Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more.
How THE GREAT GATSBY Took Over High School
This year is the 100-year anniversary of the publication of The Great Gatsby, so you are going to be hearing about it consistently through the year (including from BR properties as the year goes on). Alexander Manshel examines how The Great Gatsby’s presence in high school curricula was a foundational element of the book’s endurance. Fitzgerald himself died before Gatsby became Gatsby, and the forces that converged to make it the iconic work of American literature that it is today were neither inevitable nor really even plausible from the vantage point of 1940. Great piece.
Amazon to Pin Price Hikes on Trump Tariffs in Product Pages
One thing that the Biden/Harris administration learned the hard way (as have countless others before him): you do not want to be the one consumers blame for higher prices. And if you have made your name and market share by providing cheap goods, many (most?) of which come from overseas, you really, really want to clear that more expensive AirPods and fast fashion were totally, definitely not your idea. So according a source cited by Punchbowl news, Amazon is planning on showing just how much of the price of an item is a result of tariffs, right on the product page next to the price. Gutsy.
John Lithgow Surprised by Dumbledore Casting Blowback
John Lithgow’s casting as Albus Dumbledore is probably the fourth most important role in HBO’s reboot of Harry Potter. And Lithgow himself said when the news broke that it will not only be the last major role he plays, but probably will be the first line in his bio from now on. One thing that he didn’t predict was that not everyone would be thrilled to see him take the role. Danika Ellis wrote this open letter to Lithgow, urging him to reconsider, considering how enmeshed the Harry Potter franchise now is with J.K. Rowling on-going transphobic public comments. This letter apparently made it back to Lithgow himself, via a friend with a trans kid, and rather than reflect or even concede that he could understand this point, he responded with:
“I thought, ‘Why is this a factor at all?’ I wonder how J.K. Rowling has absorbed it. I suppose at a certain point I’ll meet her, and I’m curious to talk to her,” he said. As for whether the criticism has soured the role for him, Lithgow replied, “Oh, heavens no.”
Perhaps, though, Lithgow will listen and consider, even if he doesn’t withdraw from the production. He might, and this could well be an even more powerful statement, openly advocate for trans kids. Because it seems, according to this same article, that agreement with Rowling has not been a factor in putting the production together:
Meanwhile, HBO and Max CEO Casey Bloys has claimed that the Harry Potter TV show hasn’t “felt any impact” from Rowling’s anti-transgender views, insisting, “It hasn’t affected the casting or hiring of writers or production staff or anything.”
A Literary Grudge That Has Been Stewing for More Than a Decade
Our own Rebecca Schinksy finally got a decade-plus old literary grudge off her chest. And it is one I share.