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The 10 Biggest Literary Stories of the Year ‹ Literary Hub

What can we say about 2021, as a whole? It was a little bit better than 2020, if still not the greatest year in recent memory. It brought us many things: Bean Dad, Bernie's mittens, Amanda Gorman, variants Delta and Omnicron, Taylor's Version, but don't forget Adele, Hot Vax Summer, the immediate end of Hot Vax Summer, Kate Winslet's vape, the boat stuck in the Suez Canal, the return of Bennifer, the return of the '90s, a free and glorious Britney, open movie theaters, the Friends reunion, an Asian American muppet on Sesame Street, Harry and Meghan on Oprah, Pete Davidson and Kim Kardashian, Simone Biles somehow being even more of a role model, that Star Wars meme, and, you know, THE VACCINE.

It also brought us a few developments in the wide world of literature. Today, we have reached the top ten biggest literary stories of the year. If you've stuck with us this long, bless you. If you've just stumbled on this insane list, well, bless you too - and best of luck for 2022.

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Literary Hub Aiming for Diversity, Inclusion

March 19, 2015

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New opportunities for authors as Grove Atlantic partners with Electric Lit on new one-stop literary website

Authors and publishers are always looking for more innovative ways to connect with readers. And while there’s more quality writing online than ever, it’s spread far and wide, and finding the most relevant stuff can be trying. In response to these related challenges, Grove Atlantic has announced a partnership with Electric Literature to launch a new website, LitHub.com, focused on curating digital literary content in one central location.

Lit Hub has partnered with PEN, Graywolf Press, Tin House, FSG, and more than 100 other large publishers, small presses, literary journals, and independent bookstores—a cross-section of our diverse literary culture. “Our goal is to be as inclusive as possible,” said Grove’s Morgan Entrekin in a press release.

As for the site’s content, Electric Literature reports that Lit Hub will feature “a mix of content contributed by partners and original material, including author interviews, features, excerpts, and essays.” Content will be curated by Editor-in-Chief Jonny Diamond, as well as contributing editors including Roxane Gay, Rebecca Wolff, and newly-elected Authors Guild Council member Alexander Chee.

In a recent conversation with the Guild, Diamond emphasized that the site will be more than just a content aggregator. “We’re looking to develop a consistent and strong editorial personality,” he said. To that end, the site will commission long-form articles such as personal and critical essays, and will be working with its partners to develop story ideas. Further distinguishing itself from content aggregators, Lit Hub will pay its authors.

Another goal of the project, according to Diamond, is to broaden the geographical scope by focusing on regional literary markets, scenes, and bookstores around the country, engaging local correspondents for reports and producing literary travel pieces.

Booksellers and other industry professionals were treated to a sneak peak of Lit Hub at the American Bookseller Association’s Winter Institute last month. The site is set to go live on April 8 at the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) Conference in Minneapolis.

Lit Hub is currently accepting submissions of longer, literary-minded essays (personal, reportorial, critical) and is also looking for regional correspondents interested in reporting on the literary scene in their local literary communities. Send your pitches to [email protected].

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Top 20 Literary Websites to Help You Choose Your Next Book

Check out these 20 literary websites , and bookmark them so you can find your next great reading selection.

For readers, the world of the Internet has made finding book reviews and recommendations easier than ever. Literary websites can give readers insight into the thoughts and intentions of writers through exclusive interviews, while podcasts and book blogs provide reviews that will help guide you toward the next great read. In addition, many bookstores, literary magazines, and more have websites you can use to make informed reading decisions.

Yet how can you decide which websites are worth visiting? With so many options out there, you need to narrow your reading to focus on the most valuable ones. Here are 20 recommended literary websites that provide good insights into the world of literature. Put them on your reading list so you can see what is up and coming in the world of literature.

1. The Millions

2. book riot, 3. the los angeles review of books, 4. page-turner, 5. goodreads, 6. electric literature, 7. the bookrageous podcast, 8. guernica, 9. the nervous breakdown, 10. literary kicks, 11. the public domain review, 12. new york times book reviews, 13. literary hub, 14. brad listi, 15. the paris review daily, 16. the rumpus, 17. project gutenberg, 18. the new inquiry, 19. the american reader.

The Millions has been around for 10 years, making it practically ancient in terms of literary websites . Nevertheless, it receives a top spot on this list because of its rich library and steady stream of reviews , essays, and reading lists.

Book Riot has a quirky tone, but it is a great place to learn about books in a less upscale tone. Its tagline is “All Books, Never Boring,” which is true of how it pokes fun at books while also bringing site visitors the information they need to make informed reading decisions.

