“If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.” ― Toni Morrison
I have a confession to make. As someone who is vocal about my opposition to literary snobbery—making fun of adult YA readers, claiming only certain genres are "literary", etc—I must be honest. I am guilty of the same sort of pretentious douch-baggery that I so often criticize. For the longest time, I was incredibly snooty… Continue reading I Owe E-Reader Users An Apology
I don't know who you are..... I don't know what you are reading.... But you don't have to finish that book. I know everyone in the book community is crowing about how good it is, how "important," how transformative. But those people are dumb. Okay, they aren't dumb, they just have different opinions than you.… Continue reading It’s Okay to Not Finish That Book
For quite a while now I've wanted to write a post about Roland Barthes' The Death of The Author theory, but I've been conflicted on where I stand on the subject. While it is obvious that a writer's experiences, biases, and other factors greatly shape a writer's work, I also believe that it is essential… Continue reading Schrödinger’s Author: Is the Writer Dead or Not?
Now that we've shucked off our ugly Christmas sweaters and vacuumed up all the tinsel, it's time to create unattainable goals for ourselves! We do this pretty much every single year, or-- if you're like me-- you've pretended to not come up with resolutions so that you aren't disappointed by your inevitable failure. However, now… Continue reading Books, Writing, and Other Goals for 2020
I have a confession to make. While I consider myself to be a major reader, up until about three weeks ago, I had not frequented a library in almost 2 years. Before you judge,I had a good reason (or at least I thought). Life was getting hectic and I have no impulse control. I was… Continue reading Falling Back in Love with the Library
A special thanks to theorangutanlibrarian for nominating me for this award! I'm honored to be receiving it and I enjoyed making this post! Here goes! Thank the person who nominated you and provide a link back to their blogging site. Answer the questions. Nominate 11 other bloggers and ask them 11 new questions. Notify the… Continue reading Sunshine Blogger Award #5
Summary: On June 9, 1865, while traveling by train to London with his secret mistress, 53-year-old Charles Dickens–at the height of his powers and popularity, the most famous and successful novelist in the world and perhaps in the history of the world–hurtled into a disaster that changed his life forever. Did Dickens begin living a… Continue reading Spoiler-Free Thoughts on “Drood” by Dan Simmons
The other day I went to Barnes and Noble and the unthinkable happened... I didn't buy a book. No, really. I went to the bookstore and I didn't purchase any books. Not even one that I thought looked cool but knew deep in my soul I would never read....a.k.a a quarter of the books currently… Continue reading The Tragic Tale of My Reading Slump
It could be my experience in customer service that has inspired me to write this post, however, this is something I've always believed to some degree: Books are better than people. Don't believe me? You will soon. Books are always available. If you are up in the middle of the night, you can just roll over… Continue reading Why Books Are Better Than People
This may make me sound like a traitor to readers everywhere, but I am generally not a fan of big books, specifically ones that exceed 450 pages in length. That's not to say I don't like any large books. One of my favorite books of all time, Gone With The Wind, is nearly 1,000 pages long. However,… Continue reading TL;DR: The Problem With Big Books
The Crooked Pen 