The American Library Association has released its study of the most frequently challenged books of 2012, a list that includes classics and YA touchstones alike. But books have been challenged, banned, and removed from school curricula for years, and sometimes for the silliest of reasons. At the ALA’s website, we found a list of the justifications behind some historical challenges of classic novels, and some are frankly absurd. We’ve culled a few of our outrageous favorites from the ALA’s list — scoff or agree, but read… Read More
Alice Walker
10 LGBT-Themed Novels That Every Student Should Read
The California Department of Education’s new recommended reading list, which was released last week, is causing some controversy because — gasp! — it includes a handful of books with LGBT themes. Though the list, which contains over 7,800 books, recommends only 32 that fall into the “gay-themed” category, several conservative critics are saying predictably nasty things. Never mind that this list has included books with gay and transgender characters for the past ten years. Between this news and the Supreme Court marriage equality hearings, we figured it was a good time to throw in our two cents: ten novels with LGBT themes that we think every student should read. We tried to suggest a range of books, from classics to YA, but since there are so many and we can’t list them all, add your favorites in the comments. … Read More
25 Fascinating Photos of Famous Writers at Home
This week, we caught a glimpse of author Tao Lin’s Murray Hill apartment in this cheeky review over at Vice. Though somewhat alarmed at the squalor of Lin’s digs (seriously, can you blame us?), we found ourselves inspired to hunt down a few more shots of notable authors hanging out at home. After the jump, stop by and visit with everyone from Zora Neale Hurston to Paul Auster. Whose apartment would you most like to move into? Let us know in the comments. … Read More
12 Famous Authors’ Very First Author Photos
We scoured the web to pull together a few surprising, intense, and charmingly youthful author photos from some of our very favorite authors’ first works, from Truman Capote to Stephen… Read More
10 Feminist Poets You Should Know
When we think of feminist poetry, we think of Adrienne Rich, one of the most influential poets of the past century, not to mention one of the most important feminist poets. Had she not passed away earlier this year, today would have been Rich’s 83rd birthday, so to celebrate her life, we’ve put together a list of feminist poets still living and continuing her legacy. Because Feminist Ryan Gosling only goes so far. Click through to see a few feminist poets you should probably know about, and since there are of course many more than we can list here, let us know if we missed your favorite in the comments. … Read More
Readers' Choice: 10 More of the Most Powerful Women in Literature
Recently, we compiled a list of ten of the most powerful female characters in literature, and asked you to pitch in with your own suggestions in the comments. And boy, did you oblige us! As one commenter wrote, “This should be the 50 Most Powerful Female Characters. 10 just isn’t enough.” Indeed — even 50 probably wouldn’t cut it. We were excited to see the number of different characters you came up with, and even more excited to see a shining reminder of how many incredibly strong women exist in literature, so we decided to publish a second list with some of the most often (and most fervently) recommended female characters. The beauty about the vast world of literature is that different people are inspired by different things, so everyone gets to have a list of their own, and some of these aren’t necessarily characters we would have picked (though some totally are), but hey — the people have spoken. Click through to see which female characters our readers picked as the most powerful women in literature, and if we still haven’t hit on your favorite, make a case for her in the comments! … Read More
10 Legendary Bad Girls of Literature
“Wake me when you cover the Bad GIRLS of Literature,” wrote a commenter who goes by the handle of “Literati” on our recent “10 Legendary Bad Boys of Literature” post. Well, rise and shine, friend, because it’s happening. For this post, we showcase ten fantastic female authors whose careers span 3000 years — from Sappho to Alice Walker — and are just as capable of badass behavior as their male counterparts. We easily could have made this list five times as long, so make your case for any omissions in the comments. … Read More
A Few of Our Favorite Authors and Their Favorite Foods
We may never experience the world with the same madcap narrative imagination as our favorite writers, but we can at least get a taste of their edible inspirations through the dishes and recipes they most enjoyed. With food on everyone’s mind this week (oh, and giving thanks too), here’s a guide to recreating the cooking habits of literature’s most culinary-inclined creatives. … Read More
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