Nauru is a very tiny island nation that I learned about in the book How to Hide an Empire (which was good). Here is an article about the current state of things in Nauru. The villain is colonialism all along!

“’I was a little shocked by the dead bodies, I thought there would be a warning. But I love that stuff,’ said Monica, who really took it in stride for someone who–I’ll say it again–did not know this was a Gone Girl–themed cruise.”

“Complete with title so maudlin it preempts all mockery” is a very good pull quote to represent the tenor of this extremely satisfying review of John Boyne’s latest book.

Stephen Elliott is suing Moira Donegan for his inclusion on the Shitty Media Men list. Here’s the breakdown. Also, fuck that guy.

For Culture Study, Michelle Cyca (Plains Cree) talks about the problem of Pretendians, including the recent discussion around Sacheen Littlefeather.

This is an absolutely wild piece about diet culture ruining marriages.

Linda Condega goes long on Interview with the Vampire‘s decision to explicitly depict domestic abuse, the fan reaction to that decision, and what it all means.

If you haven’t been following the Supreme Court case that’s endeavoring to overthrow ICWA and gut Native American sovereignty, here’s a good place to start. Rebecca Nagle does incredible work.

“Ordinary people are the conscience.” Clint Smith examines German efforts to memorialize the victims of the Holocaust.

I love to watch rich people implode their businesses, so I have desperately wanted to understand what is going on with FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried. This is difficult for someone who has, up to this week, steadfastly refused to learn anything about cryptocurrency except that it’s a scam and Ryan from The OC has dedicated several years to making sure people know that. In case you are in a similar boat, here is an explainer of what’s going on. Once you have read that, read this absolutely wild piece about how Sam Bankman-Fried hopped into a Vox reporter’s DMs to confess to a bunch of lies and ?crimes?. I don’t really understand any of this still, but I love it. Please link me any additional information sources for people who don’t get any of this.

“American Horror Story craves our attention, but it doesn’t love anything.”

I do not know what to do about the floods that have struck Pakistan and Nigera this year. Nor about the Ukrainian war, nor the ongoing Afghan refugee crisis. Here is a piece about what fiction can and can’t do.

Have a great weekend, friends.

The post Twitter Moriturus Te Salutat: A Links Round-Up appeared first on Reading the End.

HERE IT IS. (link)

“I doubt Joanna Gaines had ‘Build a Personal Brand Empire Increasingly Reliant on Data Scraping’ on any of her five year plans.” A story of a home renovation show nightmare, and the increasingly surveillance-based world of personal brands. (link)

“Not everything the internet treats as ambiguous actually is. Texts generally do contain evidence that certain interpretations are more valid than others.” (link)

Why are all the TV shows and movies an indeterminate browny-gray these days? (link)

“It feels very much like we’re paying for our freedom — like they have left us to die and are selling us back the right to live.” The cost of at-home COVID tests is a significant financial burden that falls heaviest on poor and disabled people. (link)

This review of Hanya Yanagihara’s latest novel contains many spoilers for A Little Life (and cw discussions of suicide, self-harm, and abuse), and it puts its finger exactly on many of the things I found objectionable about that book, and probably this new one too. (link) (As a caveat, I don’t think it’s appropriate to try to police whether an author is sufficiently queer or sufficiently traumatized to write about queerness and trauma, and I find it very gross that interviewers have asked Yanagihara invasive questions about these things.)

The evolution of book-finding and place-finding. (link)

Joss Whedon’s impact on TV is massive; but his legacy is kind of a mess. (link) He also gave an interview to Vulture, which someone ought to have stopped him from doing but I’m glad they didn’t because he sure says a lot of things. (link)

Elmo vs Rocco and the dubious pleasures of being an adult watching children’s programming. (link)

“We are know-it-alls because we are responsible for knowing everything.” On scams and our constant efforts to avoid them. (link)

How do children’s books address slavery? And what needs to change? (link)

The Gilded Age is really good. On the other hand, how many shows about the adventures of jerky white people does HBO really need? (link)

I loooove to see the Black women of country music get their flowers. (link)

Here is a legitimately sweet and nice interview with the creator of Wordle. (link)

What book previews have you enjoyed so far in 2022? Have you read any 2022 books yet? Are there particular ones you’re dying to get your paws on? I haven’t gone on a proper Netgalley requesting spree in a while, and I definitely oughtn’t do that now, but it is still quite possible that I will.

