This week on the bookish internet

• Sarah Menkedick has a much more eloquent essay about the importance of writing what you understand, American Dirt, and the lack of attention paid to own-voices books by Latinx authors. (Longreads)
• Rebecca Nicholson reports on the rising business of monthly book subscriptions—which sounds like a really cool job! (The Guardian)
• I am always irritated and fascinated by the intersection of book design and marketing. On the one hand, I’m annoyed by attempts to game the system. On the other, we totally judge books by their covers and titles. (Publishers Weekly)
• Amber Sparks reflects on her love of reading about the chaotic, violent, deadly medieval era. (LitHub)
• Isabelle Popp philosophizes on book collecting. (Book Riot)
• Peter Derk asks, “Why don’t men read romance?” (LitReactor)
• Marissa Fessenden writes a short history of how people took their book with them, pre-kindle, when they traveled. (Smithsonian)