“Our friendly neighborhood book review aggregators put on our black hats and seek out the most deliciously virulent literary take-downs of the past twelve months. It’s a ritual blood-letting exercise carried out in an effort appease the Literary Gods, thereby guaranteeing a good book review harvest in the year to come, and we take it very seriously.” – LitHub
Blog
What’s Behind Historians’ Arguments Over The New York Times 1619 Project
“Underlying each of the disagreements in the letter is not just a matter of historical fact but a conflict about whether Americans, from the Founders to the present day, are committed to the ideals they claim to revere. … Americans need to believe that, as Martin Luther King Jr. said, the arc of history bends toward justice. And they are rarely kind to those who question whether it does.” Adam Serwer looks into the reasons historians felt strongly enough to write the letter and the reasons that a number of historians asked to sign it declined, as well as which criticisms the project’s leader accepts. – The Atlantic
The Forgotten History Of Nationalism, Oppression, And Murder Behind A Now-Classic Christmas Carol
How a traditional New Year’s melody that dated back to the pre-Christian era (when the new year was celebrated in March), and which was introduced by a Ukrainian choir touring the U.S. while Lenin’s Red Terror was raging at home, became “The Carol of the Bells.” – Slate
How Russia’s Version Of Santa Claus Survived Soviet Communism
“Ded Moroz today is about what you would expect. He has a long white beard, wears a fur-lined hat, has an animal-towed sleigh, and delivers presents to well-behaved children when it is cold outside. But Ded Moroz’s last hundred years have been violent, political, and full of massive social upheaval. This, for Santa, you would not expect.” – Atlas Obscura
Telling Quotes From Great Arts Figures Who Passed In 2019
“At their best, the artists who died this year could make us see the world in new ways — even as they made us laugh and cry. Here is a tribute to some of them, in their own words.” – The New York Times
What The Ballet World Is Doing About Its Body Image And Eating Disorder Problems
“Over the years, around the world, there have been stories of ballet dancers having unhealthy diets, eating disorders and mental health issues. In more recent decades, the ballet world has recognised this – and a shift is well underway, in attitudes towards food, eating, diet and nutrition … So how far has the industry come – and what more could yet be done?” (audio) – BBC
Vienna Philharmonic Makes (Some) Progress With Its Women Problem
The august, tradition-bound orchestra, founded 177 years ago when Vienna was the capital of a now-vanished empire, would not allow women even to audition until 1997, despite years of criticism, especially from the U.S. (It was happy to employ the services of a female harpist for 26 years before that, though it would not confer membership on her.) Now the 145-member orchestra, which has very low turnover, includes 15 women, with four more in the process of joining. – The New York Times
Insurers Are Very Reluctant To Cover Art Basel Hong Kong
“As dealers struggle to insure works of art bound for Hong Kong, where pro-democracy protestors continue to clash with police, Art Basel in Hong Kong organisers say they are working with a local insurance broker to offer cover — at 20 times the normal rate.” – The Art Newspaper
In Toronto, Classical Music Seems To Be Thriving
Classical music and opera are not an old wooded sailing ship about to break into pieces in a fierce storm. They are the thin, iridescent film of soap bubbles stretched and borne aloft by the breath of eager, expectant believers. – Toronto Star
The Changing Faces Of America’s Libraries
“If you haven’t been in a public library lately, you probably wouldn’t recognize where you were if you entered one tomorrow. This is no longer, as I wrote early on, your mother’s library. The books are still there, the readers are still there, the librarians are still there. But sharing the same space are children busy with all kinds of active—and sometimes noisy—programs, inventors in maker-spaces, historians and amateurs researching genealogy, job-seekers scouring the internet, homeless people settling in quietly for the day, women and a few men heading to the yoga space, others watching movies, young entrepreneurs grabbing lattes… – The Atlantic