TikTok’s popular BookTok channel has been buzzing about a new genre called “romantasy” that is spawning whole sections in bookstores. Read more
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Category: Miscellaneous
15 Literary Podcasts to Make You Laugh, Learn and Join Conversations About Books
Literary podcasts offer comfort and convenience. Most are free. They’re available across multiple platforms. And while you could curl up in bed and simply listen (as I often do), they’re designed to be experienced while you’re doing something else – whether that’s enduring a long commute, sweating it out at the gym or tidying the house. Read more
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What to Read If You Want to Reinvent Yourself
Changing oneself is harder than perky how-to guides and self-help books suggest. The genre is so popular because its titles briefly allow us to imagine that reinvention is a matter of performing specific actions, rather than an ongoing battle with our own recalcitrant nature. This is also precisely why their advice often doesn’t stick: The first step should be attempting to understand the self you’re trying to change. The books below, by contrast, are honest about the difficult emotional realities that accompany personal growth—discouragement, self-recrimination, fear of the unknown—and still offer hope. Read more
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Mickey Mouse, Long a Symbol in Copyright Wars, to Enter Public Domain
Mickey and Minnie will enter the public domain on Jan. 1. From then on, Disney will no longer enjoy an exclusive copyright over the earliest versions of the characters. Underground cartoonists, filmmakers, novelists, songwriters — whoever — will be free to do what they want with them. Read more
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A Tuscan Retreat Where ‘Literature is the Primary Value’
From her idyllic estate, Beatrice Monti della Corte oversees a writer’s residency that has provided inspiration, camaraderie, and leisurely, wine-fueled meals to some of the foremost storytellers of our time. Read more
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The Best Horror Books of 2023
Some of the books on this list are easy reads and some will challenge you. Some are long and multilayered while others have a great sense of humor or unfurl at breakneck speed. Some adhere to a classic understanding of horror and others aim to redefine it. The important thing is that they are all outstanding. Read more
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You Can Buy Hemingway’s Typewriter. But Would You Use It?
Coming to auction is a clattering collection of machines once owned by the likes of Ernest Hemingway, Shirley Temple, Andy Rooney and … the Unabomber. Read more
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The Best Historical Fiction of 2023
This year, there have been dozens of first-rate historical novels — so many that choosing even the 25 best would have been a chore. Which makes it that much harder to whittle the list down to 10. After much regretful tossing, here’s my roster, arranged alphabetically. Read more
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The Best Crime Novels of 2023
Noir, particularly the American variety, still endures as a potent lens on contemporary society. And whether the tone is dark or light, crime fiction as a whole still has the power to move scores of readers. Read more
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The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of 2023
From witch stories to near-future noir, here are the year’s 10 best speculative books. Read more
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