A list of good reads

• New York Times (splainer gift link) has a handy, interactive guide on everything you need to know about some of the most common viruses that affect adults and children.
• Adam Reiner in Eater has an entertaining read on the ultimate tableside flex—flambéing. 
• Hanif Abdurraqib in The Paris Review explores the idea of the afterlife through the video game ‘Red Dead Redemption’. 
• Vox sounds the alarm on Elon Musk’s brain implant company Neuralink—which is attempting to merge humans with AI that experts say is extremely risky.
• The Guardian has a feature on the latest celebrity memoirs to hit the shelves from Jada Pinkett Smith to Britney Spears—and their continuing appeal. 
• New Yorker has a fascinating feature where three authors reimagine Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’ through a queer lens. 
• Scroll reports on the rise of ‘homestay’ tourist economy in West Bengal’s Kalimpong.
• BBC News has an important essay for all Londoners and Parisians—why are bed bugs so tough to deal with?
• Ramachandra Guha in The Telegraph on how the ‘Narendra Modi’ stadium with its Adani and Ambani ends is symbolic of everything wrong with cricket in this country.
• The Atlantic (splainer gift link) has an interesting read on how being photogenic is nurtured and is often not natural.