The Los Angeles Review of Books started on Tumblr, but since then, it has grown into an extensive website with excellent, trusted content producers. Some have said it is the West Coast’s primary literary scene. You will find online literary arts journal entries that are thoughtful and insightful.

Page-Turner is the book blog of The New Yorker. It has a monthly podcast, daily news roundup, essays, and reviews . With so many resources and the trustworthy parent magazine behind it, this website is ideal for those who love books.

Goodreads is a favorite website for readers because it posts reviews from regular readers, not paid editors. You can see what other people like you thought of a book before you decide to invest the time to read it. This website also helps readers find similar books when they finish one they loved, which is a great feature to tap when you are looking for a new book or book series to read.

When it launched, it portrayed itself as the primary literary journal for the Internet era. It was a print literary magazine at first, but it continued online when the magazine ceased publication. The Electric Literature Recommended Reading list is an excellent resource for book lovers looking for new reading ideas.

The Bookrageous Podcast celebrates all things related to books. The hosts are avid readers and take time to talk about their favorite books on the podcast. Their insights will help you find a new reading suggestion if you are stuck without something to read.

Guernica calls itself “A Magazine of Art and Politics, and it has regular interviews with excellent authors. This website also posts original fiction, so those who are looking for a great short story to read will find it here. Finally, it has a poetry section to round out its literary offerings.

One of the unique features of The Nervous Breakdown is its self-interviews, which are part of the podcast. This feature allows an author to ask themselves questions other interviewers are not willing to ask. This gives an exciting insight into the thoughts and intentions of some of your favorite authors.

Literary Kicks has been around since 1994, so it has a rich archive that is interesting to tap. This website is by Levi Asher, and though it lacks consistent daily posts, it has fascinating insights into the world of literature. Readers can tap into the archive to get ideas for new books to read .

The Public Domain Review is a non-profit that focuses on out-of-print works. This makes its book reviews intriguing because instead f reviewing new books, they review old ones that are hard to find. It also has collections of essays on topics of interest to those who enjoy literature.

The New York Times is no stranger to literature and literature reviews . You can check out their book review section to get ideas for what you should read next. The editors are well-known for understanding literature and what makes a great read.

Lit Hub posts daily and focuses its articles and essays on modern literature. If you are looking for ideas for new literary fiction or nonfiction to read, this resource will help. It also brings in literary content from partner websites, making it a hub that readers can tap to find what they are looking for in one convenient location.

Brad Listi’s website is an author website, but it has an interesting reading log and podcast that are helpful as you look for more reading suggestions. This combination earns it a spot on the top literary websites because readers can turn to Brad to learn more about the books he finds attractive.

The Paris Review i s a highly respected literary journal, but it only puts out a paper published a few times each year. The Paris Review Daily provides an online source for many of the same reviews and reports found in the print version. This resource is highly respected in the literary world.

The Rumpus has excellent contributors that share daily content. It has interviews, reviews , and essays for people who want to learn about books. It also has a section for poetry and a service where young readers can subscribe to get letters in the mail from well-known authors.

Project Gutenberg is not a literary blog or review website. Instead, it is a resource that distributes free eBooks to interested readers. It deserves a spot on the list because it has a rich library of books that readers can read, even though it does not focus on literary criticism.

The New Inquiry not only discusses and reviews books but also spends time talking about politics and pop culture. This makes it an engaging read and relevant for the modern reader. You will likely find it highly entertaining as well as informative. It does have a paid membership option, but you can read articles for free.

The American Reader is a monthly print journal, but it also has a website. Here you will see fiction and poetry publications and letters from well-known names in literature. While it is a young website, it has the potential to be an important one.

In the world of English literature, Granta is one of the essential magazine publications. Its website is rich with information and posts. This website needs to be on your list if you are looking for informative content about the world of literature.

Looking for more? Check out our round-up of the best books for fiction writers !

The 14 Literary Newsletters You Need in Your Inbox

Reading Lists

Emails you will actually looking forward to reading.

I get more email in a day than I can keep up with, let alone respond to. 

Most of us do. Collectively, we sent an estimated 319 billion emails each day in 2021. I’d love to know the breakdown of these messages. How many chains of rambling updates between old friends? How many are notes to confirm a long-awaited trip to visit family? My bet is these are in the minority, dwarfed by the vast number of promotions and automations. And I’m basing this on my own inbox. 

