In the past, some leveled the criticism that puzzle mysteries lacked in character development. I read some of the classics thus accused, such as Agatha Christie’s novels, and I disagree. The puzzle takes precedence, but the characters are very real and alive. Well, all except the victim(s).

In recent years, genres mixed, and crime fiction became more emotional, descriptive, heartbreaking at times, and occasionally heartwarming. The books I selected today all involve a main character on two quests. One they know about – the actual puzzles leading to solving a mystery. The other an emotional quest, discovered and solved alongside the other. (When not actually mixed in with it.) Every one of these books thrilled my brain and my heart and I hope they will yours as well. 

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

By Stuart Turton

The Hardcastles throw a party at Blackheath to celebrate the return of their daughter Evelyn from Paris. But Blackheath is crumbling, because they abandoned it years ago, ever since their young son Thomas Hardcastle was murdered by the gamekeeper. 

The grieving parents banished Evelyn to Paris, because they couldn’t forgive her for not watching Thomas that morning as she was asked. This party, held on the anniversary of the crime, at the scene of the crime, will culminate in Evelyn’s death at 11 pm. Every morning, that day will start again, with our narrator in the body of a different party guest, until he solves Evelyn’s murder. 

A Goodreads reviewer described this book as “bonkers,” meaning it as a compliment. I agree. It’s confusing, but intentionally. It’s beautifully, creepily written, which keeps you turning pages to clear up that confusion. The twist at the end took me by surprise, which rarely happens. 

Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore

By Matthew Sullivan

Lydia works as a bookseller at the Bright Ideas bookstore in Denver. Her favorite Bookfrog (nickname for guys who spend all their time in the bookstore, often homeless) Joey hangs himself on the third floor at midnight. Lydia finds a picture of herself at her tenth birthday party in his pocket. She doesn’t remember this picture and can’t understand how Joey got it. He leaves her all his possessions and when she goes through the books she discovers cutouts in some of them. What do they mean? 

Meanwhile, her picture appears in the paper with the article about Joey’s death. Lydia has been hiding from her past, but now it comes to find her. Is there a connection to Joey’s sad story?

I can’t believe it took me so long to read this book. It includes horror aspects that you don’t often find in puzzle mysteries, but they tie the story together and explain Lydia’s trauma. The author evokes a marvelous sense of place with his descriptions of Lydia’s part of Denver (a city that hasn’t figured in many books I’ve read) and the mountain towns nearby. Somehow, the magic of books, the use of them to convey a message in code, and the horror and trauma aspects combine beautifully with great characters whose relationships you root for. This is a complex read, both puzzle and emotion-wise, but I enjoyed every page.

Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts

By Kate Racculia 

Tuesday Mooney grew up in Salem feeling different. Her best friend Abby disappeared at 16 and Tuesday started talking to her ghost. This raised concerns and Tuesday stopped listening to the voice. She’s still not sure if it really was Abby or her grief talking. 

Now she lives alone happily in Boston, wears all black, works as a charitable researcher for a hospital (a job she enjoys), has a sort-of friend Dex, and tutors her teenage next-door neighbor Dory on what they call Tuesday Thursdays. She feels safe. But Vincent Pryce, the eccentric billionaire, drops dead at a charity event for Tuesday’s work. Then, a notice appears in the paper of a game. The prize? Pryce’s massive collection of priceless oddities. 

This book is amazing. I can’t express how much I enjoyed it. It was everything I like and so very satisfying. The story includes some darkness, a few chilling moments, and some violence and peril, all of which are a bit unusual for the puzzle mystery genre. There are also heartwarming and heartbreaking moments. One is even transcendent. And it’s funny. You will love the characters. It is a testament to the skill of the author that she got away with naming a character Vincent Pryce. 

The Twyford Code

By Janice Hallett

This very twisty book keeps circling back on itself and adding details. Then changing everything again. Yet, it does not lose the reader. 

Steven Smith finds a mysterious book by the author Edith Twyford on the bus to school one day. He shows it to Miss Iles, his remedial reading teacher. The text contains strange notes and Miss Iles becomes convinced they lead to a treasure rumored to have been hidden by Twyford and her husband. On a class trip to Twyford’s home, Miss Iles disappears. Decades later, after a stint in prison, Steven is trying to start over and connect with his adult son, a professor of whom Steve is immensely proud. 

Steve’s son gives him his old iPhone, which Steve treasures. As a result, the whole story is told in voice memos, complete with incorrect transcription. (I thought he was talking about missiles at first, rather than Miss Iles.)

Steve feels haunted by the day his teacher disappeared, so he decides that he needs the truth to move forward to a better life. But none of his old friends want to talk about that day. However, after finding a partner in the search, bits and pieces come to light, through old photographs, stained glass windows, and abandoned basements. Steve inches closer and closer to the truth, but is he hiding something, too?

This book confused me at times and sometimes frustrated me a little. But I loved it. I loved the clues and the ways they were hidden and connected. I loved the twist. This book is intriguing and absorbing and you really root for Steve. 

Chester Keene Cracks the Code

By Kekla Magoon

Chester is a middle-schooler who lives with his mom. He has never met his dad, who is a spy. As he encounters difficulties in middle school, he wishes more and more to talk to his dad about things and figures out how to email him. 

Chester follows a careful routine everyday, which usually includes school and then hanging out at the bowling alley after school, so his mom’s friend Amanda can watch him. Chester is clearly neurodivergent and both Amanda and his mom understand and accommodate this.

