Lit Hub Weekly: August 3 – 7, 2026

In the past, Shirley Jackson passed away. Carly Mattox delves into Jennette McCurdy's Half His Age and reflects on the history of age-gap relationships in literature. Mothers and their babies are likened to flâneurs in literature, despite their relative scarcity in the genre. Reading ancient classics later in life might be the ideal time to appreciate them, and there's no need to rush into buying a Kindle.

Scott W. Stern explores the growing trend of fictional character biographies. Carson Griffith discusses Steven Pruitt, a prolific Wikipedia editor who unintentionally shaped the internet's knowledge base. Kari Holloway mourns the decline of the court jester, who is not only tolerated but also encouraged to mock the king in ways that would be unacceptable for others.

Robert Rubsam critiques Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey as impressive yet mostly hollow. Malka Older examines the reasoning behind Jules Verne's school of aimless scientific optimism. Karen Rinaldi, editor of Kitchen Confidential, tries to link Anthony Bourdain's public image with the Tony she personally knew. As for literary sins, seven writers share their most egregious literary offenses.

Jonathan Lear, in his book Radical Hope, discusses the Crow Nation and the impact of AI. Michael Marinaccio argues that AI has led people to believe they possess wisdom they don't truly possess. Asya Sağnak investigates the queer aspects of noir fiction. Zhang Er recalls reading banned books during China's Cultural Revolution as a child.

Chatbots sparked a religion, according to The Verge. The Walrus argues against "best books" lists, and Birhan Keskin and Öykü Tekten delve into Turkish poetry in translation.