Lit Hub Weekly: September 25-29, 2023

TODAY: In 1928, Elie Wiesel is born.

“I’m only myself in front of my typewriter.” How Joan Didion became Joan Didion. | Lit Hub Biography
“I can’t watch the news anymore without thinking, ‘Is there an Austen angle to this story? How do these billionaire-hungry orcas relate to Jane Austen?’” Diving into the world of Jane Austen TikTok. | Lit Hub
“Without the First Folio we would have lost a world of words.” On the two heroic friends of Shakespeare, who saved the Bard’s plays from burning up in the Globe Theatre. | Lit Hub History
“Over the last hundred years, diabetes should have lost much of its bite.” Stuart Bradwel breaks down the insulin crisis of the 21st century and the tragic consequences of unethical profiteering. | Lit Hub Health
Zadie Smith’s The Fraud, Lauren Groff’s The Vaster Wilds, Jonathan Raban’s Father and Son, and Naomi Klein’s Doppelganger all feature among September’s best reviewed books. | Book Marks
After nearly five months, the WGA and AMPTP have reached a tentative agreement to end the writers strike. | Deadline
“In every context and at every level, Ballard’s gaze is fixed, fixated, on the man behind the curtain.” Tom McCarthy on J.G. Ballard. | The Paris Review
The Brooklyn Public Library is launching a seven-episode limited series this Friday called Borrowed & Banned, featuring librarians, writers, students, and others on book bans. | Brooklyn Public Library
“The turtle reminds me that I owe my small human life to the generosity of the more-than-human beings with whom we share this precious homeland.” Robin Wall Kimmerer on the animal refugees of the climate crisis. | New York Times
Alexandra Wolfe considers the many literary feuds of her father, Tom. | Air Mail
Alex Reisner explores Book3, the database Meta uses to train generative-AI, and finds Shakespeare, Bukowski, and How to Housebreak Your Dog in 7 Days (among others). | The Atlantic
The board of the White Review has announced that the magazine will cease publication “for an indefinite period.” | The Guardian
“When writers fell ill at Bread Loaf they were on their own.” Alison Stine on the lessons of a COVID outbreak at a writing conference. | Nonprofit Quarterly
The Iliad is back, baby. | Slate
“I had no idea how wrong my deadname had felt until it was no longer mine.” Isle McElroy on changing their name after publishing their debut. | The Cut
Today in justifications for bookish vanity: A study has found that having books in your Zoom background makes you appear more trustworthy. | New Scientist
Tobias Carroll recommends some exciting recent books in translation. | Words Without Borders
The case for a goblincore lifestyle. | Better Homes & Gardens
Lily Meyer talks to Lydia Davis about Davis’s new collection Our Strangers, and the author’s stand against Amazon. | The Nation
Tour Jennifer Egan’s home library. | The Washington Post