Chester’s routine begins to fall apart when he finds a coded note tied to the front door on his way to school. He is convinced his dad is in trouble and asking for help. Then a girl named Skye plops down at his lunch table talking about “their” clues. Chester is taken aback, but decides his dad sent her. He and Skye combine their clues into a complete message and follow them to other clues hidden around Chester’s world. 

It took the puzzle part of this story a little while to get going, but hanging out with Chester provides a fun and interesting time. He’s a good kid with a big heart and very smart. His transition to middle school has been rough, a situation with which many can sympathize. When he bonds with Skye, your heart leaps. 

The clues are fun, but when Chester endures some disappointments and changes your heart aches for him. Magoon does a wonderful job of bringing Chester’s emotions to life as a middle-schooler and someone who struggles with being different. The strong love between him and his mother is beautifully portrayed, too, as well as his burgeoning friendship with Skye. It seems like she might be his first friend and a great one she is. 

The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels

By Beth Lincoln and Claire Powell (illustrator)

This novel is delightful (adj. causing delight, charming). Shenanigan Swift is a young girl living in the family’s crumbling mansion with her Arch-Aunt Schadenfreude (the family Matriarch), Uncle Maelström, older sisters Felicity and Phenomena, and Cook. Everyone in the family receives their name from the Family Dictionary at birth. Their names seem to match their personalities for the most part. 

It is time for the Swift family reunion, which means it is also time to search for Grand-Uncle Vile’s Hoard, which has been hidden somewhere in the House for decades. This is Shenanigan’s first Reunion, but she has been prepping for this treasure hunt for a long time. She knows this House better than anyone and is sure she will find and keep the Hoard. However, a more pressing search takes priority when Aunt Schadenfreude is found at the bottom of the stairs. It does not look like an accident. Shenanigan, her sisters, and new friend cousin Erf, must put aside thoughts of treasure and find the culprit. As more bodies appear the tension causes many to question the role of their names, family traditions, and the meaning of family itself. 

I enjoyed this book thoroughly. Pure fun from beginning to end. Shenanigan is a feisty, funny, smart character and the bonds between her, her sisters, their uncle and aunt, and Erf are lovely, but still realistic. I felt echoes of Flavia de Luce and her sisters from Alan Bradley’s Flavia series, particularly with Phenomena’s interest in science and Shenanigan’s troubles as the youngest sister. I am so glad a second in the series will be published in early 2024. 

Do you like puzzles and puzzle mysteries?

Sara Farmer lives in Austin, TX, with her husband, three kids, and two cats. When she’s not chasing kids and cats, she reads and writes mysteries. You can find her at www.kittymomma.com and on Twitter @avonlea79.

The post Cozy to Cold-Blooded: Puzzle Mysteries appeared first on DIY MFA.

Why? Something about not wanting to be influenced by other people’s work, or some such malarkey. And for a while, it worked, I mean, I got words on the page, but nowhere with agents and publishers.

What the heck? Yeah, to say I was irritated would be a serious understatement. But what did all those other books have that mine didn’t? And so, after a considerable dry spell, I picked up the science fiction book du jour, The Fifth Season, by N. K. Jemisin.

Oh. Ohhhh…

Yeah, it was pretty eye-opening. Why? Whelp, I had been writing based on the books I’d grown up with and a hefty infusion of classics I’d loved along the way. Now don’t get me wrong, that’s great for learning story structure, but style?

Not so much.

See, the thing is, people’s taste in book style changes in much the same way fashion does. Case in point, Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea is an amazing sci-fi classic. It’s also not something most people are rushing to put in their Amazon carts. Ice Planet Barbarians? Ruby Dixon can’t write them fast enough.

And so began my reluctant sojourn into reading frequently and reading currently. Nope, I wasn’t a fan at first. After all, I wanted to be working on my stuff. But I pretty quickly understood the merits of following that tidbit of advice. Spoiler, I also learned that the advice to read your genre and to read widely was also correct.

Huh? Read your genre, read widely? Yeah, it confused me too. Like, if I’m reading SFF, what the heck could my writing possibly gain from reading a mystery or romance? More than you would think, and I’ll prove it. Check out some of the titles I’ve read this summer, and the insights I gained from them:

Read your Genre

Praying for Rain, by B.B. Easton (2020)

This is the first book in an apocalyptic science fiction trilogy, and I devoured all of it. The premise is that the entire world dreams that on April 23rd, the world will end and chaos ensues. Praying for Rain begins three days before the big day. The pacing of this book is excellent and features a dual point of view, some great character development, and all the fab tropes that make this genre so addictive. The first book is free on Kindle and is one of the few series I’ve shelled out cash to finish.

Epicentre, by Chris Andrews (2020)

Epicentre is a fantasy and another series starter. In it, a mermaid has some serious issues with the fact that she has to kill to stay alive. I found the world building in this excellent, and the stakes steadily rise throughout, giving the reader a real incentive to turn the page. There’s also some plot twists that I didn’t see coming, and let me tell you, they’re a doozy. Throw in how to shock your reader to my lessons learned.

Dogs of War, by Adrian Tchaikovsky (2017)

In this science fiction novel, a cybernetic bio-form security team is forced to determine between right and wrong during a mission gone sideways. Their choice has far-reaching repercussions. Again, the world building was excellent, but what I loved most about this book was the character development. The internal vs. external stressors on the main characters is masterful, and definitely something to aspire to. There’s a second book that follows this one, which I haven’t yet picked up, but it’s definitely on the list.

