Jonathan Kozol: "There’s nothing wrong with treating children or yourself to a bit of whimsy and wonderment and unimportant foolishness in a world that’s all too full of tears." - The New York Times
Theoretically, things are different in a post-#MeToo Hollywood from when Mena Suvari was a young star. She thinks they should be, and adds, "If I can shave off a summer of suffering for someone, I want to.” - Los Angeles Times
LFLs are often criticized for their placement. A new program in Detroit aims to change that access, and the books behind the glass doors as well. - LitHub
When your book release happens the same week - or day - that most of your country locks down for a pandemic, well ... that was 2020 for many writers. - NPR
Artificial intelligence is an ethical quagmire. Its power can be more than a little nauseating. But there’s a kind of unique horror to the capabilities of natural language processing. - The New Yorker
"There is a kind of bibliomancy, the use of books in divination, to being a reader of fiction. This magical concept begins while book browsing." - LitHub
Begoña M. Rueda, 29, just won the prestigious Premio Hiperión (her seventh award, one for each of her books) for Laundry Service, a collection about her work washing the linens of the sick and dead through the pandemic in an unglamorous port town. (in English) - El País (Spain)
Zhi Bingyi had an engineering Ph.D. and a German wife, so when the Cultural Revolution hit, he was, of course, declared a reactionary. Trapped in solitary confinement, he began a thought process that ultimately helped transform China. - Psyche
Well, reunited digitally. The two pieces — one now at the Getty in L.A. and the other in Christchurch, NZ — are from linen inscribed with verses from The Book of the Dead that was used to wrap a mummy. - Smithsonian Magazine
In documents filed with the court last week, the Obama Foundation says an injunction that delays the Center will increase costs by "at least $2.2 million per month," and will likely have a negative impact on fundraising. - Chicago Reader
"Many African animators’ quest for representation goes beyond just having characters who look like them. Animation has also become a tool for preserving endangered African languages." - Global Voices
"My decades of research show he was no raunchy proponent of bro culture but a daring and ingenious defender of women and the innocent." - The Conversation
Decades ago, names were usually communicated by finger-spelling. Today, with the rise of "capital-D Deaf" culture, ASL users often create individual gestural signs as identifiers. - The New York Times
Judy Batalion didn't mean to find all of this out, but she stumbled across a book in Yiddish - which she speaks and reads. It changed everything. - Los Angeles Review of Books
