Listicles, tweets, your ex’s Facebook status, picture of dogs wearing costumes — the internet offers no shortage of entertaining stuff to look at. But there’s plenty of substantial writing out there, too, the pieces you spend a few minutes reading and a long time thinking about after you’ve closed the tab. In this weekly feature, Flavorwire shares the best of that category. This edition features an essay on literature and video games, William Hazlitt as one of the truly great haters, soda pop, and more.
“As a kid, video games taught me just as much about writing as novels did.” Maxwell Neely Cohen, the author of the book Echo of the Boom, makes the case for literature and video games to get friendlier.
“A Quiet Slaughter” by Josiah Neufeld, Hazlitt
On the 20th anniversary of the Rwandan Genocide, Neufeld, a Hutu from Burundi, tells this harrowing story of a terrible time in history that we must never forget.
“Happy Birthday to One of History’s Greatest Haters, William Hazlitt” by Michelle Dean, Gawker
Our esteemed former Flavorwire colleague wished the 19th century’s writer, critic, and hater a very happy birthday.
Oatman-Stanford takes a long look at how soft drinks have been sold to us through the ages as being healthy for our bodies. Obviously, that notion has been proven wrong time and time again.
“Twin Peaks and the Origin of the Dead Woman TV Trope” by Sarah Marshall, The New Republic
Twenty-five years after Laura Palmer was murdered on Twin Peaks, Sarah Marshall takes a look at how mysteries of dead young women drivee so many television plot lines.