Bayou Moon, by Ilona Andrews (2010)

Yep, not exactly current, but I love me some Ilona Andrews, which is written by a husband and wife team. This is the second book in The Edge, a paranormal romance series. Everything about their books resonates with me. They’ve got the tropes, wicked plots, super-strong heroines and dialog that hits the mark every time. If you want to see how a long-running series keeps a reader’s attention, check them out because there’s several under their belt.

Read Widely

The Billionaire’s Wake-up-call Girl, by Annika Martin (2020)

Why yes, this is a contemporary romantic comedy. It’s not anywhere near SFF, but let me tell you, the comedic timing is fantastic, and I love the ridiculousness of the situations. Books like this make me reassess the bizarreness of the mundane and how to translate that into prose. My urban fantasy writing says thank you. There are several of these books all revolving around a circle of friends, and the ones I’ve read do not disappoint.

Bad Boss, by Lana Sky (2023)

This is a good example of why I read contemporary romance with an alpha-hole trope. What I like about these books is that the dual POV gives me insight into the push and pull between characters and how each rationalizes their actions. Well, yeah and they’re steamy, but it’s for research, people! Seriously, if I want to um…inject…some heat into my own book, there’s no better way to learn than reading what’s out there. And let me tell you, these are not your mother’s Harlequins.

The Last House on Needless Street, Catriona Ward (2021)

This is straight up horror, and so frickin’ good! It’s a multiple POV novel with rising tension and a mystery behind it all that’s a powerhouse of a driving force. If you want to know how to weave a complex story, this is absolutely the book to check out. It’s a study in drip-feeding your readers information to keep them hooked.

Now it’s Your Turn

Not sure where to start with your own reading? I’d recommend checking out Goodreads. You can easily search by genres, reviews, or new releases. It’s definitely the rabbit hole of books with some cool features. One of which lets you view your read list by publication date, and another that gives you similar reads to choose from. Let me know how you do, and if there’s something that wows you, let me know, ‘cause you know I’m gonna want to add it to my own TBR pile.

AK Nevermore writes science fiction and urban fantasy with spice. She enjoys operating heavy machinery, freebases coffee, and gives up sarcasm for Lent every year. Unable to ignore the voices in her head, and unwilling to become medicated, she writes about dark worlds, perversely irreverent and profound, and always entertaining. Her debut novel, Flame & Shadow comes out November 2023.

You can find her on her website or follow her on her sadly neglected Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram feeds.

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In a previous post, The Messy Middle: Luna & The Rise of Trans Narratives, we examined the pitfalls of the young adult (YA) novel Luna, which provided a compelling “case study” for understanding the potential negative impact of misrepresenting trans communities in fiction. 

The Brown Sisters Trilogy

I’m super excited to offer an additional “case study” of inclusive writing from The Brown Sisters trilogy, written by best-selling self-published author Talia Hilbert. This romance series offers an excellent example of what readers can gain from holistic writing that holds space for inclusion and representation, without sacrificing the complexities of the heart, humor, and humanity that are the foundation of the romance genre.

The Brown Sisters trilogy adheres to the common principles of the genre by chronicling the optimistic and aspirational enemies to lovers journey of clever and stubborn female protagonists. What makes it stand out are the steamy sex scenes, witty and humorous dialogue, and clever meta-commentary on the romance genre. Hilbert’s contemporary take on romance, sexuality, and interracial dating feels like a breath of fresh air.

The books in the series include Get A Life, Chole Brown (2019), Take A Hint, Dani Brown (2020), and Act Your Age, Eve Brown (2021). Each novel has received positive reviews and enjoyed great commercial success, which is even more impressive when considering the ways that the publishing industry has excluded authors of color from the genre.

A “Whites Only” Genre?

Full disclosure, before reading this series, I would not have identified as a romance genre reader.  It wasn’t until I began doing research for this post that I realized that this was less about my actual preference and more about the effectiveness of the systematic racism constructed to exclude authors and readers of color from the romance genre.

In the mind-blowing article, “Fifty Shades of White: The Long Fight Against Racism in Romance Novels,” author Lois Beckett details how Harlequin and other publishing entities, have historically chosen to exclusively publish, promote, and award white romance authors, effectively limiting the genre to the experiences of able-bodied, white, Christian, middle class, and heterosexual women. 

Apparently, I had subconsciously been influenced by this message because it wasn’t until I happened upon the first novel, Get A Life Chole Brown, one day in a Barnes & Noble, that I started to consider the genre.

#Representation Matters

The cover of the book featured a curvy black woman, which got my attention immediately. 

What really convinced me to buy the book was the summary of the novel, which mentioned that the character had fibromyalgia. I was at the beginning of my Fibro diagnosis, and it felt like the universe had gifted me the opportunity to escape into another world where a curvy black woman with fibromyalgia finds her purpose.

Representation got me through the door with the first book. However, what led me to become a faithful reader and fan of Hilbert was her ability to effectively illustrate intersectionality. She expertly connects her inciting incidents to universal truths and enters through the side of marginalized identities of which she does not have direct experiences.

Show Us the Complexity of Humanity with Intersectionality

According to her website, taliahilbert.com, Hilbert writes “spicy diverse British romance because she believes that people of marginalized identities need honest and positive representation.” Hilbert provides that representation by masterfully illustrating the intricate humanity of intersecting and marginalized identities within the series. 

The trilogy provides a breadth of perspectives that are often underrepresented in mainstream romance, such as neurodivergence (ADHD and autism), body image, sexuality, immigrant experiences, interracial relationships, trauma, racism, sexism, chronic illness, religious intolerance, and mental health (anxiety, depression, and PTSD) just to name a few. These portrayals are masterfully woven into the plotline in a way that highlights the challenges and resiliency of each identity.

