannes • Yan Lianke talks to Xiaolu Guo: on being a contemporary Chinese novelist • Our favorite Literary Hub stories of 2017, from reading Mrs Dalloway to the unique genius of Serena Williams • Changing Milo Yiannopoulos’s hate speech into dog whistles doesn’t make it acceptable • Counting down the literary world’s most-talked about news stories of the year: 50 to 41. . . 40 to 31. . . 30 to 21. . . 20 to 11