The hottest Literature Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top Art & Illustration Topics

Among The Swifties

Daily Dreher • 2338 implied HN points • 31 Jan 24
🎭️ Culture Literature
  1. The 'holy war' between Donald Trump and Taylor Swift may not be as senseless as it appears.
  2. The collective power of fanatical fandoms, like Swifties, in the age of the internet, is a force to reckon with.
  3. Enchantment by political figures or pop stars can give a feeling of completeness, blurring the lines between rationality and transcendence.

The Audacious Roundup

The Audacity. • 2456 implied HN points • 23 Jan 24
🎭️ Culture Literature
  1. The February book club selection is _Martyr!_ by Kaveh Akbar.
  2. There will be a void in music criticism as Pitchfork moves under GQ.
  3. Buying a house can be a wild ride, with unexpected challenges and surprises.

Revisiting Renata

Vague Blue • 958 implied HN points • 08 May 24
🎭️ Culture Literature
  1. Renata Adler's writing focuses on critical acuity and a strong ethical use of language
  2. Renata Adler's work emphasizes the importance of maintaining distinctions and avoiding polarization in discussions of violence and ethics
  3. Adler's nonfiction stands out for its searing righteousness, honesty, and fearless exploration of truth amidst a backdrop of cultural and political complexities

Fun, play, and discovery

Austin Kleon • 4456 implied HN points • 29 Sep 23
🎭️ Culture Literature
  1. Writing should be fun and a way to explore your thoughts. It's all about discovering what you want to say.
  2. Creativity is about the process, not perfection. Filling a notebook is more important than looking good.
  3. Being open and honest in your work helps you grow, whether in writing, music, or acting. Just get started and keep creating!

What Are You Reading (In July?!?!)

Culture Study • 2359 implied HN points • 08 Jul 25
🎭️ Culture Literature
  1. Reading can be a great way to enjoy vacation time, but sometimes it's best to finish books before leaving home.
  2. The book 'The Pretender' by Jo Harkin is an engaging story about a boy discovering his true identity, set in Tudor England.
  3. It's fun to discuss what everyone else is reading and share recommendations, so everyone can find something new to enjoy.
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Melted

Austin Kleon • 4935 implied HN points • 11 Aug 23
🎭️ Culture Literature
  1. Pete Drake was a talented pedal steel guitarist who played on many famous records. He even invented a device that made a guitar sound like it was talking.
  2. Notetaking is important for remembering ideas and learning from books. Creating a system to revisit your notes can help you keep track of insights.
  3. Play and creativity are vital for a fulfilling life. Engaging in playful activities can boost your imagination and overall well-being.

Captioned photos (9)

Tao Lin • 439 implied HN points • 01 Jul 24
🎭️ Culture Literature
  1. Cats are always a fun topic, and they often bring joy in different ways.
  2. John Hutchison has done some unique experiments with electromagnetic fields that people find fascinating.
  3. It can be interesting to explore personal items, like unusual tools, and their stories behind them.

Make an appointment with yourself

Austin Kleon • 4376 implied HN points • 01 Sep 23
🎭️ Culture Literature
  1. Making time for yourself is important, and you should commit to it like an important appointment. It's easy to forget self-care in our busy lives, but it can greatly improve your happiness.
  2. Creativity is essential to many artists, and being away from their art can hurt their well-being. Finding ways to create regularly can help maintain a good quality of life.
  3. Explore new books, music, and films to inspire creativity and reflection. Engaging with different forms of art can spark new ideas and perspectives.

Focus!

Austin Kleon • 4316 implied HN points • 22 Sep 23
🎭️ Culture Literature
  1. Music memoirs can be a great way to relax and unwind, especially if you've read something heavy. They're often fun and refreshing.
  2. It's really important to focus on the learner in the education process, as they're the ones truly driving their learning journey.
  3. Getting creative and organizing your space can help spark new ideas and inspiration, like the concept of 'knolling'.

Be a good date

Austin Kleon • 4656 implied HN points • 18 Aug 23
🎭️ Culture Literature
  1. Being a good date means being someone others want to spend time with, including your readers. It's important to engage and connect with them.
  2. Reading can be a rewarding experience, no matter the book. Discovering new insights from familiar writers, like Vonnegut, can be very fulfilling.
  3. Sharing interests or experiences, like music or art, can create a sense of nostalgia and connection with others. It's great to revisit things that made you happy in the past.

