Have you ever wished that you could read great writing, I mean great writing, by an author who is still living today? It seems that most great authors only receive recognition after they've already left. What would it be like to discover this generation's Hawthorne or Chaucer? The literary canon is finally starting to open up to new authors who aren't just the same dead white males (please excuse the frankness) that always have made the list. Finally, we're seeing females make the canon, and we're seeing novels become canonized before their authors have found their graves. We're even seeing a...

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As I shared with you (and only you) a few months back, my favorite book above all others is The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.  If you've only seen the movie, you have no idea what you've missed.  Author Douglas Adams' use of the English language is a joy to behold, and his mastery of sarcasm and irony are unparalleled. And so it is with some trepidation that I embark upon reading the sixth installment in the increasingly inaccurately named Hitchhiker's Trilogy.   In the past, the release of a new Hitchhiker's book is a minor holiday in...

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The 28th of January marks the 50th anniversary of Zora Neale Thurston's death. Originally buried in an unmarked grave, it is easy to argue that Thurston did not reach the fame that she deserved before her death. Had it not been for Alice Walker, one of the many authors who have been influenced by Thurston's work, her grave still would be unmarked today. Thurston was a significant figure in the Harlem Renaissance and produced much work during this time, partly as a result of her study of anthropology at Barnard College. However, the beginning of the Depression marked the end...

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One month after her wedding day, thirty-three-year-old Cami Walker was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She and her husband were planning on coming back from their wedding, having children, and living their lives as the typical married couple would do, but  this diagnosis changed her life forever. Read More »

What's the greatest book you read in 2009? Are you looking for something new to read? Here is Amazon.com's list of top books for 2009. Let The Great World Spin (Colum McCann) Award-winning novelist Colum McCann has released his best novel yet. Let The Great World Spin is about New York City and its people in the 1970s. Corrigan is a radical and young Irish monk, who lives among prostitutes in the Bronx. Mothers gather to grieve for their sons who died in Vietnam. Tillie, a grandmother at 38, continues to play tricks with her teenage daughter to provide for her family and...

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