Lit Hub Weekly: December 3 - 7, 2018

• “To read the work by these men is to have an urgent encounter with a vital and thriving consciousness.” Ayana Mathis considers the state of American literature, and highlights 32 of the black men making it sing, from Jamel Brinkley to Jeffrey Renard Allen. | T Magazine
• Shocking news: the shortlist for the Bad Sex Awards is made up entirely of male writers—including Haruki Murakami and James Frey. If you want to squirm uncomfortably, here are some samples of their fine work. | The Guardian
• “Oh, how I wish he had just slipped into bed with Linda.” On worrying about Linda while reading Knausgaard’s My Struggle. | Los Angeles Review of Books
• With her book Well-Read Black Girl, Glory Edim shines a light on black women writers. | WNYC
• As national media outlets expand, so does their book coverage. | Columbia Journalism Review
• “Dear Elena Ferrante: It’s been a while.” An open letter to everyone’s favorite Neapolitan novelist—whatever her real name is. | The Atlantic
• For your holiday reading list: 50 of the best LGBT books of 2018. | Autostraddle
• “Where McKibbens draws the line is the tattoo, which she considers unforgivable on an aesthetic level if not a moral one.” The Pushcart-nominated poet who plagiarized multiple others (and tattooed one of the lifted lines on her arm). | Vulture
• “I thought of Conversations as my trial novel, so it gave me a huge amount of permission to write the same thing over again.” An interview with Sally Rooney. | Irish Times
• Seeking an old-lady canon: eight “coming-of-death novels” that spotlight older women. | Electric Literature
• “I was mad it was so good.” Elisa Gabbert on writerly jealousy and the five words of Sylvia Plath’s she most wishes she had written. | The Paris Review
• Bushel & Peck Books, a children’s publishing house, has a plan to combat low literacy rates in low-income areas. | Melville House
• “Don’t be that nutty book fiend!” Some surely unneeded advice from professionals on how to declutter your books. | Realtor
• A moving, illustrated review of The Letters of Sylvia Plath: Vol I and II. | The New Yorker
• James Joyce’s iconic spectacles sold at auction this week for a whopping $19,000. | LA Times

Also on Lit Hub:

Our favorite books of the year! (In which we, Lit Hub, attempt to show that 2018 wasn’t all bad) • When the Beatles met their idol, Elvis, obviously • If I miss a writing day, I have to pay Donald Trump $200. Tommy Schnurmacher has figured out how to defeat writerly procrastination. • “What is the opposite of a border?” Asiya Wadud on the infinite fault lines of contemporary life • On Virginia Woolf’s astronomical obsession • When scientists start a writing group • From Sula to Swing Time, Jacqueline Mroz on her favorite novels about female friendship • On the 19th-century art historian who anticipated the Abstract art of the 20th century • Looking for God in the writing of Denis Johnson • Kristen Arnett presents an incomplete list of non-book objects you can check out of the library • “What can a writer do?” Patrick Chamoiseau on the moral desperation of the migrant crisis • Perennial Nobel short-lister Nuruddin Farah answers our 10 bookish questions • “Honestly, he’s so much smarter than almost everybody”: A profile of Richard Macksey, the man who introduced America to Derrida • What happens when your writers’ retreat burns to the ground? Janis Cooke Newman on rebuilding Lit Camp • On John Clare, pioneering nature writer and amateur ornithologist • Essential child-rearing advice from 18th century Germany (including: no hats ever) • Benjamin Markovits on watching basketball alone and abroad • On the writing of Raúl Zurita, poet of the disappeared • Paul Theroux on the iconic photographs of Steve McCurry • It’s time to pick favo(u)rites once and for all, with Who Wore it Better: US vs. UK cover edition • Literary horoscopes, or: a very scientific list of books to read this month, based on your zodiac sign • And because you asked for it, here are the biggest nonfiction bestsellers of the past 100 years (key takeaway: Magic Eye owned the 1990s)

Best of Book Marks:

The Best Reviewed Books of 2018: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Memoir & Biography, Essay Collections, Short Stories, Graphic Literature, Literature in Translation, Poetry, Mystery & Crime & Thriller Novels, Fiction, and Nonfiction • The Feral Detective author Jonathan Lethem recommends five books with reverse-gender first-person narrators • National Book Critics Circle Poetry Chair Tess Taylor on Frankenstein, Zadie Smith, and omnivorous reading

New on CrimeReads:

Authors, critics, editors, and booksellers from around the crime community share their favorite crime and mystery books of 2018 • 2018’s most visually stunning crime and mystery book covers • 20 rare crime books that would make pretty great gifts this holiday season • Emily Rose Stein takes us through the best new crime podcasts of 2018 • Val McDermid on serendipity, a buried motorbike, and staying open to inspiration after writing 32 novels • The 10 best endings in crime and mystery fiction from 2018 (no spoilers allowed) • Christopher Sandford takes a look at the many inspirations for Sherlock Holmes, from keen observationist Dr. Joseph Bell to Conan Doyle himself • Mette Ivie Harrison looks at what it means to write a Mormon mystery • Christopher Fowler on the tricky business of balancing comedy and mystery • Reporter and crime writer Bryan Gruley on how to write small town crime fiction • Meghan Scott Molin onhow crime fiction and comics allow us to be heroes • Andrew Case on the relationship between crime fiction and junk science • What to watch when you’re on vacation: your crime and mystery streaming guide for December 2018  • Ezekial Boone rounds up five classic thrillers in which technology betrays us, fromFrankenstein to Jurassic Park