Two Items on J. D. Salinger Two recent news items about J. D. Salinger, reclusive author of Catcher in the Rye: New biography of JD Salinger to be published this September An attempt to piece together the life of the notoriously reclusive Catcher in the Rye author JD Salinger, researched over the course of eight […]
In ‘Alphabet’ Mysteries, ‘S’ Is Really For Santa Barbara It’s good to catch up with one of my favorite mystery writers, Sue Grafton, creator of private investigator Kinsey Millhone (rhymes with brimstone): The next book will be “W” Is for Wasted. Grafton promises “z” will be for “zero” — and after she finishes that one,
The Best Births In Literature In honor of the birth last week of Britain’s Royal Heir, The Atlantic compiled this list of the five best birth scenes in literature. Are there any others you’d add to this list? Literature’s Fight Club Katherine Hill, author of the recently published novel The Violet Hour, admits: I have
This past week was particularly rich in literary-related stories. Here’s a selection chosen for its variety. Elizabeth Wein’s top 10 dynamic duos in fiction Some characters just have to exist in pairs: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Tweedledum and Tweedledee, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, Thing 1 and Thing 2. Elizabeth Wein’s excellent novel Code Name Verity
Ann Aguirre Speaks Out on Sexism in Science Fiction A couple days ago, Ann Aguirre wrote a stirring blog exposing the ugly beast that resides in the science fiction field. According to Ann’s blog: I’ve held my silence when I probably shouldn’t have. But I was in the minority, a woman writing SF, and I
Learning to learn: the heart of reading Ally of Scoop.it (the curation service that I use for Literature & Psychology) describes how she went about learning to read for deep meaning. She based her strategy on an article by Maryanne Wolf, the John DiBiaggio Professor in the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Development at Tufts, and
How Literature Saved My Psyche: Attending a Book-Themed Therapy Session at the Center for Fiction Just read this. That is all. Nicholas Royle’s top 10 first novels Clever Nicholas Royle: First Novel, my seventh, is all about first novels (and other stuff). My narrator, a creative writing tutor, tries to help students write their debuts
Hogwarts Is in Your Head, Harry: Conspiracy Theories About Literature Emily Temple weighs in over at The Atlantic: Sherlock Holmes and Watson are lovers, Winnie the Pooh is a mental-illness allegory, and other theories that might forever alter your favorite books. There was a pretty fascinating article over at Salon earlier this month, in which
Making Appointments With (Fictional) Doctors A fictional M.D. will not reduce your fever, but she or he might reduce your boredom. That’s because many medical protagonists — whether general practitioners or something else — are quite interesting. They’re often not liberal arts types, but, heck, non-liberal arts types can be compelling characters, too. Also of
Close Out The Year With Some Best-Selling Last Words : NPR People often make lists of the greatest opening lines in fiction, but closing lines really appeal to me. They’re your final moments with a book and can help you remember and treasure it forever. The last weekend of the year seems an appropriate time
Close Out The Year With Some Best-Selling Last Words : NPR Read More »
