On Pandering

Claire Vaye Watkins | Tin House

“I wrote Battleborn for white men, toward them. If you hold the book to a certain light, you’ll see it as an exercise in self-hazing, a product of working-class madness, the female strain. So, natural then that Battleborn was well-received by the white-male lit establishment: It was written for them. The whole book’s a pander.”

Thanksgiving, the Julia Child Way

Julia Moskin | The New York Times

“No matter how busy, Mrs. Child would hand off whatever kitchen task she was doing, take the phone and talk the nervous cook down from the ledge … But Mrs. Child refused to unlist her number or turn off the phone; instead, she embraced the role of national Thanksgiving commander in chief.”

The Most Famous American Dog on Instagram

David Shapiro | The New Yorker

“Braha was annoyed with these e-mails. She was upset that Marnie was referred to as merely an ‘influencer.’ She insisted, ‘Marnie’s not an influencer—she’s a celebrity. When you’re stopped constantly on the street, you’re not an influencer—you’re a celebrity.’ She shook her head. She clicked through a few more. ‘Hillary’s campaign reached out for a photo. I need to follow up on that ...’”

In Praise of Mega Man X

Levi Rubeck | Kill Screen

“Going fast is easy—the challenge is in reacting to the unwritten near-future while maintaining environmental awareness to avoid running into shit. For all the risks to life and limb, the human brain and body craves the thrill of speed. As such, even relatively primitive virtualized acceleration titillates. ”