Fall of the House of Usher, feat. Lil John, Kafka on the Jersey Shore, and other deliciously awful literary mashups.

A wonderful essay over at The Millions on where we write and on making do with what you’ve got.

Introducing the Facebook novel.

Here’s John Waters’ secret to reading a lot.

What reading challenging books does to your brain. (All good things, I promise.)

The Hunchback of Notre Dame‘s eponymous Quasimodo may have actually been based on a real person.

Would you be seen in public reading science fiction? This lady wouldn’t mind, but then again, I think she’d prefer to read it in private. If you know what I mean. Har.

I recently read about old phone books in Somerset, England being converted to mini-lending libraries, which prompted me to consider the social aspects of a used book.

Last year, I happened upon a used copy of Nabokov’s Lolita at the wonderfully ancient Prospero’s in Kansas City (bricks and books, but so, so many of each). Having been familiar with the book’s pedophilic legacy, I approached, more curious than anything. I’m not easily offended, so I anticipated little reaction. But, aside from being minimally offensive and much funnier than I would have imagined (Nabokov can turn quite a phrase), the book surprised me on another level.

Used books, I discovered, are perhaps the origin of the virtual book networking circle. Consider this exchange between two Lolita readers: Read more »