That’s one of the reasons why I love subscribing to newsletters. It isn’t the same as a note from a friend, but it also doesn’t require more time than reading—no input, no decisions, and no feeling guilty for inevitably getting behind on responding. Just a prompt to take a few minutes and read about whatever the topic.

Here are 14 of my favorite literary newsletters, the ones that I love seeing in my inbox as an excuse to sit for a minute and think about books, writing, and reading. 

Fiction Matters

I first found Sara Hildreth’s Fiction Matters newsletter through the former English teacher’s Instagram account , which has a similar literary focus, and it’s become one of my favorites. Each Sunday, Hildreth shares smart, quick reviews of books she’s read, comments on literary news, as well as a round-up of what she’s loving, making, listening, or watching. The content is great, but the tone is wonderful—kind, warm, and relaxed, the perfect way to jump back into your inbox at the end of the weekend.

Also, the title here isn’t misleading. The newsletter features mostly fiction, with occasional nonfiction reads and recommendations. Most titles are literary fiction, but Hildreth does read across genres, as well.

Cost: The Fiction Matters newsletter is free, but there is a Fiction Matters patreon community if you’re looking for more.

sweater weather

Electric Lit’s editor-at-large Brandon Taylor’s newsletter contains literary criticism that feels like a thought process, like his explaining an idea or unpacking a reaction and teasing it out to see how it works. 

Besides being a pleasure to sit with, these newsletters motivate me to read more carefully, to consider the media I consume in conversation, to stop breaking my brain scrolling—though if you, like me, aren’t always successful at this, Taylor is an amazing Twitter follow. 

In short: Must subscribe.

Cost: Free.

Electric Literature Newsletters

Electric Literature has three weekly newsletters, each arriving on a different day of the week. The Commuter, which goes out on Monday mornings, is a literary magazine with poetry, flash fiction, and graphic narratives. Each email includes one piece, as well as links to essays related to the broader topic, whether that’s aquatic drama or artistic influence. (Also, I can confirm, this email is a perfectly timed transition into the workweek even when you’re not commuting.)

Recommended Reading, which arrives on Wednesdays, features short fiction recommended by another author. It’s simple, but the personalized introduction to a story—explaining why it resonates, why the writer admires it—is lovely. I don’t know about you, but I tend to pay more attention, to engage more when someone recommends a piece to me.

Finally, the Friday round-up hits inboxes at the end of each workweek. This newsletter contains the best of Electric Literature’s essays, reading lists, and interviews, so you don’t have to worry about missing anything.

Life With Kat

Life With Kat is another newsletter that I found through Instagram. Kat Scrivener’s Instagram account is top-notch bookstagram—snaps stacked shelves, cozy mugs, a cute dog, and new books all the time. Scrivener’s commentary on books is thoughtful and engaging, and as a person living with cystic fibrosis, her perspective on disability representation in both fiction and nonfiction reads is important.

For her Life With Kat , Scrivener has a few monthly series: reading roundups, spotlights on new releases, and reflections on backlist reading. In these emails, Scrivener shares likes, dislikes, hype, and misses. 

Cost: The monthly new release roundups are free, but the rest of the regular newsletters, featuring deep dives into recent reads, are for paid subscribers only, $5/month or $50 annually.

Memoir Mondays

This is—surprise, surprise—a weekly newsletter. Every Monday, the email includes a curated list of personal essays from Narratively, The Rumpus, Catapult, Granta, Guernica, Oldster Magazine, Literary Hub, as well as other publications. 

Memoir Mondays was founded by Lilly Dancyger, and it’s currently run by Sari Botton. In addition to the newsletter, Memoir Mondays hosts a quarterly reading series in New York City. Not in your inbox, but a nice IRL option.

Cost: The newsletter is free, but the original Memoir Monday essay publications are for paid Substack subscribers only, $5/month or $50 annually.

Buzzfeed Books

T he Buzzfeed Books newsletter sends out two emails each week. The Tuesday emails round up the best new books out each week. The list is usually broken up by genre—including nonfiction, romance, sci-fi, and more—with descriptions from members of the Buzzfeed team or Buzzfeed Books contributors. 

On Sundays, the Buzzfeed Books newsletter highlights reading lists from the week, like must-reads by AAPI author and audio fiction podcasts for every kind of reader.

Lit Hub Daily

Lit Hub Daily features links to essays across the Lit Hub website, including author interviews, podcast episodes, reading lists, cultural criticism, and more. Plus, the email includes links to external literary content, so it’s an excellent one-stop-shop for literary news of the day if you’re trying to stay off Twitter.

