“Down dropped the breeze, the sails dropped down, / ‘Twas sad as sad could be; / And we did speak only to break / The silence of the sea.” –- The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (Samuel Taylor Coleridge). If you’re planning on spending some time on the open water this summer — or, more likely, if you only wish you were, you’re in luck. After all, you can get a taste of sea salt air from your living room… if you choose the right book. To that end, Flavorwire asked Ethan Rutherford, whose own excellent debut collection, The Peripatetic Coffin, is a perfect nautical summer read, awash with sailboats, ships and futuristic whales, to pick his favorite seafaring reads for summer or any time. … Read More
Books
Flavorwire Exclusive: Saïd Sayrafiezadeh on His Favorite Short Story
The short story can be a magical thing. It’s a breath, a moment, a captured mood — or an entire teeming world packed into a few pages. Maybe, if it’s really great, it’s both. The only trouble with short stories is that not enough people read them. So, in a series to celebrate Short Story Month (and help you add to your reading list), Flavorwire is asking some contemporary masters of the form to talk about the short stories they love. In this installment, Saïd Sayrafiezadeh, whose collection Brief Encounters with the Enemy is one of our most anticipated books of the summer, tells us about two stories, both introduced to him by his mother. … Read More
Michelle Tea’s 5 Favorite Books About Teen Girls in Trouble
Last week marked the release of Flavorwire favorite Michelle Tea’s newest novel Mermaid in Chelsea Creek, a YA stunner filled with old magic, grit, love and girls making trouble. To celebrate the book, Flavorwire asked Tea to suggest a few more literary teen girls in trouble, each of them likely to sneak into your garden shed and/or soul. She writes, “I started reading YA when I was a little too young for it, and the many 1970s books I read about teenage girls getting into trouble filled me with an awe and and anxiety that kept me reading… forever. Though I will always have a place in my heart for I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, Lisa Bright and Dark and The Best Little Girl in the World, these more contemporary heroines keep me writing — and reading.” … Read More
The 20 Most Beautiful Libraries on Film and TV
If you read this space with any frequency, you’ll know that Flavorwire is perhaps unnaturally fond of the beautiful library. Recently, Book Riot mused over which Doctor Who library is the best — or perhaps the most beautiful. But why stop at the Doctor Who universe? Countless gorgeous libraries have appeared on screens large and small (if only there were set designers in all of our homes), whether old and dusty, shiny and modern, underground, filled with water, or, um, animated. Click through for 20 of the most beautiful libraries on film and… Read More
Flavorwire Exclusive: Ramona Ausubel on Her Favorite Short Story
The short story can be a magical thing. It’s a breath, a moment, a captured mood — or an entire teeming world packed into a few pages. Maybe, if it’s really great, it’s both. The only trouble with short stories is that not enough people read them. So, in a series to celebrate Short Story Month (and help you add to your reading list), Flavorwire is asking some contemporary masters of the form to talk about the short stories they love. In this installment, Ramona Ausubel, whose incredible collection A Guide to Being Born was one of our favorite May releases, recommends a particular favorite. … Read More
Required Reading List: The Bluth Family
Arrested Development fans are busy counting down the hours until Season 4 premieres this Sunday at midnight on Netflix, and here at Flavorwire, we’re no different. So, we’re passing the time by declaring this Arrested Development Week, all leading up to a Recap-a-thon on Sunday, when our own Jason Bailey will review the whole season, episode by episode. Click here to follow our coverage.
“I cannot remember the books I’ve read any more than the meals I have eaten,” Ralph Waldo Emerson famously quipped, “even so, they have made me.” In this bi-weekly series, Flavorwire plays professor to some of our favorite pop culture characters, assigning reading lists tailored to their temperaments or — in some cases — designed to make them into slightly better people. After all, even fictional characters can have their lives changed by books. Or so we imagine. This week, in honor of Arrested Development , we recommend a reading list for everyone’s favorite family, the Bluths. … Read More
7 Bitter Fandom Rivalries From Across Pop Culture
It’s no secret that science fiction fans can get a little overexcited about their franchise of choice, but things got heated last Thursday when the local Star Wars club of Norwich, England and a delegation from the Norwich Sci Fi Club, a group of Doctor Who devotees, got into a physical altercation at the Norwich Sci-Fi and Film Convention, hosted by the Star Wars club at the University of East Anglia. Apparently, the two groups had a longstanding feud that came to blows when the Sci Fi Club decided to show up on the Star Wars group’s turf to get a signature from Gram Cole, an actor from the time-travel series that currently stars Matt Smith. Though fandom disputes don’t usually escalate to blows, this is hardly the first time otherwise peacefully geeky communities have run afoul of each other. Here are some of the most prominent fandom rivalries throughout history, from superheroes to science fiction. … Read More
Flavorwire Exclusive: Manuel Gonzales on His Favorite Short Story
The short story can be a magical thing. It’s a breath, a moment, a captured mood — or an entire teeming world packed into a few pages. Maybe, if it’s really great, it’s both. The only trouble with short stories is that not enough people read them. So, in a series to celebrate Short Story Month (and help you add to your reading list), Flavorwire is asking some contemporary masters of the form to talk about the short stories they love. In this installment, Manuel Gonzales, whose dark, funny collection The Miniature Wife hit shelves in January, recommends one of his favorites. … Read More
Incredible Reading Rooms Around the World
We love libraries, have a soft spot for bookmobiles, can’t get enough of bookstores, and we really enjoy bars we can read in. We’re always in search of cozy, beautiful places to curl up with a good book, so when we saw that New York-based modern furniture company Vitsoe was opening a pop-up reading room in their downtown store, we went searching for other unique reading rooms around the world. Comfort, intimacy, atmosphere, and a great view play a big part in the design of these bookish spaces. See more in our… Read More
Flavorwire Exclusive: Norman Lock on His Favorite Short Story
The short story can be a magical thing. It’s a breath, a moment, a captured mood — or an entire teeming world packed into a few pages. Maybe, if it’s really great, it’s both. The only trouble with short stories is that not enough people read them. So, in a series to celebrate Short Story Month (and help you add to your reading list), Flavorwire is asking some contemporary masters of the form to talk about the short stories they love. In this installment, virtuosic fabulist Norman Lock, whose newest collection Love Among the Particles hit shelves this month, tells us about his literary love of the moment. … Read More
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