Also, look. If you read one link from this links round-up, I beg that it will be the Joss Whedon profile in Vulture. It’s just… so damning. There are so many lines in it that made me shriek, not in a good way, and while it’s not necessarily telling you anything you didn’t already know about Joss Whedon’s mindset and behavior as a boss, it’s still fascinating to read it all in one place. My only caveat is that the writer barely challenges Whedon on his racism towards Ray Fisher, either in what she quotes him as saying or when she’s talking about the incident. Which doesn’t seem like a coincidence! In a piece that rebuts moooooost of what Whedon is saying.

The post THE MILLIONS BOOK PREVIEW: A Links Round-Up appeared first on Reading the End.

First and most importantly: The Millions Book Preview! (link)

Serial killers are in decline, hooray! (link)

“Despite the joys of his irreverence, however, it is all too easy to sink in the morass of sexism, if not outright misogyny, muddying the plots of Vonnegut’s novels.” On the writers adored by men of Tinder. (link)

The surreal, chaotic, extremely online culture of quarantine. (link)

Here’s what we lose as publishers combine into a giant scary publishing conglomerate (of evil). (link)

Finding friendship through fandom, a very relevant story in These Times. (link)

“No one gets into anime for clout.” Stitch on the backlash to Megan Thee Stallion enjoying anime. (link)

Schitt’s Creek is a wonderful warm glorious show and this is a good appreciation of its central relationship. (link)

Wonder Woman Number Two is not good. (link)

Disney won’t stop changing protagonists of color into animals. Can we not? (link)

Native Twitter loves Baby Yoda and here’s why. (link)

Want your book published? It helps to be white — just like 85% of acquiring editors. (link)

“Every day, I thank God that Tolkien did not live long enough to share his opinions on Twitter, unlike, say, other wildly popular and previously beloved fantasy authors of our era.” On rewatching Lord of the Rings at Christmas. (link)

Alyssa Cole won’t apologize for putting politics in her romance novels (& she shouldn’t because they’re amazing). (link)

An interview with the intimacy coordinator for Bridgerton. (link)

Remember American Dirt? A controversy that happened in 2020 and people were like “oh no cancel culture”? Well, it remained a bestseller even after All That Mess, but here’s a postmortem on why it all went down that way. (link)

Don’t forget about progressives in red states. (link)

TV characters aren’t wearing masks consistently. It is not the best. (link)

Also not the best: the ongoing romanticization of the British monarchy. We hate monarchies! Remember? We hates it! Strange women lying about in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government! (link)

There’s still an age gap problem in roles for actresses, and we are beyond tired of talking about it. (link)

“He promised that he would be with them. But, like a lazy coward, Trump went home to watch the show on TV.” Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor goes deep on the convergence between white supremacists and the Republican party. (link)

The Color Purple is a masterpiece, not least for the way it gives a voice to survivors of trauma. (link)

“It has always sucked to compare yourself to the prettiest girl in school, but it sucks a lot more to feel like everybody else in the entire world is the prettiest girl in school.” On the faux-body positivity of Instagram. (link)

Wesley Morris is predictably fabulous writing about The Great Gatsby. (link)

I am very excited to read Aya de Leon’s sex worker heist novels. I have the first one checked out right now. Here’s how she became a writer. (link)

These have been SOME LINKS. I hope you enjoyed them! I hope that your workplace has given you the federal holiday of Martin Luther King Day off. Please have a very blessed weekend in which you get lots and lots of rest. I’m sorry we all have lived to see such times.