Dear Reader

Dear Reader is run by Mumbai-based author and journalist Deepanjana Pal. Each month (or so), Pal shares thoughtful, essay-like reflections on the book she’s been reading over the last few weeks.

One of my favorite things about Dear Reader is that these reflections include not only content and criticism, but also the process of reading these books. In the most recent, for instance, Pal describes her expectations for The Mere Wife by Maria Dahvana Headley based on the title, and her surprise reading the first few lines. 

bitches gotta eat!

Writer Samantha Irby’s bitches gotta eat! contains recaps and reactions to articles and essays, shows, movies, and (of course) books. And because it’s Samantha Irby, the writing is energetic and hilarious.

Cost: Free for occasional public posts, and access to all content is $5 per month or $50 annually.

A Writer’s Notebook

In this newsletter, author Summer Brennan shares stories from her work-in-progress research or what she’s been reading, occasionally commenting on literary news, and often writing about living in Paris (“ Cough Like a French Girl ” is an interesting read, and an unbeatable title). The newsletter includes Essay Camp, writing prompts and encouragement in a community “write-along.” 

The schedule for this A Writer’s Notebook isn’t set, but Brennan sends it out at least twice each week. 

Cost: Free for occasional posts, but access to all the newsletter content is $6 per month or $60 annually.

The Marginalian

Formerly Brain Pickings , The Marginalian is Maria Popova’s newsletter that catalogs, as Popova explains, “a record of my ongoing becoming as a person—intellectually, creatively, spiritually, poetically—drawn from my extended marginalia on the search for meaning across literature, science, art, philosophy, and the various other tendrils of human thought and feeling.” 

Heavy for a newsletter, sure. But Popova’s essays about classic literature, theory, art, and science are sharp and consuming, which calls for deep reading, the best kind of break from the incessant din of emails and notifications.

The Marginalian has two subscription options, Sundays or mid-week.

Cost: Free, with the encouragement to donate.

Read More Books

Read More Books is mostly a weekly round up of what Jeremy Anderberg, a book reviewer, has been reading, with brief descriptions and reviews. But the newsletter also includes reading lists for various topics, including presidential biographies for each of our nation’s leaders and reads to better understand Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover .

If that wasn’t enough, Read More Books also features author interviews a few times a month. 

Cost: Free weekly Friday newsletter, and $5 per month or $52 per year for bi-weekly book review emails, personalized recommendations, and access to the Read More Books slack.

The Austen Connection

The Austen Connection is about critical writing about books, literary zeitgeist, application of theory to general media, and, of course, a touchstone of Austen classics. The newsletter that considers connections between Austen’s body of work and modern-day media, including everything from reality romance TV to Michelle Obama’s memoir. 

The Austen Connection goes out a few times each month, and the archive has a backlog of the essay-like email. One of my favorites explores the sexual tension in Austen’s writing , particularly Pride and Prejudice, and Sally Rooney’s three novels.

Cost: Free for posts, and $5 per month or $50 per year for early access to podcast episodes and subscriber-only posts.

Reading Habits

I’ll start with a disclaimer here: Arianna Rebolini’s newsletter Reading Habits is currently paused. But if you haven’t subscribed, I’d recommend making sure you’re on the list when she starts sending it out again.

Previously, Rebolini was an editor at BuzzFeed Books. Her newsletter features brief reflections on current reads, including backlist and new releases, with smart observations and frank assessments. Plus, it contains links to book round ups, author events, essays, and more.

Cost: Free and currently not accepting paid subscriptions.

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Julia Phillips! Tracy O’Neill! Reality TV! 20 new books out today.

June, incredibly, is almost at an end, and, for many of us it’s been a month of many things, from the beauty of Pride Month and the recognition of Juneteenth to the sweltering weather of heat waves around the world and the subsequent packing of beaches and pools. Amidst all this, there are many new books to bring with you when you want some time to yourself in the sun or in somewhere delightfully cool, including, aptly,  Frostbite , a new book by Nicola Twilley on how refrigeration transformed not only modern-day food and sensibilities, but what was possible to eat and conceive of. You’ll also find books about the invention of reality TV and its surprising cultural impact; new fiction from Alana Saab, Julia Phillips, Santiago Jose Sanchez, and many others; indigenous Guatemalan poetry by Humberto Ak’abal; and much, much more.

Read deeply (and somewhere with some shade, if possible).

