“I describe it as a fantasy novel about the real world we live in, or a realistic novel about the fantasy world we live in.” Anthem is Noah Hawley’s terrific, page-turning sixth novel, and his first after his Edgar Award-winning bestseller, Before The Fall—it’s also our January 2022 Barnes & Noble Book Club pick. Noah […]

We’d open this post with the obligatory joke about judging books by their covers—but we all do judge books by their covers. For better or worse, it’s our first impression of the author’s work—and a great cover will make us pick up a book as fast as a poor one will make us put it […]

For better or worse, the “director’s cut” has become ubiquitous in film. It’s almost a given that the home version of a popular film will squeeze in a few extra minutes of material cut from the theatrical release (thank George Lucas for sparking the trend). Once in a while, though, these are more than simple attempts […]

Dear Literary Lady, What are some literary misconceptions that drive you crazy? –L.I., Fort Collins, CO Dear L.I., To be honest, not a lot of literary misconceptions grate on me all that much. Part of it is because I know I have plenty of misconceptions of my own, literary or otherwise. The other part is […]

“My drinking club has a book problem.” It’s cute because it’s true. And it’s true because it was in the New York Times. If your “book” club has turned into “fifteen-minute discussion about character arc and then how many bottles of mid-priced California pinot we can polish off?” club, then you are not alone. And […]