Anchor Those Inciting Incidents to Universal Truths

An inciting incident is an important storytelling element utilized in all writing genres. Most stories are crafted to build up to a specific incident or its aftermath; the impact of that incident. It is very important that characters are developed beyond their marginalized identity and that their identity is not used as the inciting incident for the story. 

Hilbert is an expert at pairing the complexities of marginalized identity with universal themes of human experience. I would argue that the series is essentially about the ways we hide out from life until we are ready to heal from past pain because all of the characters in the series must work to address universal themes of grief, loss, hitting rock bottom, and finding one’s purpose. These universal themes not only make the characters feel real but also offer the reader a perspective for overcoming or addressing their own struggles, which is a rare occurrence within the genre.

You’ve Got This!!!

Hopefully, reflecting on the positive representation of marginalized identity within The Brown Sisters trilogy has affirmed that it is possible to provide equitable and nuanced portrayals of marginalized communities when we are intentional with character development, world building, and plot. The Brown Sister series is an excellent reference point for understanding how to craft stories that hold space for inclusion and representation, without sacrificing the complexities of the heart, humor, and humanity.

Colice Sanders is a blogger and diversity, equity, and inclusion facilitator. Colice writes nonfiction, poetry, and memoir. Her blog, A Reason to Rise, chronicles her journey of radical self-acceptance through the lens of childhood trauma. 

You can also reach her on LinkedIn and Instagram.

The post The Messy Middle: The Brown Sisters Trilogy is #inclusivewritinggoals appeared first on DIY MFA.

Like ghost stories in October, summer reading carries with it the indulgence of being simply delightful. It’s a time to break free of books related only to WIPs (at least, temporarily—and I do know that you actually love those books related to your work in progress). It’s just that sometimes knowing we have to do something zaps the wanting to do it from our creative selves.  

Over the next few months, I encourage you to reconnect with your Inner Reader. Grab things based on the criteria of “Hey, that looks interesting…” or “Ohhhh, I’ve heard that is SO GOOD!!” (ahem, Mexican Gothic).  Pick a day or evening or afternoon when you shirk the Should Dos in favor of disappearing into a book the way you did when you were a kid. The world will be ok without you for a couple of hours and you will be investing in one of the most important aspects of being a writer: strengthening your love of reading.    

In the spirit of fun and literary adventure, here are your June 2023 Leisure Learning links:

The Atlas of Improbable Places

Book by Travis Elborough (author) and Alan Horsfield (cartographer)

The Atlas of Improbable Places is a compendium of wayyyy off-the-beaten-path locales and is worth picking up, even if you have no travel plans whatsoever. In fact, especially if you have no travel plans whatsoever. This undertaking by British author Travis Elborough and cartographer Alan Horsfield will take you on short journeys that feel like you’re being led around by younger, hipper versions of Stephen Fry and Bill Bryson. 

The Atlas could easily be compared to other “weird places” guides. However, there is a marked difference in that each of the destinations have come about through a number of implausible events. Each of the chosen locales have stories worth telling. 

Just how did the Netherlands manage to reclaim land from the sea? What South American church was left untouched when the surrounding city was wiped out by lava? Why are there fire mummies?

Find out the answers to these and more questions one might never think to ask in this atlas that promotes the affordable armchair trip.  

The Best American Nonrequired Reading

Since 1915, The Best American series has become a staple on bookshelves of both readers and writers alike. 

How the series works is that a head editor selects what he or she thinks represents the “best of” American short works published the previous year, taken from smaller literary presses. Then, a famous-name author such as Ann Patchett, Stephen King, or Junot Diaz guest edits, choosing the crème de la crème to be anthologized for a specific year, which also happens to be reflective of the guest author’s personal tastes.

Over the years, The Best American series has expanded into other categories including essays, mystery and suspense, travel, sports, food—even infographics and recipe writing. 

However, one of the most overlooked compilations that the series ever produced is The Best American Nonrequired Reading, which began in 2002 as the brainchild of Dave Eggers. Like Eggers himself, the pieces featured are witty and irreverent. 

We all know that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but when they’re done by Banksy or Maurice Sendak for this series, make an exception. Inside you will find pieces by Conan O’Brien, Jennifer Egan, and Viet Than Nguyen, among many others whose names will surely come to thrill us on a larger scale.

Any edition that you pick up will make you feel like you’re spending the night getting a drink with that good friend from college.  

Humor

When was the last time you headed to the humor section of your local library or bookstore? If you’re like most adults, the answer usually hangs somewhere in between years and decades. Summer reading is the perfect excuse opportunity to nurture the humor we all have within us. 

Go on and grab that cartoonish-looking book filled with silly diagrams. Or maybe the one with the editorial bunny on it. The important part of this is to emotionally reconnect with the written word. Humor has a way of doing it like no other genre. These sit-down comedians of the world offer a great chance to bowl you over with laughter or tease out those gentle, inner smiles.    

Specifically, since we are all word nerds, I urge you to at least peruse both Revenge of the Librarians as well as Dreyer’s English. Revenge of the Librarians is a laugh out loud (or quietly to yourself, depending on location) anthology of book related cartoons, while Dreyer’s English is a witty up-to-date guide to grammar, written by chief editor at Random House, Benjamin Dreyer.    

You can’t go wrong with either. 

Postcards

Postcards make the perfect blank space to practice writing flash fiction. Get inspired by Paul  Beckman’s Postcard Stories that have appeared in a number of literary magazines or redefine the entire concept of postcard by putting your spin on what can be said in the fewest of words. 