Alana Saab,  Please Stop Trying to Leave Me (Knopf)

“ Please Stop Trying to Leave Me is a riveting, deeply funny, and acutely observed ride through the breaking down and rebuilding of self and connection. It’s a full sprint toward (and away from and back again) real love and meaning. Sharp and existential and devastating and queer.” –Jules Ohman

Julia Phillips,  Bear (Hogarth Press)

“Julia Phillips’s rare and marvelous new novel weaves fairy-tale magic into a story of sisterhood, daughterhood, care, and devotion. Building with quiet fury to its astonishing ending,  Bear will capture your heart and mind. I read in a state of wonder.” –Jessamine Chan

Santiago Jose Sanchez, Hombrecito (Riverhead)

“Sanchez’s powerful first novel follows a young boy from Colombia to the United States and back again as he struggles with abandonment issues, acclimating to a new homeland and grappling with his own queer sexual awakening.” – The Washington Post

Tracy O’Neill, Woman of Interest: A Memoir (HarperOne)

“ Woman of Interest is a memoir wrapped in a mystery—an inward examination of family, identity, and self, but also an actual gumshoe detective story that takes the author to the other side of the world. With each extraordinary, prickly sentence, O’Neill’s search for her biological mother is conjured with clarity and conflict. This is a work that is funny, moving, mean—an exceptional book from an extraordinary writer.” –Kevin Nguyen

Simon Wu,  Dancing on My Own: Essays on Art, Collectivity, and Joy (Harper

“Simon Wu’s debut,  Dancing on My Own , is a genius melding of art criticism, autobiography, personal essay, and travel writing. Even more, it is an invitation into the art world from Wu’s particular Asian-American positionality and consciousness as he determines his place within it….Attraction, desire, identity, whiteness, liberalism, ‘queer ecologies,’ family, joy, defeat, and survival are all given close readings….I didn’t want the book to end….A must-read.” –Claudia Rankine

Olivia Laing,  The Garden Against Time: In Search of a Common Paradise (Norton)

“I’ve been a fan of Laing’s since  The Lonely City , a formative read for a much-younger me…so I’m looking forward to her latest, an inquiry into paradise refracted through the experience of restoring an eighteenth-century garden at her home the English countryside. As always, her life becomes a springboard for exploring big, thorny ideas (no pun intended)—in this case, the possibilities of gardens and what it means to make paradise on earth.” – The Millions

Humberto Ak’abal, If Today Were Tomorrow: Poems (Milkweed)

“This bilingual collection by the late Guatemalan K’iche’ Maya poet is a rapturous, often witty ode to nature in all of its infinite variety. Ak’abal’s writing is sometimes as sparse as haiku, yet every word is rooted deep into the earth. From the mighty power of trees and rivers all the way down to the most delicate birdsong, his observations show a poet with an acute attention to detail. Bazzett’s translation has an elegant economy, allowing Ak’abal’s fresh, rain-washed words to glow.” –Grace Harper

Uchenna Awoke,  The Liquid Eye of a Moon (Catapult)

“[C]ompulsory reading for fans of Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi and Imbolo Mbue…[and] Chinua Achebe’s, drawing on oral storytelling traditions….Yet it also has notes of Homer’s Odyssey , introducing a deity whose whims and offenses lead to tragic results for the mortals who interfere. Awoke explores a part of Nigerian culture and tradition not often examined in literature by questioning an ancient and harmful caste system, and the result is a novel that is gripping and unforgettable.” – Booklist

Isabel Banta,  Honey (Celadon Books)

“Isabel Banta has delivered an all-access pass to the early-aughts pop world of my dreams in…this gorgeous, powerful, and unapologetic romp of a novel. Dripping with sweat, sex, and yes, honey, the character of Amber Young will forever redefine how we think of the perils of stardom, paparazzi, and becoming who you’re meant to be despite it all. Effervescent and full of energy, the lessons in Honey are as needed today as they were in the age of Y2K pop. A rare, shining star of a debut.” –Chelsea Bieker

Rosalind Brown, Practice (FSG)

“Each sentence is a taut, considered work of art….Every thought and distraction…is carefully described, and the result is hypnotic as the reader is drawn into Annabel’s world. Almost Virginia Woolf-like in its focus on the passing of time and somewhat reminiscent of the poetic prose of Eimear McBride ( A Girl Is a Half-Formed Thing , 2014), this novel announces a unique and exciting new talent in British fiction.” – Booklist

Cody Delistraty, The Grief Cure: Looking for the End of Loss (Harper)

