For most people, the biggest names in mysteries are Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. While those beloved masters are well known worldwide, for many young readers, their first introduction into the genre is through another author: Gertrude Chandler Warner, author of the classic children's series The Boxcar Children. Join us today as we take a look at her life and work.
Sherlock Holmes. Miss Marple. Hercule Poirot. All of these detectives are household names, and all of them are adults. While these sleuths are all much loved and timeless, there is something to be said for reading about a character your own age, which is why teen girl detective Nancy Drew has had such staying power in the world of mystery novels.
For fans of the fantasy genre, the magic school has long been a beloved trope. The concept of the magic school allows the reader to enter into the world of magic and fully immerse themselves in the way the fantasy world works. From the guiding principles of culture and government to how characters live their everyday lives, magic schools are a gateway into a fantasy novel that allows readers to feel they are also learning along with the characters. From Harry Potter’s Hogwarts to The University in Patrick Rothfuss's The Name of the Wind, the magic school continues to captivate readers. Join us today as we look at some of the best fantasy novels set at magic schools:
The Caldecott Medal is awarded annually to an illustrator whose work on a children's book represents some of the best art in the field. Today, we focus on a writer/illustrator whose books were named a Caldecott Honor book in 1979 and who won the Caldecott Medal in both 1982 and 1986. Chris Van Allsburg's Caldecott-winning books were met with critical and commercial success and have been adapted into much-loved films. This master of his craft has created some of the most beloved books of the last few decades, now considered classics. Join us as we look at Van Allsburg's impressive career in today's edition of our Caldecott Winning Illustrators series.
American novelist, short story writer, and journalist Ernest Hemingway is widely considered one of the most important and influential writers in American literature. Throughout his decades-long career, he produced seven novels, multiple short story collections and novellas, and non-fiction pieces, which include three decades of war coverage and travel journalism. Several of his novels, including For Whom the Bell Tolls, The Sun Also Rises, and A Farewell to Arms, have earned the unofficial status of Great American Novel and are considered classics outside of America. Hemingway is known for his simple, clear style that conveys complex meaning without overly complex structure or wording. He is the recipient of both the Pulitzer and Nobel Prizes. Today, we look at some of the best passages in Hemingway's classic style.
There are many places to shop for rare books in the United States, and rare book collectors often think about major cities and urban areas where antiquarian bookstores are open for browsing and antiquarian book fairs come to town annually. Yet there are also many smaller towns and cities across the country that can be exciting locations for rare book shopping. We want to introduce you to used and rare bookstores, as well as special collections libraries, in some of America’s best-loved college towns.
Michel de Nostradame, more commonly known by the Latinised Nostradamus, is arguably the most famous psychic in history. He is best known for his book of poetic quatrains, Les Prophéties, each of which is said to predict figure events. According to believers, his quatrains have predicted numerous key events throughout history, such as The Great Fire of London, the rise of Adolph Hitler, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Kennedy assassination, and the 9/11 terrorist attacks. But what many people don't realize is that while Nostradamus may be best known as a seer and prognosticator, he began his career as a scholar and apothecary. How did someone previously dedicated their life to academic pursuits become one of the most-known figures in mysticism and the occult? Let's take a closer look at the life of Nostradamus as we explore this question.
Renowned horror writer Anne Rice passed away on December 11, 2021, at 80, due to complications relating to a stroke. Born Howard Allen Frances O'Brien in 1941, Rice developed an interest in writing at an early age. She spent much of her young life in New Orleans, a city featured prominently in some of her most famous works.
With hundreds of years of literary canon under its belt, horror literature is more popular now than ever before. Numerous subgenres, such as psychological horror, gothic fiction, and supernatural horror, there are all kinds of terrors to explore. Horror fiction finds its roots in religious stories and folklore in which death, the afterlife, and evil often transpose these concepts onto people or creatures, thereby creating many of the core tenets of horror today, like witches, monsters, ghosts, and other such staples. These creatures and spirits appear in classical Greek and Roman texts. Gothic fiction arose in the 18th century with classic books like The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe. Horror as we know it took off in 19th-century fiction with the popularity of novels and novellas like Frankenstein by Mary Shelly, Dracula by Bram Stoker, and The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, generating a buzz around the budding genre. Horror fiction exploded in the 20th century, gaining new traction with the advent of motion pictures and has become an enduring staple of modern collections thanks to popular writers such as Stephen King and Anne Rice. Let's take a look at a compilation of terrifying quotes from the best books throughout the history of horror:
Since the 17th century, horror has been one of the most popular fiction genres. With roots in religion and folklore, horror has grown to encompass all manner of subgenres from gothic stories to supernatural fiction to psychological horror. This subgenre of speculative fiction is designed to terrify, unsettle, and provoke thought as it serves as a metaphor for the fears that plague society. Today we take a look at some of the most beloved classics of horror.
