Are you more of a Hermione or a Ron? Maybe even a McGonagall? Answer a few questions about your reading life and we’ll tell you which Harry Potter character is your reading soulmate! via GIPHY Even more Potter-related fun: reading lists based on your Hogwarts house for Gryffindors, Slytherins, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws; this list of books to read after Harry Potter; and this round-up of stunning Harry Potter-inspired cakes (heart eyes)....
But what about our reality? A television show within a television show — now, that’s what I’m talking about. WandaVision boasts an incredible cast of characters from Wanda and Vision to Darcy Lewis and Monica Rambeau. It would be hard to pick a favorite — for me, at least. But what about which character is most similar to you? Do you share particular personality traits with a certain S.W.O.R.D. agent or some of Vision’s quirks?...
Poetry in Ancient Greece was, like most forms of storytelling in the pre-modern world, generally enjoyed in a different manner, one that would likely look unfamiliar today and might indeed be considered more of a performance. Lyric poetry, such as the poems Sappho wrote, was intended to be sung with accompaniment on the lyre. Like the finest hip-hop, writing lyrics (poems) that fit both the rhyme and the meter — or, more accurately, the pattern of syllables — was a skill that likely required a healthy mixture of talent and practice....
If you are someone who has ever spent any time playing games with readable books, you know that they can range in importance from being just flavor to being plot-relevant artifacts. Whether the book is three pages or 27, someone had to spend time writing them, making sure that they contained the correct lore and history to give the player insight into the game. Or with fiction, the author would have to ensure it was in line with the ideals of the world....
The why is simple: A commonplace book will enrich your reading life in ways you can’t even imagine. The act of copying down the words that move you will help lock the book in your memory. The feeling of flipping through your own notebook — be it print or digital — is indescribable. It’s a journal of what was meaningful to you at a certain point in time, but it’s not in your own words....
Be it serial killers, mythic monsters, feral cannibals, ghosts, or goblins, every scare you can put your finger on can—at least according to my reading—be found here in the vast state of Maine. From the entrances to the Faerie in Holly Black’s The Cruel Prince or Carrie Jones’s Need to the terrifying stoop of Richard Matheson’s Hell House. But why Maine? So What Makes Maine So Spooky? It’s not just Stephen King....
To italicise or not to italicise, that is…not exactly the question, but certainly one that’s been brought up more and more frequently in recent years. There’s a lot of debate around the Internet that you can look up, with experts weighing in with far more eloquence than I could. But opting not to italicise has actually helped me on a more personal level as well. There’s No Equivalent in Taiwan Chinese characters are notoriously difficult for non-native writers....
This quote, written by James Baldwin in his 1955 essay Notes of a Native Son, has become one of his more famous platitudes, especially during times of upheaval in this country. But exactly who was James Baldwin? Was he an activist? A novelist? All of the above? He is a complicated and fascinating figure who no doubt made his mark on this country in more ways than one. And yet, despite his undeniable intelligence and impact on literary history, he is rarely taught in high schools in this country....
Recently, though, tastes have shifted away from the love triangle, with some readers declaring it the worst trope in literature or pleading for no more. Often, readers cite a long list of irritants that come along with the trope. One suitor obviously being a better match, for example, while the other is rude or cruel or downright abusive. Some cite an unlikable main character making it hard to believe them having more than one love interest at the same time....
Honestly, I am not a big real-life drinker, but I am a big fan of fantasy food. If someone is giving me a feast of the mind in medieval fantasy, it will include drinking, and I want to know the in-world mechanics and out-of-wold historical inspiration. Essentially, the drink in medieval fantasy goblet, chalice, or tankard is just as important as the food on their plate. I come to this approach by connecting the following strings, so please picture a mental cork board complete with printouts, thumbtacks, and red yarn....
You probably know Goldman best as the author of The Princess Bride (he also wrote the screenplay for the wildly popular movie version). His “abridged” version of the fictional S. Morgenstern’s tale of adventure has captivated readers for decades, with the movie elevating it further. To this day, readers are convinced Morgenstern is a real person. If he is, he has outlived Goldman—I could find no obituary for him. Inconceivable....
Supplies needed: Embroidery floss in your house colors (DMC brand is nice) Aida cloth, or any fabric with an easily visible weave, about 5″x5″Scissors A sewing needle Select your thread colors and measure out a length from your fingers to your elbow (any longer and your thread is likely to snarl.) Pick your starting color and separate out two of the six strands — each length will give you 3 of these mini-threads to stitch with....
The prescriptivists have been concerned with the rules of language, as they generally believe that the standardization of language rules will create shared clarity among everyone who writes and speaks the language. The descriptivists, on the other hand, believe that the standardization of language is unnecessary as language evolves in a natural way through its constant use among communities. In English, there are no government regulations around the usage of language like there is with French....
The Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum, located immediately across the street from the Texas State Capitol in Austin, invited the panel of authors of Forget The Alamo: The Rise and Fall of an American Myth to discuss their work Thursday, July 1. Forget The Alamo is a critical examination of the mythology surrounding the Alamo, one of Texas’s proudest cultural and historical battles and subsequent “Shrine of Texas Liberty....
It seems your average superhero skipped class that day. And, thanks to their special powers, superheroes can unfortunately mess around with time to their heart’s content. Their moral code usually prevents them from doing so, but every once in a while, an extreme situation comes along that they feel “requires” intervention. Whether it really does or not is up to the reader, but what’s clear is that their meddling usually makes things worse....
To our heroes’ credit, they are generally quick to welcome their former foes into the fold, even offering varying levels of personal or professional support as the ex-villains try to stay on the straight and narrow. And in return, the ex-villains featured here have dutifully remained on the side of the angels, except for the one who has already become an angel herself. There’s probably a point to be made about how supporting your fellow human beings (and an occasional rogue robot) is a better remedy to a life of crime than just throwing them in jail....
The three-hour long event invited speakers to address the committee for five minutes each. The bulk of discussion focused on the types of books being banned in schools, with Representative Raskin highlighting an array of books by authors of color and noting that 40% of the books being challenged now had protagonists of color. He addressed the need to hear these stories and for their belonging in schools across the country; though he did not specifically address three of the most challenged books — Lawn Boy, All Boys Aren’t Blue, and Gender Queer — those books made their way through the testimony....
I must confess that I’m fairly new to TikTok, having only downloaded it a few months ago. I was used to BookTube, but soon discovered that BookTok can be a complementary experience, and I started to enjoy it more. Even if it took me a while to find my niche. Because romance and YA seem to strive in the platform and neither are my go-to genres. My absolute favorite is actually SFF, both as a stand-in for sci-fi/fantasy and as the umbrella term for speculative fiction....
This list of literary foods and drinks was inspired by a Reddit thread. Some answers were submitted multiple times, and I also looked for answers that intrigued me. This thread was spontaneously created by redditors, featuring food from classics, childhood favorites, and popular fiction. I would love to expand on this idea, including food and beverages from books by more authors of color and LBGTQIA+ authors. Turkish Delight By far, this was the most common answer on the Reddit thread that inspired this post....
Now the variety of embossing designs has multiplied to suit every possible fancy. There are many more choices than the simple circle with personalized text. While there are still those basic embossers available, you can find some whimsical ones out there, some with gorgeous calligraphy, and many with customizable images, too. However, since I tend to like a cleaner and less cluttered look, those types are the ones I’ve gathered here....
