TODAY: In 1851, Mary Shelley dies.
- “Marxism is an ideology for economists, but anarchism is for poets—a rhetoric that’s thundering and denunciatory, excoriating and profane.” Ed Simon considers the life Alexander Berkman, anarchist, would-be assassin, and 19th-century Luigi Mangione. | Lit Hub Politics
- “I can’t bear to recall the scenes of my crawling toward him, arms outstretched, or the moment when I saw him as an emanation of God.” Edmund White recalls sex and love in the gay New York of the 70s. | Lit Hub Memoir
- Fariha Róisín chronicles what happened to (pro-Palestinian) writers Aisha Gawad and Lisa Ko at the Albany Book Festival. | Lit Hub Book News
- On The Lit Hub Podcast, Lila Shapiro discusses allegations of sexual assault against fantasy author Neil Gaiman. | Lit Hub Radio
- On Renee Gladman, Constance Debré, and more writers ushering in a new era of lesbian fiction. | The Walrus
- “My point here isn’t to rehash what happened on October 7. It is to demonstrate the lockstep rigidity of the mainstream US media when it comes to covering Palestine.” Saree Makdisi on the ceasefire in Gaza. | n+1
- Colm Tóibín considers the “rich, varied and adventurous” sex lives of John Broderick’s characters. | The Paris Review
- On the 800-mile walk at the heart of Forrest Gander’s latest book of poetry. | Poetry Foundation
- “When I followed her into the flat on this early-autumn day, it was therefore a little like stepping into a painting.” Karl Ove Knausgaard profiles painter Celia Paul. | The New Yorker
- “If we want labels to matter, then what does it say about us that these men can’t be queer anywhere but here? But what good are labels, anyway? What good is language when there are so many other things a mouth can do?” Danez Smith on cruising at the gym. | The Paris Review
- On digital memory, access to information, and In Search of Lost Time. | Public Books
- “We have this idea that things are okay, or we don’t think about or question how the systems may have worked in the past. We’re very much attached to this myth of benevolence, which is spread by pop culture and media.” Heather Radke and Kristen Martin consider the role of orphans in fiction. | The Baffler
- Deborah Eisenberg considers the messages of a new exhibition of Franz Kafka’s postcards, letters, and manuscript pages. | New York Review of Books
- Katherine Rundell considers the enduring appeal of children’s books. | London Review of Books
- Bring back the duel: David Wesley Williams argues for settling quarrels with dignity. | The New York Times Magazine
- “Oh my god. I don’t know how comfortable I am thinking of ourselves as the big dog. But I hope that we are handling the responsibility of it in an ethical, kind, and fun way.” Jason Bergman talks to Silver Sprocket’s Avi Ehrlich about being “a radical comics publisher.” | The Comics Journal
- “Thinking for Callard requires letting other people intrude in your private mental world to correct you. At best, it’s a kind of love.” Laura Kipnis on the philosophy of Agnes Callard. | The New Republic
- Laura Miller explores the never-changing world of the (wildly popular) Freida McFadden thriller. | Slate
- Emily Gould on I Who Have Never Known Men, the 90s Belgian novel that has become a TikTok sensation. | The Cut
Also on Lit Hub:
Maggie Su on writing and self-loathing in The Shining • Joel Cuthbertson on why Severance’s success is tied to its realism • Mary Childs on trying (and failing) to design her own book cover • Jay Nicorvo on truth, perception, and true crime memoir • How America reacted to Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings • How the “superweapons” of early science-fiction predicted the atomic bomb • Read “In the Name of the Bee,” a poem by Pádraig O’ Tuama • What dogs can teach us about finding meaning in life • Kay Sohini discovers a literary New York (in graphic memoir) • The connection between an obscure German noblewoman and Anne Frank • Deni Ellis Béchard considers the role of AI in fiction • Globalization, social media, and a world in crisis • Jeff Sebo on our attempts to measure intrinsic value • How Trump’s unconstitutional federal funding freeze put libraries (and everything else) at risk • Read two poems by Maria Ferguson • Lea Carpenter on the stories we tell to fill life’s empty spaces • These are our 14 favorite book covers from January • Maris Kreizman on why it’s okay to escape sometimes • These 25 paperbacks are coming in February • 5 book reviews you need to read this week • What’s in Pádraig Ó Tuama’s TBR pile? • Susan Barker on the power and fear in ambiguity • Written, oral and corporal expression in South Asian literature • The lasting impact of racist post-war housing policies • The literary film and TV coming to a streaming service near you in February • January’s best reviewed books • Most anticipated audiobooks for February • Why men *should* actually read books
