Recommended Viewing: Artist Todd Spence has drawn True Detective as a series of Hardy Boys novels. Pair with: Our essay on what female detective novels to read after True Detective.
The Yellow King’s Clue
Year in Reading Coming Soon!
Once Again, this December we will be hosting our Year in Reading series, and this year's installment is shaping up to be our most fascinating and star-studded yet. While you wait, enjoy last year's series all over again, and please consider learning about the five easy (even free!) ways you can support The Millions and our year-end extravaganza this holiday season.
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The Best Single Issue of Any Literary Magazine, Ever
What is the best single issue of any literary magazine? Luna Park nominates Granta 8: Dirty Realism, and explains why.
Feminist Fiction
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is almost as famous for being sampled on Beyoncé's latest album as she is for her novel Americanah. With that in mind, she discussed her writing process, hair blogs, and what feminism means to her in Elle. "It means that I am present in the world, and that I realize that there is a problem with the way we’ve constructed gender," she said. For more Adichie, read her 2013 Year in Reading post.
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“We are not supposed to be in the study. The books live in the study.”
Year in Reading alumna and New York Times Book Review editor Parul Sehgal writes about her childhood reading habits. Millions readers should take a keen interest in this write-up for a couple reasons: 1) it's awesome; and 2) the other half of her "we" is our associate editor, Ujala Sehgal.
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“Better yet, Carpe Wallpaper.”
Jessica Probus’ send-up of Charlotte Perkins Gillman's The Yellow Wallpaper is brilliant. I present The YOLO Wallpaper.
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Of Transatlantic Manoeuvres and Colourful Sweaters
Our favourite American editor of an across-the-pond publication - Emily Bobrow of More Intelligent Life - chats with The Morning News about Anglo-American stylistic differences: "The English work hard but pretend not to, while Americans often strain to look busy."
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Born Lucky
One of the surprises of last week’s James Beard Awards was the runaway success of McSweeney’s offshoot Lucky Peach, which ended up taking home five out of seventeen awards. On John Birdsall’s Tumblr, you can read one of the winning essays, which bears the attention-grabbing title of “America, Your Food Is So Gay.” (Related: Jessica Ferri on food writing.)
Citizen of the Year Reading List
ICYMI Colin Kaepernick was named GQ's 2017 Citizen of the Year a few weeks ago. In light of this honor two of his closest friends "have compiled a list of 'Freedom Dream' resources spanning close to two centuries—including books, essays, films, documentaries, songs, and museums—that can help readers, viewers, and listeners to understand race as the central political, cultural, economic, social, and geographic organizing principle of our nation, past and present. For it is only when we acknowledge the centrality of race in dictating the outcomes of life and death in the United States can we begin to work toward meaningful forms of racial justice." Find the books, music and movies that helped inspire Kaepernick (and that will enlighten you too) here.