The Church of Minding One’s Own Business

Austin Kleon • 4256 implied HN points • 08 Sep 23
🎭️ Culture Literature
  1. Minding your own business can be a refreshing approach to life. It allows you to focus on your own thoughts and interests instead of getting caught up in others' lives.
  2. Reading good translations can greatly enhance the experience of classic literature. Edith Grossman's work on 'Don Quixote' is a perfect example of how translation can bring a book to life.
  3. Nostalgia is powerful, whether through music or movies. Listening to favorite albums or watching beloved films can bring back fond memories and feelings.

Hungry Theater

Public Universal Friend • 79 implied HN points • 31 Aug 24
🎭️ Culture Literature
  1. The author expresses a feeling of helplessness and chaos at the start of a new project, indicating mixed emotions about change.
  2. There are moments of deep conversation and creativity shared with friends, illustrating the importance of connection and brainstorming.
  3. The central goal of the project is to encourage a poet to join a specific platform, showing a desire to inspire others.

An Overstuffed Summer Bouquet of Links & Recs

Culture Study • 2282 implied HN points • 06 Jul 25
🎭️ Culture Literature
  1. Traveling can expose us to the beauty of different cultures and histories. It helps us appreciate the world while also reflecting on the struggles that exist within it.
  2. It's important to find joy and hope even in tough times. Balancing happy moments with the reality of current events can be challenging but necessary.
  3. Supporting public art and education is crucial. Many people are advocating for change and ways to help those in need, highlighting our ability to work together for good.

ATW Livestream Today at 4 PM ET/3 PM CT

TK News by Matt Taibbi • 2025 implied HN points • 21 Jul 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Literature
  1. There is a livestream event happening today at 4 PM ET/3 PM CT. It's a good chance to tune in and catch some discussions.
  2. Matt Taibbi and Walter Kirn will be hosting the livestream, diving into recent events and finishing a book discussion.
  3. Viewers can watch the show on platforms like Substack, Rumble, and YouTube. It's an easy way to join the conversation.

It’s trying to tell you something

Austin Kleon • 4356 implied HN points • 25 Aug 23
🎭️ Culture Literature
  1. Writer's block can mean something important and may guide your creative process. It's worth paying attention to what your mind is telling you when you feel stuck.
  2. Understanding the impact of literature and quotes in our lives can help us grow. Reflecting on classic works can lead to deeper insights about ourselves and our experiences.
  3. Art is about pushing culture forward. Engaging with different artistic expressions can inspire personal and collective growth.

dialectical damage

bookbear express • 2339 implied HN points • 30 Jun 25
🎭️ Culture Literature
  1. Relationships are essential in life, like clothes you can't avoid. The way we interact with others shapes our happiness.
  2. Different styles in relationships often clash. It's important to appreciate not just who someone is, but also how they handle situations.
  3. Love can be both beautiful and challenging. It brings change and growth, but also involves vulnerability and compromise.

Lead pipes are dangerous? Make 'em mandatory

Experimental History • 7173 implied HN points • 05 Nov 24
🎭️ Culture Literature
  1. Lead pipes can poison people, and they have been used for thousands of years despite the dangers. People often realize this every few decades and push for laws to require lead pipes.
  2. Prominent figures like Ronald Reagan sought astrological advice from advisers like Nancy Reagan's astrologer, showing how beliefs in astrology influenced important decisions.
  3. There's a trend of creating similar movies at the same time, known as 'twin films,' where studios release films with similar themes or ideas around the same time, sometimes by coincidence or for profit.

Is The World Really Getting Less Colourful?

Everything Is Amazing • 556 implied HN points • 25 Nov 25
🎭️ Culture Literature
  1. Some people believe the modern world is less colorful than the past. They think this could be a problem for our culture.
  2. It's important to question these big claims about color in our world. We should look for real data instead of just feelings.
  3. Movies are often cited as examples of this color loss, but there are still vibrant films being made. So, the situation might be more complex than it seems.