If you want to take it to a whole new level, perhaps you might be inspired by artist Carol Lee’s Postcard Project, where she has created thousands of postcards in her minimal, supple style and invites visitors to her exhibitions to take one and send it on a journey. 

These postcards have lives of their own, sometimes coming back to her and sometimes rewarding her with new pen pals.  

Once Upon a Time

G.K. Chesteron once said, “Fairy tales are more than true, not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.”

However, sometimes once we grow up, we need a reminder of how to actually go about that in the modern world. In My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me, founding editor of the Fairy Tale Review Kate Bernheimer brings the genre to its maturity in her compilation of 40 fairy tales rewritten for adults by some of the world’s most acclaimed authors.

Enjoy the different ways John Updike and Joyce Carol Oates recreate Charles Perrault’s Bluebird. Read Kim Addonizio’s retelling of seven dwarfs living in an overpriced loft, filled with futons. Moreover, it must be mentioned that Aimee Bender’s magnificent story, The Color Master, fits like a golden glove within this all grown up anthology. 

Commentary by the different authors on the tales they haven chosen provide additional insight into the artistic process as well as provide a bit of background for these enduring stories. 

Get ready to slay office dragons and swoon over these splendid, legendary takes on favorites and familiars.  

Tell us in the comments: Which of these June 2023 Leisure Learning picks are you most excited to try?

Melissa Haas is the author and illustrator of Catula: The Misadventures of Dracula’s Cat and The Night Before Christmas (NOW WITH CATS), among others. Follow Catula’s whereabouts on Instagram @CatulaTheCat. If you’re interested in downloading free coloring pages or seeing Margaret Atwood with a blowtorch, check out more Leisure Learning related content at www.MelissaHaasCreates.com.

The post June 2023 Leisure Learning: Summer Reading, All Grown Up appeared first on DIY MFA.

Finally, if you grew up writing when paper was all the rage (or the only thing available) and struggle with the technological nature of contemporary life, have a laugh at what it must’ve been like when we switched from scrolls to books via The Helpeth Desk. 

May 2023 Leisure Learning Picks

Disney Rocks the Rococo

A while back, the Metropolitan Museum of Art held an exhibit showcasing Walt Disney’s inspiration from the French Rococo period. This overview of the exhibit demonstrates how Disney translated not just the style but the ideas found flowing within the French decorative arts into some of the works that are now part of our cinematic canon (i.e., Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella).

This is worth showing younger children to help them understand how real life objects can inspire different forms of art and introduces just about everyone to the overlooked woman behind Cinderella’s concept art. While the exhibit video constitutes my family pick for the month, these elegant, erudite 26 minutes are best to take in with the adolescent artist in your life or simply to enjoy on your own with a nice cup of tea. 

**Close ups of pieces mentioned in the video are available here. 

Hernando Colón: Son of Columbus & Creator of Bookshelves

Hernando Colón (aka Ferdinand Columbus) is best known for being Christopher Columbus’s second illegitimate son as well as a dutiful biographer.  However, he is rarely credited with what he considered his life’s work: creating the first European library.

Although he was illegitimate, Hernando was acknowledged and given everything a son could be given. Notably, he grew up in a number of different homes, always having access to aristocratic and even royal tutors. Early on, it was clear that, while his father was an explorer of the world, Hernando was an explorer of the mind. 

As such, Hernando passionately attempted to incorporate all that he had learned with all that was being discovered. Europe’s first library held three times as many books as the largest private book collection at the time. Still, one of his overarching contributions often gets lost in his own narrative, and that is his innovative implementation of how to access this knowledge. 

Hernando sought to put all of the world in order. After assembling numerous volumes of books, pamphlets, and anything else that could essentially be read, he paid an army of readers to write synopses and then log the various holdings.

In The Catalog of Shipwrecked Books, biographer Edward Wilson-Lee explains that prior to Hernando, bookshelves weren’t a thing. People walked into Hernando’s library and were astounded by not only the books but bookshelves! Prior to this, retrieving a tome from a tall stack was like playing an involuntary game of Jenga. His father might’ve found the New World, but Hernando made a new world. We owe the vertical placing of books to this guy. 

If you’d like to see the floor plans and other visuals, this lecture by Wilson-Lee offers the best images available. 

Normally, this would be the end of the write-up for Hernando Colón, godfather of the library (we can’t overlook the original in Alexandria). Yet, shortly after The Catalog of Shipwrecked Books was published, Hernando came into prominence again. In the spring of 2019, the codex containing his library holdings (El Libro de los Epítomes) resurfaced when accidentally purchased along with a collection of antiquarian Icelandic manuscripts. See a pic of the nearly foot-high volume and get up to speed with this NPR segment.

Letters Live 

Letters Live is a UK based organization that revives the art of written correspondence. Very much in the tradition of Mortified or The Moth, Letters Live has actors read letters that people have actually written or received. Their twist on it provides us with extremely well-dramatized, often humorous performances of something that has been largely lost in the age of texts and email. 

Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston, Olivia Coleman, and Ian McKellan are just some of the actors who infuse written letters with new lives. The curated collection of readings runs the gamut from personal correspondence to legendary letters written to departments, companies, and institutions.

Here, Keegan Michael Key reads a response from The Smithsonian to the man who kept sending them “artifacts” from his backyard. Taika Waititi gives dramatic justice to an Auckland man replying to an inquiry from the Wellington Police Department. Re-live what a WWI captain wrote to his wife just as opposing forces called a truce on Christmas Eve.      

