Australian psychologist Steven Taylor published what would turn out to be a prophetic book, and it has become like a Lonely Planet guide to the pandemic. Read more
(We earn a small commission if you click above and buy the book at Bookshop.org)
LaKeith Stanfield will star in the new adaptation of Victor LaValle’s The Changeling
Apple TV+ today confirmed that not only has The Changeling—a fantastical urban horror drama based on Victor LaValle’s best-selling 2017 book of the same name—been given a series order, but that LaKeith Stanfield has been cast as the lead. The star of Atlanta, Sorry to Bother You, and Judas and the Black Messiah (for which he was Oscar nominated) seems (to me at least) the perfect choice to play Apollo Kagwa, a ruminative rare book dealer and anxious new father whose wife commits a terrible and incomprehensible act of violence before disappearing into the night, prompting Apollo to embark on a dangerous odyssey through New York’s supernatural underworld in an attempt to confront the supernatural evil that has torn his family apart. Read more
(We earn a small commission if you click above and buy the book at Bookshop.org)
The Secret Codes of Lady Wroth, the First Female English Novelist
The Renaissance noblewoman is little known today, but in her time she was a notorious celebrity. Read more
(We earn a small commission if you click above and buy the book at Bookshop.org)
Is the Tractatus more a work of poetry than philosophy?
“Philosophy,” Wittgenstein argued in the posthumously published Culture and Value, “ought really to be written only as poetic composition.” In keeping with its author’s sentiment, I’d claim that the Tractatus is less the greatest philosophical work of the 20th century than it is one of the most immaculate volumes of modernist poetry written in the past hundred years. Read more
(We earn a small commission if you click above and buy the book at Bookshop.org)
Walter Mosley is writing a new The Thing series for Marvel
Another acclaimed novelist is getting into the Marvel business. Like Ta-Nehisi Coates and Benjamin Percy before him, Walter Mosley, who is primarily known for his mystery and crime fiction but who has written across multiple genres, including science fiction and erotic, is expanding his reach into the Marvel Universe. His six-issue series featuring The Thing will debut this November. Read more
The Loch Ness monster may not exist, but such mythical beasts fascinate for good reason
Sirens, mermaids, the Phoenix and the Sphinx, dragons, griffins and unicorns, the Roc, the Kraken and the Wendigo, basilisks and gorgons, vampires, werewolves and Martian invaders — as Julie Andrews once sang, these are a few of my favorite things. Read more
(We earn a small commission if you click above and buy the book at Bookshop.org)
Late author Haley honored by Annapolis on 100th birthday
Remembering his 100th birthday, Maryland’s capital city gave honors this weekend to the late author Alex Haley and his extended family, citing his research that led to a greater understanding by all Americans about slavery’s legacy. Read more
(We earn a small commission if you click above and buy the book at Bookshop.org)
Velvet Was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
It’s hard to describe how much fun this novel is—Moreno-Garcia, whose Mexican Gothic (2020) gripped readers last year, proves to be just as good at noir as she is at horror. The novel features memorable characters, taut pacing, an intricate plot, and antiheroes you can’t help but root for. A noir masterpiece. Read more
(We earn a small commission if you click above and buy the book at Bookshop.org)
‘Glass Menagerie’ where playwright once lived anchors Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis
The Glass Menagerie, a four-character Tennessee Williams play that is ranked among his greatest, is the centerpiece of the sixth annual Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis… Read more
(We earn a small commission if you click above and buy the book at Bookshop.org)
Amanda Gorman and PRH have established a $10,000 prize for public high school poets
Exciting news for high school writers: Amanda Gorman and Penguin Random House have teamed up to launch the Amanda Gorman Award for Poetry. The award will recognize a senior from a public high school for an original poem, and the winner will receive $10,000. The Amanda Gorman Award for Poetry is one of five creative writing awards given by Penguin Random House, whose categories include fiction/drama, personal essay/memoir, and spoken word; current high school seniors who attend U.S. public schools and plan on continuing their education in fall 2022 are encouraged to apply. As of this year, the Penguin Random House Creative Writing Awards have awarded over $2.8 million to public high school students for their original writing. Read more
(We earn a small commission if you click above and buy the book at Bookshop.org)
