Emma Southon is so great, and she has a new book out about murder in ancient Rome! Here is an excerpt! (link)

Social-emotional learning can help kids relate to each other better, without taking away from their academic competencies. (link)

What went wrong at Gimlet? (link)

Story karma! A lovely, useful concept from Emily VanDerWerff. (link)

Brandon Taylor considers whether we will ever, ever feel comfortable going to the movies again. (We will, I think.) (link)

“There is something backhanded about using authors’ personal statements as a Captcha tool for verifying the emotional resonance of their work.” Not all fiction is autofiction! It is rude to assume! (link)

In case you missed the Amanda Gorman translation controversy, here’s a round-up of responses and reactions to it! (link)

Philip Roth sounds like a real treat to be around. I am consumed with regret that I long ago decided never ever to read one of his books. (link)

Ignoring anti-Asian racism for the last 150 years has brought us to this place. (link)

All Arthuriana is fanfic. (link)

“The psychologist and tech commentator Sherry Turkle has observed that technological solutions often start out being regarded as ‘better than nothing’ only to supplant the alternatives and come to be treated as better than anything.'” On all those therapy apps. (link)

Was Naomi Wolf always terrible? Kinda! (link)

Lyz Lenz and Talia Levin discuss sustained internet harassment and how they have each learned to deal with it. (link)

Generational stereotypes are whitewashed and do not assist us in breaking down unjust systems. So let’s just not. (link)

Here’s how to make small talk, for those of us who have been quarantined so long we don’t remember how to interact with others. (link)

“What I know is that being Bich, and growing up as Bich in a mostly white town in the eighties, has felt like a test that I was constantly failing.” A heartbreaking, complicated essay about Beth Nguyen’s choice to change her name. (link)

Nobody’s doing well; everyone’s doing badly. (link)

Reading in the morning is Good. I can personally attest to this. I used to read every day on my commute, and if I missed it I became very cranky indeed. (link)

Disney keeps making movies where the Black characters spend most of the movie not being Black characters. W h y. (tw for a really heartbreaking set of anecdotes about the author’s son trying to find TV that represents him) (link)

Two of my favorite critics, Alex Brown and Angelica Jade Bastien, discuss why Them‘s overuse on brutality makes the show, overall, an artistic failure.

GOOD TALK, NOW HAVE A WEEKEND.

The post Everyone’s Doing Badly: A Links Round-Up appeared first on Reading the End.

Can ballet exist without hurting women?

Couples develop their own private languages and verbal tics! (So do families.) (So do friends.) (But this article is about couples.)

Friends featured lesbians and mocked them; does one of those things cancel out the other?

An interview with amazing Saga artist slash genius Fiona Staples.

Treat aromantic and asexual adults like adults!

Grace Lavery points out that misnaming and misgendering students and colleagues are not acceptable scholarly practices, nor are they covered by the principle of academic freedom.

Monsters, possession, and how we interact with pregnant people.

What do various philosophies tell us about the ethics of Chidi being swole?

Louie CK now claims that black people have supported him after he admitted to masturbating in front of women without their consent. Hannah Giorgis explores his phantom alliance with black fans.

I’m not sure I’m convinced by this defense of the hanging scene in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, but I do love to watch Angelica Jade Bastien do her thing. I strongly recommend clicking on the links within the piece, as they go to several thoughtful critiques of the scene in question. (I’m still not planning to watch the show.)

Vulture also has a good piece about a Romanoffs episode about false accusations of inappropriate behavior, written by Matthew Weiner, who has been accused of harassment.

On Ada Byron’s childhood, and co-parenting with Byron.

“I don’t wan to toughen up. I want the world to soften.” On fan mail from stalkers.

Happy weekend, my friends! I am having guests over for dinner tomorrow, which is VERY frightening, so please pray for me that it goes okay and I don’t spill wine on anyone or run out of topics to talk about. For your weekends I wish peacefulness and joy!

The post A very belated links round-up appeared first on Reading the End.