If you are having a blah day, this is the perfect way to awaken your soul. Most YouTube clips are under five minutes and guaranteed to be emotionally gripping. Should you care to make an entire night of letters read live, entire performances of the show are available for free.

Medieval Words Worth Reviving

Remember when you were a kid and simply saying “shenanigans” or “bamboozle” occupied a terrific few seconds of time? Just between you and me, words can be fun. I still regard saying silly things such as flibbertigibbet as a simple but great joy in life.  

BBC newscaster Rob Watts feels the same. He is fascinated by words, and in this clip has done fellow linguaphiles the service of selecting top words from medieval English worth slipping into a conversation, manuscript or epic-ly controversial game of Scrabble. 

Find out when “mango” didn’t refer to a fruit, consider adding “russin” into your routine, or wryly name a parrot “Papa Jay” after listening to this “Best of” 13th century Anglo-English ever recorded.

Viewers should note that Watts’s list was compiled from an original contribution made by die hard word nerd, Herbert Coleridge who, at age 17, cataloged all of the known words from medieval England (specifically, 1250-1300 AD). 

BTW, if you were wondering, this does happen to be the grandson of the famed poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Love of English run in the family much? 

William Blake, Mixed Media Artist

William Blake is the Romantic poet best known for The Tyger, his idiosyncratic revival of the illuminated manuscript form, and that one time he and his wife got caught reading Paradise Lost in the nude.

Well, maybe not so much that last one. 

During his lifetime, Blake worked as an engraver while also practicing poetry and painting. His mind dwelled in the realm of the fantastic, favoring Heaven and Hell. Even today, his personal style is considered captivating and it is worth mentioning that Silence of the Lambs author Thomas Harris drew upon Blake’s Great Red Dragon paintings for his own book, Red Dragon. 

These days, Blake might be considered a mixed media artist. This video contextualizes what that meant in the 18th century and how Blake achieved his still stunning effects.

Melissa Haas is the author and illustrator of Catula: The Misadventures of Dracula’s Cat and The Night Before Christmas (NOW WITH CATS), among others. Follow Catula’s whereabouts on Instagram @CatulaTheCat. If you’re interested in downloading free coloring pages or seeing Margaret Atwood with a blowtorch, check out more Leisure Learning related content at www.MelissaHaasCreates.com.

The post May 2023 Leisure Learning: Way, Way Back in the Day appeared first on DIY MFA.

I enjoyed The ABC Murders and just kept going with the Poirot series. I’ve wanted to read Christie’s books for years. My grandmother loved them and so many mystery writers say they learned all about plotting from her. Christie was a plotter par excellence. Her stories are twisty and unrealistic, but they work. Every single loose end tucks in. Plus, how have I been writing this column for three years without devoting one to Dame Agatha?

It took me a while to figure out what to write about Poirot. He is a big subject. He debuted in Christie’s first book, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, in 1920. The fastidious Belgian (not French as he must often remind those who assume) with the magnificent mustaches, egg-shaped head, green eyes that glow when he begins to figure things out, and passion for order and symmetry endeared himself to readers, despite his enormous ego, as they reveled in Christie’s complex puzzle mysteries. 

Poirot and his “little gray cells” (his preferred metaphor for brains) proved so popular that 33 of Christie’s 66 detective novels comprise part of the Poirot series. Fifty-nine short stories and a play by Christie and four new novels by author Sophie Hannah feature him as well. 

Christie herself both loved and hated him, asking herself why in the world she gave him an egg-shaped head. 

Prior to the publication of Poirot’s last Christie case, Curtain, the New York Times ran a front page obituary, the first time that was done for a fictional character. He’s also been portrayed on stage, radio, and screen by such actors as Albert Finney, David Suchet (considered by many to be the definitive Poirot), John Malkovich, and Kenneth Branagh, who wins the award for most outlandish Poirot mustaches.

You see my dilemma. Huge subject within another huge subject (Christie) who have both already been well-covered. I could write about my favorite Poirots. I considered writing about the twistiest plots, but that would necessitate spoilers galore. 

So, welcome to the Poirot Awards. I chose four unique Poirot novels and highlighted the characteristics that make them so unique. Don your finery and walk the very straight and symmetrical red carpet. But beware. Where Poirot goes, murder follows. 

Note: I want to acknowledge that Christie’s books contain racist, sexist, classist, and anti-Semitic attitudes and comments. Some are definitely worse than others. (I’m looking at you, Dumb Witness.) I in no way excuse or condone any of that and hope you will read her books with care if you choose to do so.

Twistiest Plot: The Murder on the Links

Poirot receives a letter from a Mr. Renauld in France. He says he is in danger and implores Poirot to come and help him. Unfortunately, by the time Poirot and his friend Captain Hastings arrive Mr. Renauld is already dead. Intruders broke in and bound and gagged his wife before walking him out and shooting him before an open grave. (Just over the Renauld property line on a golf course, hence the title.)

Why It Wins This Category 

You keep thinking you know the culprit. All signs point there. Poirot even talks as if they are the culprit. But Christie pulls the rug out from under the reader over and over. Poirot demonstrates why it is NOT so and the story twists in another direction. I kept going back and making sure I understood what happened.

Most Experimental: The ABC Murders 

Poirot begins receiving letters from someone called ABC. Each tells of a murder that they will commit unless Poirot stops them. The first one is Alice Archer in Andover and so on through the alphabet with the first letters of the town and of the victim’s names matching. 

Why It Wins This Category 

This conceit could have been ridiculous with anyone but Christie. Yes, serial murderers like to play games with police sometimes, but this seems a terrifically hard one to pull off, especially in these small English towns. Plus, she experiments with the idea of Poirot losing the challenge. The murderer manages to stay one step ahead of Poirot…for a while. 

