Today, the influential sci-fi writer Philip K. Dick was born in Chicago. His family later moved to the Bay Area where Dick matriculated at the same high school as Ursula Le Guin. He attended the University of California, Berkeley for Read more >
Yesterday, Barack Obama—former president and current book-recommending powerhouse—dropped his annual year-end list of favorite books, including some he recommended earlier this year and some new titles. Very useful if, like many other Americans, if you’re searching for a last-minute holiday gift—or Read more >
Widely influential feminist thinker and writer bell hooks, given name Gloria Jean Watkins, died today at her home in Berea, Kentucky surrounded by family and friends. She was 69. “The family is honored that Gloria received numerous awards, honors, and Read more >
We are in that sweet spot of December in which you’re (hopefully) full of the holiday spirit but without the stress of having to spend every waking moment with your family. It’s the perfect few weeks in which to indulge Read more >
If you sift through any writing on documentary poetics, you will absolutely find a mention (or more) of Muriel Rukeyser and her work in The Book of the Dead. Rukeyser wrote the book in response to the 1931 Hawk Nest Read more >
Because nothing is sacred in this dying world and on Beyoncé’s internet, the brilliant (?) minds behind such iconic shows as the OG Gossip Girl (the only one I acknowledge because sorry, the HBO Max reboot/retool/continuation isn’t living up to Read more >
Today in small acts of decency: an Ohio library revealed that they recently received a letter of confession “from a former Middlefield resident” who’d apparently been living with the weight of past teenage book thefts on their conscience, having walked Read more >
Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a civil lawsuit to block Penguin Random House’s acquisition of Simon & Schuster, claiming the proposed merger would “likely result in substantial harm to authors of anticipated top-selling books and ultimately, consumers.” Read more >
Look, we know we said we were out of the Cuomo book news game, but here, at last, we have the perfect capper to the long, slow death rattle of Cuomosexuality: New York’s Joint Commission on Public Ethics has ordered Read more >
Last night, Colm Tóibín was awarded the 2021 David Cohen Prize for Literature at a ceremony at the Royal Institute of British Architects in London. The £40,000 award celebrates the full body of work of a writer who lives in Read more >
Among writers, quality is usually conflated with effort, which is usually conflated with time. The work of writers who write quickly is often devalued: how hard could they really have worked? But you don’t have to toil over a piece Read more >
Sure, we’re getting to that time of year when the early sunsets feel like an uninvited guest that will never leave, but you know what else is happening? Books. Books are still bursting into the world, every week! Calm your Read more >
Anne Rice died this weekend at the age of 80, leaving behind more than 30 novels and millions of exuberant fans—many of whom are aspiring writers themselves. Which is probably why, over the years, Rice has been called upon many Read more >
Stephen Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage ends as Henry Fleming, Private in the 304 New York Infantry Regiment in the American Civil War, exits his final battle: “He had rid himself of the red sickness of battle. The sultry Read more >
Anne Rice, the prolific and beloved author of gothic novels, most famous for her 1976 debut Interview with the Vampire and its sequels, died on Sunday in Rancho Mirage, California, from complications from a stroke. She was 80. Rice’s son, the Read more >
Oh, the weather outside is frightful! But the reading is so delightful… Weather (sorry) or not you love the snow—blanketing your driveway, stalling your subway lines—it’s hard to deny that there have been some pretty darn good descriptions of it Read more >
