Uh-oh. The Millions and Lithub both have their big second-half-of-the-year book previews. RIP me and my admirable resolution to read my own damn books rather than constantly checking out huge stacks of 15 books at a time from the library.

What’s happening to sex workers is a warning about algorithmic content moderation.

My pledge to you is that I will always, always share content about reborns. Always. Trust.

The always-brilliant Gita Jackson wrote about Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow.

“There’s a book I love that no one else knows about.” Molly Templeton on the pleasure and sadness of being a fandom of one.

“The term ‘salmon farming’ yields 2,698 titles, 95 of which are works of fiction.” On the real and fictional salmon falmers of Norway.

Why are the networks siding with the streamers?

AI isn’t going to disrupt books because the people making AI don’t understand what people want from books.

Clio Chang, a hero for our times, researches what exactly is in that subway water that drips on your head when you’re waiting for the train.

This is an incredibly cool visualization of how a translator approaches her work, the different iterations she tries on a passage, and how she makes her decisions.

I have clearly not been using my copywriting powers for evil enough. This is the story of a copywriting scammer who made millions sending scam psychic letters.

“In our risk-averse climate, a lot of what is exciting, original and untested is being published by independent publishers.”

The Ann Landers / Dear Abby feud is one for the ages.

America’s Next Top Model turns 20. The Cut speaks to former contestants about their experiences.

Rafia Zakaria on passport freedom.

Et vous? What have you been reading on these here internets that you’ve enjoyed? Please share!

The post What If a Links Round-Up, But on Tuesday? appeared first on Reading the End.

Here’s the definitive update on the indie romance writer who faked her own death. It is, perhaps not unexpectedly, a pretty sad story.

On the resemblance of dinner to a magic show.

There’s a growing conspiracy theory on the right about asexuality. Unsurprisingly, it has its roots in anti-transness and white supremacy.

How travel influencers use their white privilege to make their money.

This is an article about people who own super-yachts. I hate everyone in this bar. All of them, without exception. As one of the people quoted in the article jokes, it really HAS made me want to bring back the guillotine.

What it’s like to go to Antarctica on your honeymoon.

A review of Spare by someone who doesn’t give a damn about the royal family.

Pamela Paul wrote about American Dirt, for some reason. Here’s some edits for her piece.

The marvelous Gina Apostol explains the unexplainable José Rizal, and it is just as delightful as you’d expect.

“We’ve come to think of art–all art–as commercial goods that warrant this calculation of the ‘Moral Nutrition Facts‘ to ensure we’re not feeding anything ‘bad’ to our brains.”

Extreme content warning for sexually violent content, but this article on rape and child sexual abuse in Amish communities is really important.

How gig workers have become care workers.

When women gain financial or reproductive independence, backlash always follows. That’s where we’re at now.

LitHub has their giant list of books to look forward to in 2023. GO NUTS.

“‘People are stupid’ is the gateway drug to a lot of worse ideas.”

“This is like The Purge, if The Purge was solely about committing crimes against North American marsupials.” For five days a year in North Carolina, you can do anything you want to possums.

W h e n will there be justice for Gina Prince-Bythewood. ANSWER ME THAT.

Is there an end in sight to the New York Times trans panic? A massive group of NYT contributors wrote an open letter to the newspaper requesting more journalistic integrity when reporting on trans issues. The next day, the New York Times published an opinion piece by (again, inevitably) Pamela Paul entitled “In Defense of JK Rowling.” So like, yeah. No end in sight, I guess.

This article on Justin Roiland of Rick and Morty includes a quote from someone who describes his behavior as “the eccentricity of a genius weirdo.” Ha ha I hate it here.

The always-excellent Wesley Lowery talks about the racial reckoning that never came.

There is an enormous battle going on about How To Botanical Garden Correctly. I love this shit.

Stitch discusses the power of collective grief in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

What happens to our online presence after we die? The Archive of Our Own can point the way for other sites.

Speaking of the archive, they’ve introduced new muting and blocking functions, which is great!

“RICO charges have become a go-to strategy for taking down hip-hop artists.” (This is the first of a two-part article about crime, gentrification, and Cop City in Atlanta, so make sure to click through!)

I will DIE MAD about Sleepy Hollow. Here’s a look back at a buddy cop supernatural procedural that should have run for fifteen seasons, and how the showrunners did Nicole Beharie so, so wrong.

Dang, Pablo Neruda was poisoned?

“Bring back the oil paintings that fuck.” A history of the clinch cover on romance novels.

Andrea Long Chu’s reviews are always a good read, and here’s the latest, on the new HBO adaptation of The Last of Us.

Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey is… a win for creative freedom? (Seriously, though, it is.)

As a closer, I recommend subscribing to this newly launched queer epistolary romance, which you can get in installments in your inbox!

The post Lies, Conspiracies, and Scandalous Emails: A Links Round-Up appeared first on Reading the End.

However, since that seems not to be in the cards for me or for anyone, I am enjoying the cooler weather, basking in the sunshine like a happy lizard, and collecting good links for your enjoyment. Here they are!

Carrie Wittmer helpfully ranks every vampire by hotness. This is science, and she is absolutely correct about the number one hottest vampire ever. (content note, some lunatic has chosen the YouTube video of the attempted rape scene from “Seeing Red” for Spike. Don’t watch it! It’s very upsetting!) (link)

Rafia Zakaria considers Thoreau and the nature of solitude in Walden and Karachi. (link)

A story was reported recently that a woman was raped on a subway in Philadelphia, while numerous bystanders looked on and did nothing. But we have no real evidence that it’s true. (link)

“The hysterical throng gets a lot less threatening if, instead of a maniacal cabal of liberal despots, they’re just regular folks who are allowed to consume things they like, disengage with things they don’t like, and talk about it with whomever they want.” On cancel culture. (link)

Dune takes place in the desert and makes use of Muslim ideology and Arabic language and culture. But it doesn’t engage with Middle Eastern cultures in any serious way. (link)

There is a specific intimacy in being able to read side-by-side with your friends. (Also, though the article does not get into this, of reading the same thing your friends are reading in roughly the same few days they are reading it, because you like them and you feel like it.) (link)

Netflix is dipping its toe into the waters of gaming. Do they understand the gaming audience well enough to make it work? Also, are they just a buncha dicks? (y) (link)

“These negative representations make so much of the world not only physically inaccessible but emotionally inaccessible, too.” On disability in superhero stories. (link)

A secret 1970 court case established a legal precedent that changed everything for trans people in England. (link)

Though it’s a very niche area that has nothing to do with me personally, I’ve really been enjoying some of the writing I’ve read lately reassessing how MFA programs work (most especially Matthew Salesses’s Craft in the Real World). Here’s another one of those! (link)

What’s the status of the antiracist book clubs everyone was so excited about founding the summer of last year? (link)

I am delighted to learn via this profile that Nikole Hannah-Jones is the middle one of three sisters. Middle children woooooo! (link)

Who’s got lovely weekend plans? Please tell me about them!

The post Vampire Hotness Rankings and Other Important Matters: A 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!

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