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

“At your best, a companion. At your worst, a danger.” Linda Holmes examines white/black relationships (and complicated love) in Do the Right Thing and The Help. (link)

Television loves white suburban criminals. (link)

John Paul Brammer recreates the Left Behind (For Kids!) books from memory. (link)

The National Book Critics Circle has imploded over discussions of racism. (link)

Books that emphasize Black pain aren’t the only Black books worth giving support to. Those are just the books the publishing industry and white audiences choose to uplift. (link)

Alex Brown looks at diversity in YA publishing for 2020 to date. (link)

This actress fell in love with her stunt double! It’s fuckin wholesome! (link)

Why to capitalize Black. (link)

On the allies of whiteness in publishing and journalism. (link)

It’s time for journalists and journalism to be honest about what objectivity is and isn’t. (link)

Can RWA be saved after its moment of racial reckoning? (link)

On Confederate monuments, with a content warning for discussions of slavery and rape. (link)

Hamilton, in our political moment. (link)

Why are so many rich people such assholes? An investigation by Wired. (link)

You may have noticed that although it’s July, this links round-up does not include the second half of 2020 book preview from The Millions. This in spite of my absolutely desperate desire to know what books I should anticipate in the second half of 2020. If my next links round-up does not contain the Millions book preview, you must assume that I have been taken hostage or The Millions has. Happy 4th!

The post A Links Round-Up for the Long Weekend appeared first on Reading the End.

Patricia Highsmith’s diaries are going to be published in 2021. I still haven’t read The Price of Salt, and I am mad at myself about it. Maybe that will be one of my small goals for 2020.

The kids are frankly fucking inspiring.

I was super intrigued by this post about the sexist ways the Austens and Brontes are often portrayed in biographies and fiction.

“Most of us writing now were not educated by that expanded canon.” Alexander Chee on writing stories about people who are different than you.

Dahlia Lithwick hasn’t been back to the Supreme Court since Kavanaugh was confirmed. From the reporter who brought us the Chaos Muppet / Order Muppet theory as part of her Supreme Court reporting, this is devastating. It’s devastating anyway. Fuck the patriarchy.

Listen. Listen. Listen. I have no opinion about whether Jeffrey Epstein was murdered or died by suicide because I am not qualified to assess the evidence. But I do want to be able to depend on people who are qualified to assess the evidence, which, um.

Dialogue from the husbands in every haunted house movie.

Carmen Maria Machado wrote her memoir of surviving a queer abusive relationship because she could not find such books to support her when she was in the midst of the experience. Here’s also a review of her book that I thought was really good.

New English Canaan was a 1637 book that harshly critiqued the Puritan colonizers in America. Sounds fascinating, no?

The demise of Deadspin has been miserable to witness. Anna Merlan reports: Blogging is hard.

“Romance novels are social novels.” Adriana Herrera (an awesome writer!) on the possibilities that diverse romance novels offer.

Attention please, these are all the holiday movies. Brace for incoming.

Malka Older talks utopia, dystopia, and the necessity of imagining better futures for ourselves.

Feminist bookstores are having a renaissance in the South.

That’s all for today! Have a wonderful weekend, please topple the patriarchy responsibly, and I’ll see you back here on Monday, when we will all recommence weeping and tearing our hair over the future (slash, doom?) of the world.

The post I Really Need to Read The Price of Salt Already: A Links Round-Up appeared first on Reading the End.

Garbage in, garbage out: A really straightforward and helpful look at the ways algorithms become biased.

Jia Tolentino is one of my all-time faves, and this is a piece about The Westing Game, so I am about as happy as it is possible for a person to be.

Remember that thing where Sherrilyn Kenyon said her husband was poisoning her? Lila Shapiro has been reporting it ever since, and here, at last, is the story. IT IS SOMETHING.

Holidaygoers do not need to be protected from the violent history of empire in the places they visit.

Nothing on House Hunters is real (but we kinda already knew that, right?).

“Everyone, Jensen said, seemed to be constantly posting about how they were horny and how they wanted to die.” MORE JIA TOLENTINO, this time about the trend of demanding that celebrities kill us.

Here’s how to live in a country where 1/5 of its residents want you gone.

Never stop reading Angelica Jade Bastien’s appreciations of Keanu Reeves. Never do it.

“Very little, if anything, about the cruelty of the internet commentariat is specific to YA.” On diversity critiques on YA Twitter.

I’m sorry to have another article about how women’s rage and women’s suffering never ever ever starts to matter, but this is your article about the most recent in a string of rape accusations against the sitting president. https://www.damemagazine.com/2019/06/25/womens-anger-was-supposed-to-be-a-reckoning-why-isnt-it/

Emily Nussbaum has some great thoughts on what makes TV different than other art in terms of intimacy with the audience.

A terrific interview with Jackie Sibblies Drury, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and author of Fairview. (Especially when she talks about how fucking weird Yale is.)

