Think about all the words you’ve ever glanced over. Every page, every chapter, every book – the number is staggering, especially for bookworms. Most of the words you’ve read once, you’ll read again – in new sentences and new meanings – but the same old word choice (a mere one million plus for English speakers) can get so drab. That’s why we’re thankful that writers take it upon themselves to coin new terms, play off of old ones, or combine them as they please simply because they can. As a little thank you to our creative wordsmiths, we’ve put together …
Yesterday, J.K. Rowling posted a picture to Twitter of wand designs for the production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. The image included designs for Hermione, Harry, Ron, Draco, and Ginny – the gang is all here. Even more exciting than the delicately sketched and shaded wands was the thought: ‘wait, gasp, did she include Ginny and Draco’s wand in that drawing too?’. The play that is captivating some seven million Potter fans is still under wraps. Little is known about the plot other than the characters (now officially including two more familiar faces) and setting, which thrusts us 30 …
Barely a quarter of the way into 2016 we’re seeing book numbers skyrocket. This is reason enough to rejoice and treat yourself to a book splurge, especially since it’s the first increase we’ve seen in five years. The rise started in 2015, when sales of print books rose by 8.5%, but all we could attribute to a ‘why’ was a rising interest in nonfiction. What exactly is this nonfiction savior that’s bolstering book sales? Looking deeper it’s not simply a broad interest in nonfiction, but a number of specific trends within the genre that are captivating reader’s minds and wallets …
You can count on all great dystopian novels to focus on the visual. A defunct society needs a defunct setting to match, and whether it’s set in a shiny futuristic world or post-apocalyptic ruins, a dystopian scene always manages to give you a little shiver. Maybe this is why these stories translate so beautifully to the screen, not just because they come laden with social, political, or economic weight, but because they satiate a visual craving to see unrest. A Clockwork Orange, 1984, Atlas Shrugged, and so many others have made cinematic masterpieces, and now, thanks to HBO, we can …
For the past several months, the U.S. Presidential Election has felt more like a family reunion than a candidacy. Not only because there seems to be in inordinate swarm of candidates, or because each one was eager to catch up and re-tell the same stories we heard last time, but because each one had an uncanny resemblance to the classic breed of relative. There’s the cousin you didn’t know existed, the strict patriarch, the looney uncle, and other archetypes we’ll leave to you to fill with your candidate of choice. However, the family reunion has finally slumped to a more …
