I had never even heard of steampunk before I got a job at a Victorian Fair one summer. The woman leading the orientation asked us for examples of “Victorian-themed” movies that we could use for inspiration. Someone suggested a Sherlock Holmes movie and she said, “No, that’s more steampunk.” My mind snapped to attention and… Read more »
I never thought I’d be an audiobook lover. I thought audiobook narrators were unnecessary middlemen, interfering with the golden process of communion between the author’s brain and my own. But practicality sometimes trumps ideals: when I started commuting half an hour each way to work, I decided to hang up my reservations and give myself… Read more »
Washington’s Birthday is coming up and, in honor of that, I want to talk about American novels. There’s been a lot of debate about what constitutes the “Great American Novel.” With so many voices, and so many different experiences in American life, this list should be huge. Since we only do five books on a… Read more »
Trust is an essential aspect of relationships. By keeping promises and telling the truth, we prove that we honor our agreements and value the people in our lives. The confidence we win from others as a result can be life-changing. However, as we’ve witnessed in literature (and in daily life), we’re not always quick to… Read more »
Everyone knows the saying, “The book was better than the movie.” This is true in . . . well, just about every case. And this is not to say that movies adapted from books are bad by default. On the contrary, they’re often very good. After all, they have such great source material! And it’s such… Read more »
Happy Friday everyone! Most of the country is currently being pummeled with snow and freezing cold temperatures. We are also in an arctic freeze of television, in that terrible limbo in-between the first and second half of most TV show seasons. And I don’t know about any of you, but one show that I’m really ready to premier again… Read more »
We usually need to read a novel in order to identify its themes. However, what if the title and the blurb (a.k.a. jacket copy) could suggest potential themes? It’s not a stretch sometimes. In today’s edition of Theme: A Story’s Soul, we’ll explore how both items can reveal a great deal about the ideas and… Read more »
If you’re like me, this holiday season you’ll probably see at least one version of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, and if you’re really like me, this might send you into a spiral of Victorian nostalgia. Well, good news! The nineteenth century saw the rise of the novel, so there are plenty of excellent books… Read more »
I’m geekin’ out. Guys, science fiction and fantasy is bigger and better than ever. Check it out: Almost everybody knows at least something about Game of Thrones, The Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Avatar, Ender’s Game… The list of TV and movies for us genre fans just keeps growing, and I couldn’t be happier. But some… Read more »
You may have heard of a little movie coming out today about a dystopian America and a most disloyal band of subjects.Or perhaps you’ve been living under a rock for the past five years?The Hunger Games has become a worldwide phenomenon. It’s brought untold attention to YA literature, and with good reason. It’s an un-put-downable… Read more »