Julia Carpenter writes about the harassment romance novelists face online.

Happy weekend!

The post The Westing Game and Other Matters: A Links Round-Up appeared first on Reading the End.

And now, on to the links.

Drop everything and read this profile of Jonathan Franzen. It brought such joy to my heart. It was everything I wanted it to be.

Heart of darkness: The grim, authoritarian soul of Thomas the Tank Engine. (This is not new but it is new to me and I need y’all to be aware of it.)

Which borough of New York City would win in a civil war?

Misogyny is boring as hell: A profile of writer Carmen Maria Machado.

That time England paid reparations for slavery — to slaveowners. (And other horrifying stories from the British history of slavery.)

“Alabama organizers have literally never stopped fighting.” Imani Perry on her home state.

Roxane Gay on why To Kill a Mockingbird matters (or doesn’t).

About suffering they were never wrong, the Old Masters.

While I wish this article had talked more about nonbinary folks, who also face a ton of harassment, it was still good to hear from women who have faced harassment as they talk about what they still value about the internet.

The Atlantic’s cover story for Pride Month made me really angry, but Alex Barasch had Slate has a very measured and sensible response to it.

Linda Holmes does not look with favor upon the new Roseanne-without-Roseanne show.

Just read the opening two paragraphs of this piece on women in Luke Cage, even if you don’t want the spoilers from the full article. Because they are a gut punch.

Harassers seem to apologize to everybody except the person they harassed.

Take care of yourselves, friends! Whatever care looks like for you, take the time for it. We’ll all be still here for the fight on Monday. I love y’all.

The post FRANZEN: A Links Round-Up appeared first on Reading the End.

THE MILLIONS BOOK PREVIEW. SIREN EMOJI.

Intisar Khanani discusses her journey from self-publishing to traditional publishing. (If you haven’t read her books yet, you should do it now! I love her!)

It’s good to change your opinion! On not widening the feminist generation gap.

Why do women writers hate themselves? Maybe we’re asking the wrong question.

YA author Dhonielle Clayton (her book The Belles is coming out later in the year!) talks about what sensitivity readers do, and why they aren’t nearly enough.

Karen Attiah argues that Western media has a problem with depicting African nations as if they are shitholes — it’s not just Trump. (If you’re not following Karen Attiah, you should be!)

Jezebel gets to the heart of the thing (well one of the things) that made me uncomfortable about that Aziz Ansari thing. Here’s some additional thoughts (both about the thing itself and conversations around the thing, with lots of good links) from the Lakshmi and Asha Show.

Ijeoma Oluo has the conversation about race with her mom that she’s been dreading. You should preorder her book cause it looks like it’s going to be really good.

I hope y’all are all staying warm this week! Have a wonderful weekend with lots of reading!

The post THE MILLIONS BOOK PREVIEW IS HERE: A Links Round-Up appeared first on Reading the End.

“White men’s rage is burning down the world”: Sady Doyle on the profile of the mass shooter.

Also, an older article but an evergreen reminder that a lot of these people do it for the glory. Use the shooter’s name sparingly, if at all, when discussing crimes like these.

At a different point along the toxic masculinity spectrum, some thoughts from Aja Romano on the worst of Rick and Morty fandom and the recent dust-ups over Szechuan sauce at McDonald’s.

On Shirley Jackson and the fetishization of lady murderers. (This article includes spoilers for We Have Always Lived in the Castle.)

Did I link this last time? Lani Sarem’s interview with Vulture? It’s gold. I said “oh SHIT” a couple of times while reading it. Spoilers, Lani Sarem is an enormous liar.

Here’s some really good internet discourse content for your delectation and delight.

Harvey Weinstein in case you missed it (you didn’t miss it) has been accused of a massive amount of sexual harassment going back decades. He has so far apologized for doing it, called his accusers liars, and threatened to sue the New York Times. Rebecca Traister responds. Jia Tolentino also.

I am now in love with D’Arcy Carden, who plays Janet on The Good Place. Read this interview only ONLY if you are caught up on The Good Place.

When should you talk to your children about fascism?

I don’t watch Younger, but I do work in publishing, so this fact-check of Younger’s depiction of publishing charmed me no end.

Have a great weekend!

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