“In  The Grief Cure , Cody Delistraty keenly weaves his own grief into a broader fabric full of curiosity and sorrow, investigating the numerous ways people have tried to heal or move through grief. Delistraty’s voice is insightful and attuned to nuance, exploring the dynamics of grief hierarchies and public performances, always returning to the crucial question that propels his inquiry: When is pain a problem to be solved, and when is it simply part of being alive?.” –Leslie Jamison

Emily Nussbaum,  Cue the Sun!: The Invention of Reality TV (Random House)

“The finest kind of pop-cultural narrative history: inquisitive, discerning, surprising, thoughtful, informative, and lively; underpinned but not weighed down by its serious intent; and written with a storyteller’s verve, a journalist’s skepticism, a critic’s astuteness, and a fan’s loving eye.” –Michael Chabon

Alizah Holstein,  My Roman History: A Memoir (Viking)

“More heartfelt memoir than dry history lesson, the product of Holstein’s lifelong fascination with Rome answers her primary questions: ‘What can an American  tell anyone about Roman history? What could she say that an Italian had not already said? How could I know anything about Rome that an actual living, breathing Roman did not?’ She turns up plenty. An intriguing history of Rome as reflected in a scholar’s life.” – Kirkus Reviews

Sarah Crossan, Hey, Zoey (Little Brown)

“When London schoolteacher Dolores O’Shea finds her husband’s [AI] sex doll in the garage, a neatly organized life begins to crumble….Crossan has imagined her AI responses so brilliantly it hurts—she plays a much more profound role in what is ultimately a moving, troubling, even heartbreaking book….[ Hey, Zoey ] firmly places her in a group with Sally Rooney, Caroline O’Donoghue, Doireann Ní Ghríofa, and Eimear McBride, millennial Irish women writers we love.” – Kirkus Reviews

Solomon Brager,  Heavyweight: A Family Story of the Holocaust, Empire, and Memory (William Morrow)

“I learned so much from  Heavyweight . As Sol presents their family’s story, I felt like I was sharing in their process of discovery, exploring the nuances of memory, research, trauma, and, yes, boxing. Sol’s beautiful, hand-drawn and painted comics weave together sweeping historical narrative with family stories of resistance and escape.  Heavyweight is nonfiction comics at its best.” –Dan Nott

Nicola Twilley,  Frostbite: How Refrigeration Changed Our Food, Our Planet, and Ourselves (Penguin Press)

“ Frostbite is astonishing. From daring cryonauts to exhaling salad bags to gaseous apples, Nicola Twilley brings readers on a jaw-dropping voyage that lays bare the miracle, mess, and surprising ramifications of refrigeration. A must-read for anyone who eats or drinks in the twenty-first century. I can’t stop thinking about this book.” –Bianca Bosker

Sadie Dingfelder,  Do I Know you?: A Faceblind Reporter’s Journey into the Science of Sight, Memory, and Imagination (Little, Brown Spark)

“Sadie Dingfelder’s  Do I Know You?  is an ode to neurodiversity that is as hilarious as it is enlightening. Sadie is an heir to Mary Roach with her talent for making science engaging, strange and deeply funny. What a delight!” –Susannah Calahan

Guy Trebay,  Do Something: Coming of Age Amid the Glitter and Doom of ’70s New York (Knopf)

“ Do Something is an absorbing account of [Trebay’s] coming of age in the fabled New York City of the 1970s….Trebay’s…vivid descriptions are cultural history of enormous value. These undergrounds were soon devastated by AIDS and many in the fascinating array of people Trebay met in those days probably would not be remembered were he not their witness. Memory here is both straightforward and complicated, honest and unsentimental in a way that Joan Didion would recognize.” –Darryl Pinckney

Alexander Bigman,  Pictures and the Past: Media, Memory, and the Specter of Fascism in Postmodern Art (University of Chicago Press)

“In this illuminating book, Bigman challenges any erroneous misgivings about the  Pictures Generation by brilliantly reconsidering the discursive context in which the famous artists worked. There he finds that their art was deeply political at its core, spinning from the collective memory of interwar fascism.” –Andrés Mario Zervigón

Ferris Jabr,  Becoming Earth: How Our Planet Came to Life (Random House)

“With the curiosity of a reporter, the mind of a scientist, and the lyricism of a poet, Jabr explores the extraordinary tapestry of life.” –Ed Yong

to the Lithub Daily

June 27, 2024.

• How Alan Turing and Christopher Strachey queered early computing
• On two Uyghur memoirs, diaspora, and activism
• The decline of the instruction manual

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