Most Original Method of Murder: Death in the Clouds 

On a flight from France to England (on a dirigible), an old French woman is found dead. She has a mark on the side of her neck and a wasp was seen flying around earlier. But then a dart decorated like a wasp is found on the floor, as well as a blowpipe stuffed down behind the seat of fellow passenger Hercule Poirot. 

No one saw anything. How did someone blow a poison dart across the full cabin and no one see anything?

Why It Wins This Category 

Killed by a poison dart covered in boomslang (a snake native to Africa) venom on a dirigible. Need I say more?

Most Original Plot: Cards on the Table 

This one employed such a clever conceit. The victim (Mr. Shaitana) claims to Poirot that he collects murderers. He invites Poirot to a dinner party to prove it. 

There are eight guests at the party, including Poirot. Three are detectives like him—Colonel Race, Ariadne Oliver, and Superintendent Battle. All are Christie series characters who appear in books of their own. 

The two groups—four alleged murderers the host has befriended and the four detectives—are split into those two groups to play bridge. The party eventually begins to break up and they discover their host is dead. He was stabbed with a thin stiletto from one of his tables cluttered with his collections. 

He must have been right about at least one of the murderers. But which? Who got spooked by the host’s speech and killed him in plain sight during a bridge game? (The four detectives were playing in the other room.)

Why It Wins This Category 

Collects murderers and invites them to a party full of famous detectives? If that is true, they’ve all escaped detection before. Are they actually murderers? Which one killed their host? Poirot and his fellow detectives must not only investigate the death of Mr. Shaitana, but find and investigate the other four alleged murders. Alleged murderers vs. detectives, who will win?

Christie’s plotting ability wows me. I also found that she creates deeper characters than she receives credit for, especially in the later books. The emphasis is on the puzzle, but she doesn’t skimp on the other important elements of fiction. I think I see more Christie columns in my future. In the meantime, let me know your favorite Poirot novels and on-screen portrayals!

Sara Farmer lives in Austin, TX, with her husband, three kids, and two cats. When she’s not chasing kids and cats, she reads and writes mysteries. You can find her at www.kittymomma.com and on Twitter @avonlea79.

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Currently, we have access to a seemingly infinite horizon of storytelling vehicles—movies, series, video games, virtual reality sims, podcasts, archives of other forms of media, as well as the very obvious, books. While the loads of content out there can make finding the “digitally worthwhile” analogous to hacking one’s way through an ad infested jungle, the truth of the matter is that never before have there been so many high quality resources so readily available to so very many people.

We are living in “the golden age of content.” In addition to standard streaming services like Netflix, Kanopy, and YouTube, the pandemic forced many traditionally low-tech institutions to place full productions online. Museum lectures, plays, concerts, even departmental recitals featuring some of the world’s best young musicians are now readily accessible online. 

True, the internet still basically represents the roving id of humanity, but there’s some phenomenal work now crowding it out. If you still have your doubts, check out Dracula, the ballet. 

So, where does reading fit within this brave, new world?

Sure, we could debate the merits of films over books, video games over films…but, as one fan has inevitably articulated, “A life without Star Wars is not worth living.” 

In 2019, Poland became the first country to add a video game (This War Of Mine) to their educational curriculum. Clearly, different mediums have their own unique ways of making powerful impressions on people.

As such, rather than trying to list the merits of reading over other forms of media, I would like to address the very specific, often overlooked aspect of reading as a creative act.

To me, one of the most fascinating things about both reading and writing is this idea that the reader creates their own, personal version of the work they are engaging with. 

For example, take the following passage from The Yellow Wallpaper:

The color is repellant, almost revolting; a smouldering, unclean yellow, strangely faded by the slow-turning sunlight. It is a dull yet lurid orange in some places, a sickly sulphur tint in others.

Despite the perfect, evocative specificity of Perkins’s words, two people reading this quote would each still create their own version of this scene, complete with differing tones of yellow. In one reader’s interpretation, this might be the faded yellow of a nursery. The other might visualize the room as once having a cheerful, sunny yellow that now stands nowhere near that intention. Similarly, each person is dispersing the splotches of orange and sulfuric yellow to best fit the mental model they are developing word by word, phrase by phrase. 

It is in these moments that the reader is doing something that even the writer can’t: creating a scene from the chips of experience that they have personally gathered and collected through interacting with the world. It is the reader that elevates the book to its full potential. 

Judgment Calls in Reading

To expand on the idea of reading as a creative act, consider the difference between reading a book and listening to its audio counterpart. Again, we are not debating the value of one medium over another. 

Rather, I am asking you to consider how the meaning of text may be changed with just the addition of inflection. The fairly simple question: “Is he coming with us?” becomes quite different when either of the pronouns are emphasized.

Is he coming with us? = Is he, the guy who hasn’t showered in two weeks, actually coming out with us, regular users of soap?

Is he coming with us? = Is he coming with us? …Because I already have 5 people crammed into the Porsche my Dad’s letting me borrow and I’m starting to get worried about space.   

When reading a book, it is the reader who makes these subtle judgment calls. The reader serves as actor, producer, director, sound artist, and more—all with one superior advantage: having a really GREAT script from which to work.  

Audience Participation Required

While we have many mediums for storytelling, reading requires a certain form of deep processing that others do not. A movie or podcast ensues regardless of your presence in the room; the book only gets finished with audience participation. 