The Death of the Public Library

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 2184 implied HN points • 08 Jul 25
🎭️ Culture Literature
  1. Public libraries are declining, not because people read less, but because they are being used more as shelters for the homeless.
  2. Many libraries are struggling with visitors and book circulation, making it hard for people to find a quiet space to read or study.
  3. Despite their beauty and potential, libraries like the Mandel in West Palm Beach are facing challenges that affect their original purpose.

Afterimages of the eclipse

Austin Kleon • 3916 implied HN points • 20 Oct 23
🎭️ Culture Literature
  1. Poetry can really help us through tough times, and Louise Glück's work is a great place to start if you're looking for comfort in words.
  2. When creating art, it’s best to just focus on the process and forget about success or failure for a while.
  3. Listening to music can inspire creativity, just like how Carla Bley started her journey in music by being an attentive listener.

What is Fairyland?

Default Wisdom • 488 implied HN points • 29 Nov 25
🎭️ Culture Literature
  1. An otherworld is a layered, immaterial realm that overlaps the physical world, and the Internet functions like that kind of otherworld.
  2. Folkloric Fairyland is ancient, strange, and often dangerous, governed by its own rules and obligations, not the cute Victorian image of tiny, harmless sprites.
  3. People once treated the Internet as mystical or spiritual and, even though it’s now framed as a tool or an addiction, many online experiences still feel 'magical' and can trap you — so old myths and etiquette for navigating otherworlds remain useful.

The Ring of Fire

Cosmographia • 1697 implied HN points • 25 Feb 24
🎨 Art & Illustration Literature
  1. The post is titled 'The Ring of Fire' and is part of the Atlas' Notebook series on Cosmographia, focusing on art, poetry, literature, cartography, and photography related to a specific place.
  2. The post is for paid subscribers only, indicating exclusive content for those who have subscribed.
  3. The author of the post is M. E. Rothwell, and it was published on February 25, 2024, with a link to their profile for further exploration.

Yukon River

Cosmographia • 1158 implied HN points • 08 Apr 24
🏝 Travel Literature
  1. The Yukon River is named after the color of the glacial runoff that feeds it, and it travels almost 2000 miles from British Columbia to the Bering Sea, draining a land area 25% larger than the State of Texas.
  2. Robert W. Service, known as the 'Bard of the Yukon,' was a Scottish-Canadian writer and poet who spent years in the Yukon wilderness, inspired by the Goldrush.
  3. The Yukon River is home to the longest salmon run in the world, with king salmon traveling two thousand miles against the current to return to their spawning grounds and then die, exhausted from their journey.

Weekend reads: Oh, Canada

Lean Out with Tara Henley • 2044 implied HN points • 28 Jan 24
🌍 World Politics Literature
  1. Canada is facing significant and alarming issues, such as illegal government actions and controversial policies.
  2. Recent events in Canada include controversies around medically assisted deaths, the opioid crisis, and pandemic policy.
  3. The country is also experiencing upheavals in its literary and cultural institutions, with debates and conflicts affecting these domains.

I don’t want to be the best

Austin Kleon • 4915 implied HN points • 14 Jul 23
🎭️ Culture Literature
  1. Laziness can sometimes lead to more discipline. It's interesting how they can connect in unexpected ways.
  2. Reading apps like Libby and Hoopla have made it easier to discover new books, but it's concerning when access gets restricted for younger audiences.
  3. Midlife crises can be transformative opportunities, so rather than seeing them as negative, we should embrace the change and potential they bring.

Update: The Ultimate Summer Reading Book Report (Including Melody's Romance Corner)

Culture Study • 1756 implied HN points • 30 Jul 25
🎭️ Culture Literature
  1. This week’s podcast discusses how motherhood is often watched and surveilled through things like baby monitors and daycare cameras. It's a great listen, even for people who aren't parents.
  2. The writer took a vacation to the Greek Islands, where she had time to read a lot of books. She put together a reading list and shared her thoughts on the books she read.
  3. The post includes a section where her co-producer shares her favorite romance books, adding more variety to summer reading recommendations.

