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10 of the Greatest YA Series of All Time

By Emily Temple on

Yesterday, we were saddened to learn Donald J. Sobol, that the author the Encyclopedia Brown series, has passed away at the age of 87. We loved the Encyclopedia Brown books as kids, and the sad news sent us on a little trip down memory lane — but not just for Encyclopedia and Sally, for all the YA series that brought us joy as, well, young adults (and, we admit, since then). Just for fun, we’re going to look beyond the obvious choices, but rest assured that we consider The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lord of the Rings, the Harry Potter books, and The Hunger Games series to be among the best as well (even at the tippy top). It’s just that we think they’re so well established already that you really don’t need to see them on a list like this — you can probably just look over at your shelf. Click through to see a few of our most beloved YA (and older children’s book) series of all time, and if we’ve missed the books that made your younger self spin, please share the wealth and add to our list in the comments. … Read More

Books

A Complete ‘Redwall’ Feast Adapted for Your Kitchen

By Emily Temple on

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, so obviously we have something very important on the brain — yes, food. But not only food: this time of year, when we make the pilgrimage to our childhood homes, also makes us think of the books that delighted us as kids, still waiting for us on the shelves, beaten up as they are from many reads. So in case you’re feeling like a literary feast tomorrow, and in honor of nostalgic reading and home-cooked meals on this most belly-stuffing of holidays, we’ve re-created one of the original Redwall feasts — Abbot Mortimer’s Golden Jubilee. Warning: these recipes have not been tested, so take them with a grain of salt. A Redwall Cookbook does exist, but it’s slated for grades 3 to 7 — not a serious chef’s read. Consider this us clamoring for an adult version! Click through to see the famous dishes and recipes of good old Redwall Abbey, and let us know if its fictional feasts have ever inspired your own culinary ambitions. … Read More

Books

Our Most Beloved Childhood Authors Revisited

By Chelsea Bauch on

If you, like us, picked through boxes of tattered paperback books while home over the holidays, you’re probably still feeling as nostalgic as we are. Our dog-eared copies of beloved series and flashlight favorites brought back memories of those carefree days when you had all the time in the world to get lost in a book. Although we’ve grown into busier schedules and wider literary tastes as adults, nothing beats the familiar comfort of a beloved childhood author. Here’s a look back at some of the seminal writers who defined our early reading careers, and an update on what they’ve been doing in the meantime. Help jog our memory with other forgotten favorites in the comments section. … Read More

Books

10 Best Books for Girls and Young Women

By Emily Temple on

One of our favorite gentlemanly blogs, The Art of Manliness, recently posted a list of their picks for the 50 best books for boys (specifically for ages 9 to 12, but really for boys of all ages). We liked it, but then we thought — what about the girls? Are we going to let our young girls be relegated to Mormon propaganda like Twilight and stories about simpering princesses? We think not! Here are our top ten choices of books for girls and young women — we have some overlap with TAOM’s list (because why should girls only read books about girls?) but we’ve also picked out some spectacular novels particularly for the young ladies. Our claim: boys will like them too. Let us know what we’ve missed — we limited ourselves to ten and we know there are lots more out there — and tell us about your personal childhood… Read More