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10 Notorious Literary Spats
Patrick Kingsley recently wrote in The Guardian about “poisonous literary feuds” and the peacemakers who could broker a truce. We ran a post on the subject last year, but thought we would do an...
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A Brief Survey of Controversial Couples in Literature
You might know Diane Farr as agent Megan Reeves in the television series Numb3rs, but we prefer her in the FunnyOrDie skit, AssCastles. Farr recently released her “concept memoir,” titled, Kissing...
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Love Will Tear Us Apart: 30 Literary Breakup Quotes
We hate to be the ones to say it, but the end of the summer romance is nigh, dear readers. As August becomes September, a noticeable chill lingers in the air; the cold creeps in slowly, hardening...
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Helpful Advice from History’s Fastest, Most Prolific Authors
Yesterday marked the kickoff of National Novel-Writing Month (aka NaNoWriMo), the online project that challenges participants to write a 50,000-word book in the 30 days of November. To those scribbling...
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Quiz: Can You Identify These Famous Writers By Their Distinctive Prose Alone?
Were he still with us, today would have been celebrated American novelist John Updike’s 80th birthday. One of our country’s best writers of any era (one of only three to have won the Pulitzer Prize for...
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10 Famous Authors’ Fascinating Alter Egos
“Write what you know.” This piece of clichéd, but sage, advice is the basis for some of the most acclaimed novels in history. Some simply explore their native milieu and insert a fictional plot, while...
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The Childhood Homes of 20 Famous Authors
Famous authors — they’re just like us. Or at least they used to be. Recently, on a whim, we started investigating the childhood homes of some legendary authors, and their early homes are just as varied...
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Ranking Literary Devils by Their Relative Fearsomeness
The devil — or Satan, or Lucifer, or Beezlebub — has been skulking about literature almost as long as literature has existed, manifesting in many forms and with many personalities. In Victor LaValle’s...
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Banned Book Trading Cards: Collect ‘Em All
Libraries across the country are celebrating Banned Books Week, which lasts through this Saturday, but Lawrence Public Library in Kansas has taken a rather (forgive us) novel approach to the...
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Writers Praising Writers: 15 of the Best Compliments from One Author to Another
We all know authors can insult one another with aplomb, but do those bitter wordsmiths ever have anything nice to say? Well, yes, of course. If we had to guess, we’d say that most authors’ biggest fans...
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25 Fascinating Photos of Famous Writers at Home
This week, we caught a glimpse of author Tao Lin’s Murray Hill apartment in this cheeky review over at Vice. Though somewhat alarmed at the squalor of Lin’s digs (seriously, can you blame us?), we...
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Classic Books Annotated by Famous Authors
Readers come in two editions: those who write in their books, and those who don’t. No matter which you are on your own time, there’s great pleasure to be found in paging through marked-up copies of...
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2013′s Best Books to Give as Gifts
If you’ve got a coffee table or bank account big enough to collect all of them, 2013 was a pretty fine year for beautifully packaged books that were interesting reads, but could also make any room look...
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10 of the Best Holiday Books You Probably Haven’t Read
For many of us, December is the month of trotting out old classics: traditions, recipes, that one silver plate that’s been in the family for generations. Of course, it’s a time of classic holiday...
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50 Sexy Books to Get You in the Mood (for Valentine’s Day)
As Valentine’s Day (not to mention yet another cold night) approaches, you may find yourself in the mood for love. But what if you don’t? Never fear, because all you have to do is pick up a book. Yes,...
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Which Books Should We Stop Calling Classics?
Recently, at Salon, Laura Miller wondered what makes a book a classic, and who gets to say which books should be included in the conversation: do booksellers or online book communities like Goodreads...
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The Skeptic’s Guide to John Updike
What’s yr take on Updike? Misogynist? Genius? King of the WASPs? Guy you only know about because your parents had a few of his books on the shelf? Writer’s writer whose style you envy? Or is he a...
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Writers Writing About Writers: 9 Great Books About Authors
If that massive New Yorker profile didn’t get you curious about Edward St. Aubyn’s latest novel (which did have its faults), then perhaps the notable selling point is that it’s about writers — their...
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10 Charming Fan Letters From Cultural Icons
Last night, as you’re well aware, the fourth season of Game of Thrones came to a close, and everyone went bananas. And perhaps, somewhere, some future literary superstar penned a fan letter to George...
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Read This Before This: 10 Great Books Based on Other Great Books
Literature is a never-ending, overlapping, sometimes circular conversation — between writers, between readers, between books themselves. Especially when viewed from a vantage, and despite what Vonnegut...
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