For The Book Obsessed
[ad_1] Fantasy is all about situating the reader in a compelling fictional world, but some worlds are more fictional than others. Some authors in the genre excel at putting fantasy first, creating new worlds so different from our own that they have their own geography, magic, culture, conventions, and language. Others sketch the outlines of … Read more
[ad_1] Sometimes, when characters are truly iconic, t-shirts are made with their names. There’s one with characters from A Little Life, “Jude & JB & Willem & Malcolm,” because, regardless of what one thinks of Hanya Yanagihara’s novel, these four undeniably come to life over those eight hundred-plus pages. Destiny O. Birdsong’s debut novel, Nobody’s … Read more
[ad_1] FORBIDDEN DOOR Before I was born, I was halved. New Age internet says many of us are this way, half-hearts looking for completion. I’ve been looking for my lost parts forever, so I am never not serious in love. It could be anyone, I used to think. I just had to find him and … Read more
[ad_1] In a powerful essay for The Nation, Toni Morrison recalled “feeling helpless” in 2004’s political climate. A friend called, cheering her. “This is precisely the time when artists go to work,” he said. “Not when everything is fine, but in times of dread.” Morgan Jerkins has already shown herself as a writer who goes to work … Read more
[ad_1] “Eating and reading are two pleasures that combine admirably.” —C.S. Lewis Take a seat at the table, get comfortable, and let’s talk about the magic of food in fiction. No matter how our memories come to us—whether an involuntary sensorial moment (explained best in Marcel Proust’s famous tea-soaked madeleine episode from In Search of … Read more
[ad_1] Approaching a genre for the first time is like learning a new language. Sifting through the impenetrable for words you understand, learning the conventions and tropes as one would nouns, adjectives, and verbs. And while most start with simple phrases, others take on ambitious, intimidating projects and throw themselves in headfirst. I, a new … Read more