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Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more.
Director of Eisenhower Library in Kansas Fired After Refusing to Give Trump a Sword
The Eisenhower Library in Abilene, Kansas is terrific (I think probably the best of the half-dozen or so Presidential Libraries I have visited). And one of the reasons it is so terrific is that Eisenhower’s career outside of the Presidency was arguably more interesting and important than his time in the White House: Supreme Commander of Allied Forces is the coolest title anyone has ever had. So you might forgive the Eisenhower library from pulling artifacts from its collection to give away to foreign leaders. But you also might not apparently.
Crying on Camera
I think the first time I realized the BookTok was a different animal is when I saw a video with millions of views of someone openly sobbing while reading the end of a book (I think it was A Little Life, but cannot be sure). I don’t what you expect to hear folks say who set up their camera as they are reading the last part of a book to catch the video if they start crying other than this is real. But I also know that a bunch of creators know that #booksthatmademesob videos can get a ton of views–and that those views can come with cash money from creator programs (and guest spots on national television). I am sort of in the point with “genuine reaction” videos as I am with short videos on social media: scroller beware.
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Opening Track on Taylor Swift’s New Album is one for the Bard-heads
Look, I don’t know that Taylor Swift’s reference to Ophelia on “The Fate of Ophelia” is particular original or interesting. The song is about being in love with somebody, so avoids Ophelia’s fate, here figured as dying out of scorned affection. Is this what actually happens to Ophelia? Maybe (I am of the camp that her father’s sudden death is more responsible than Hamlet’s antic disposition). Am I just happy that Shakespeare references are coming out of the mouth of the biggest celebrity in the world? ““As merry as the day is long.”