Literary obituaries: December 30, 2024

Here are the literary deaths that either occurred recently or popped into the news recently:

Former President Jimmy Carter died yesterday at the age of 100; as noted earlier this year, he wrote the most bestsellers of any president, so there's no shortage of literary reflections on his life.

From The New York Times, we have eight books to read about Carter's life and legacy, an examination of Carter's personal reading tastes, and an admiration of his varied literary output; from NPR, we have ten essential books about Carter.

Art historian Ruth Butler, whose books brought attention to the lives and contributions of famous artists' muses and supporters, died November 28 at age ninety-three.

Novelist Michel del Castillo, whose debut novel, Tanguy, described his childhood life in World War II concentration camps, died December 17 at age ninety-one.

Music journalist Stanley Booth, whose inside look at a Rolling Stones tour became the book The True Adventures of the Rolling Stones, died December 20 at age eighty-two.