Petra

Cosmographia • 1557 implied HN points • 03 Mar 24
🎨 Art & Illustration Literature
  1. The post is part of the Atlas' Notebook series on Cosmographia, focusing on art, poetry, literature, cartography, and photography related to specific places.
  2. This post is for paid subscribers of Cosmographia, offering exclusive content for those who have subscribed.
  3. Samantha Childress, an American essayist living in Amman, Jordan, wrote a guest post featured in this publication.

Borobudur ꦕꦤ꧀ꦝꦶꦧꦫꦧꦸꦝꦸꦂ

Cosmographia • 1198 implied HN points • 01 Apr 24
🎨 Art & Illustration Literature
  1. Borobudur, the largest Buddhist temple, remains a mystery in terms of its origins, being built with 1 million stones weighing 100kg each.
  2. The temple's construction in a Hindu area, far from Buddhist thought, and its sudden decline after completion add to the curiosity surrounding its purpose.
  3. Borobudur's significance goes beyond its structure, shedding light on the ancient Javanese society, their resources, and devotion to a peaceful philosophy.

Weekend reads: Stephen Marche on the crisis in Canadian cultural institutions

Lean Out with Tara Henley • 1906 implied HN points • 04 Feb 24
🎭️ Culture Literature
  1. Stephen Marche's essay examines the politicization of Canadian cultural institutions dominated by radical leftist activists.
  2. The rise of extremist activism in Canada is leading to a decline in progressive activism's influence and support.
  3. Younger generations are turning away from progressivism towards more radical or right-wing ideologies, causing a shift in political landscapes.

The Audacious Roundup

The Audacity. • 1886 implied HN points • 05 Feb 24
🎭️ Culture Literature
  1. The Audacious Bookclub is reading 'Martyr!' by Kaveh Akbar and will have a conversation with the author on February 27th.
  2. Roxane Gay's newsletter features personal professional news, including upcoming events and a new 'Work Friend' column.
  3. The newsletter includes a roundup of reading material ranging from obituaries to Grammy highlights, new shows, and recent journalism news.

Edinburgh

Cosmographia • 2036 implied HN points • 25 Jan 24
🎨 Art & Illustration Literature
  1. The post is part of the Atlas' Notes series on Cosmographia, focusing on art, poetry, literature, cartography, and photography centered around a specific place like Edinburgh.
  2. To access the full content of this post, you need to be a paid subscriber to Cosmographia.
  3. The post by M.E. Rothwell was published on January 25, 2024, and includes a rich blend of creative elements related to Edinburgh.

Heliopolis

Cosmographia • 1897 implied HN points • 03 Feb 24
📚 Literature Literature
  1. The post is part of the Atlas' Notes series focusing on art, poetry, literature, cartography, and photography centered on a specific place.
  2. The content is for paid subscribers only, with an invitation to subscribe for access to the full post.
  3. The post features M. E. Rothwell and includes a collection of images for engagement with the audience.

Three tales of creative slowness

Subtle Maneuvers • 3754 implied HN points • 03 Apr 23
🎭️ Culture Literature
  1. Creative work takes time and should be appreciated even in small progress steps.
  2. It's common to feel like progress is slow, but any achievement, no matter how small, is worth celebrating.
  3. Patience and persistence are key when working on long-term projects.

Why You Should Still Build Your Raft of Art in the Sea of Slop

Counter Craft • 1494 implied HN points • 11 Aug 25
🎭️ Culture Literature
  1. Making art is still important, even when it feels hard because of all the noise around us. Your work can be unique and valuable, so focus on creating instead of getting distracted by trends.
  2. Don't worry about what others are doing or how popular their work becomes. Your audience will be different, and what you create is special to you, not a competition with mainstream stuff.
  3. Art enriches your life in many ways, and you should make it because you love it. Enjoy the creative process, regardless of whether anyone else sees or appreciates it.

Waiting to be thrilled

Austin Kleon • 3437 implied HN points • 27 Oct 23
🎭️ Culture Literature
  1. It's interesting to define yourself by what you won't do. This can help clarify your values and beliefs.
  2. While technology can be helpful, it's okay to be cautious about it. Asking questions and being skeptical can lead to better understanding.
  3. Taking time to enjoy great books can be fun, and sometimes you just need a little trick to get started.