LitHub Daily: December 15, 2015

TODAY: In 1930, Edna O’Brien, pictured here with her parents, Lena and Michael, is born in Drewsboro, County Clare, Ireland. 

• The 25 best books of the year, according to booksellers. | Literary Hub
• Is silence a tool, weapon, gift, or myth? On John Cage, muzak, noise, and torture. | Literary Hub
• In honor of Lolita’s 60th anniversary, 10 writers (beginning with Alexandra Kleeman and Josephine Livingstone) reread it and reflect on their experiences. | The New Republic
• The 12 best book covers of 2015, one of which was lucky enough to become a GIF. | The New York Times
• “I am an eternal foreigner. I don’t quite belong anywhere.” An interview with Isabel Allende. | Asymptote Journal
• “African folklore is just as rich, and just as perverse as that shit. We have witches, we have demons, we have goblins, and mad kings.” Marlon James will write an African Game of Thrones. | Vulture
• Miraculous coinciding bedtimes: a short story by Tim Parks. | The New Yorker
• Stressing trivia over treason: On A. David Moody’s gentle treatment of Ezra Pound and other “exonerating biographies of bastards.” | The Smart Set
• “Some days later he lights firebits in a scullery bowl to ape the scream of gunfire.” Home Alone, but written by Cormac McCarthy. | The Awl
• Has this been the year of the newsletter? *hair flip* | The Guardian

Also on Literary Hub: Five books making news this week: reporters, sympathizers, and survivors · On the intimacy and beauty of book spines · Celebrating this year’s best books: an excerpt from President Obama’s favorite, Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff

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