It is this type of experience that gives a unique dimension to reading as a creative act. When we process words, we attend to our own lives in a closer way. When we read, we adventure into a new world crafted from the world we have already known. This elaborative processing makes reading much more of a nurturing activity rather than what can become one of passive consumption. It is for this reason that reading continues to be one of the most humanly rewarding forms of recreation.

Because I could not possibly say it better myself, I offer you the thoughts of 1991 Mann Booker prize winner Ben Okri, taken from his speech, “Books Can Bring Solace in Troubled Times,” given at the 2019 Hay Festival in Wales:  

…it is readers who make the book…Writers have monumental responsibilities in the execution of their art, but readers also have great responsibilities…Books are a dialogue between souls…The reader should bring the best in themselves to meet the best in the writer’s work. …The energies or the serenity within books is meant, finally, to multiply the energies within the reader, or to deepen their serenity. The true destination of books is life, and the living.

As emerging technologies continue to develop, and even more vehicles for story come into being, we must ask ourselves how may we best continue this “dialogue between souls”? When choosing a medium for leisure, it is worthwhile to ask if the activity will enrich one’s interior landscape, edify the cognitive sanctuary from which may we retreat from the world so that we may come to understand our place within it, and thereby make the actions of our lives meaningful, regardless of magnitude.   

Melissa Haas is the author and illustrator of Catula: The Misadventures of Dracula’s Cat and The Night Before Christmas (NOW WITH CATS), among others. Follow Catula’s whereabouts on Instagram @CatulaTheCat. If you’re interested in downloading free coloring pages or seeing Margaret Atwood with a blowtorch, check out more Leisure Learning related content at www.MelissaHaasCreates.com.

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This month’s column explores the spectrum of friends, enemies, frenemies, and simply odd relationships found within literature, both on and off the page. 

In the same vein, I ask you to consider your own relationships. What author or characters have informed your idea of friendship? What moments in your own life may represent either the start or end to a Platonic relationship? 

While you’re at it, take some time to consider relationships that many of us have, yet seem to go undocumented. 

Add these into a WIP or make a note for future projects. 

Should you need help getting started or simply want to explore secret worlds shared intimately between characters, the following is offered for fodder.

Here are your April 2023 Leisure Learning picks:

Great Literary Friendships by Janet Phillips

Frodo & Sam. Watson & Holmes. Harry, Hermione, & Ron. For many of us, the bonds between these characters have been instrumental in defining our entire concept of friendship. 

In the book Great Literary Friendships, Janet Phillips takes 24 partnerships from both contemporary and traditional classics out of their normal settings to focus solely on this one aspect of characters relating to one another. 

The examples and their accompanying essays depict not only the warm, light-filled ties we usually associate with good buds, but also the contentious, complicated ones that can be found in great literature—as well as in life. Just what creates the alchemy between college mates in Donna Tartt’s The Secret History? 

Be prepared to explore the nature of teetering partnerships that may even feel uncomfortably close to home, now that you think about it. 

Great Literary Friendships boasts a beautiful, foil stamped cover, making it a wonderful gift to give to your BBF (best book friend). 

For writers, the book offers a multi-faceted view of how characters can function in tandem with each other to serve emotional context and/or plot. Regardless of one’s occupation, this book offers a look at the many ways people can intimately relate to each other on a mental (rather than physical) basis. As such, anyone who has ever had a friend or been a friend will find something to relate to in this worthwhile compilation. 

A Secret Sisterhood: The Literary Friendships of Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, George Eliot, and Virginia Woolf by Emily Midorikawa and Emma Claire Sweeney

Every author has that writer friend who “gets them.” This fellow author understands what the other is trying to say, but can pick out blindspots and plot holes otherwise unseen. Community is an idea heartily emphasized here at DIY MFA, and a writing partnership is one of the most important relationships an author can have. 

A Secret Sisterhood details some of the greatest friendships in literary history. Written by a pair of female author friends themselves, this volume provides tremendous insight into the women who helped develop the manuscripts we’ve come to know as masterpieces. 

Piecing together historical evidence, the reader is informed who Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, George Eliot, and Virginia Woolf hashed out their ideas with. These relationships unfold as complex and dynamic, lasting over decades, always staying true to telling each other what it is she needs to hear in the service of making the work better. 

Additionally, we are given a glimpse of these authors as they are just developing their styles and then get an idea of what continues to make them curious after they’ve made their mark. 

If I were teaching Women’s Lit or a class on Feminine Creative Writing, I would make A Secret Sisterhood required reading. Not only is it insightful, the level of scholarship on relationships that prove themselves to be almost as central as a marriage is quite notable.  

(**The audiobook version is available for free if you are a member of Audible.com.)

Legendary Literary Feuds (YouTube clip, 23 mins.)

When we’re introduced to someone as one of the Great Authors, we usually aren’t told about their real life behavior, save for the occasional background on drinking. 

Given that the pen is mightier than the sword, it is only reasonable to suggest that insults between authors can get pretty darn wicked. 

In this YouTube video, Oxford English Lit graduate Benjamin McEvoy counts down some of the most outrageous feuds one can find in the literary arts.

(SPOILER ALERT: If you’re wondering whether or not Hemingway made the list, the answer is “Ohhhhh, yeah.”)

For the Love of Books: Stories of Literary Lives, Banned Books, Author Feuds, Extraordinary Characters, and More by Graham Tarrant 

For the Love of Books is a light-hearted compendium of literary trivia that contains a variety of facts and stories about …well, stories…and the people who have become legendary for penning them. 

It offers a nice mix of Things You Can Bring Up At A Dinner Party in addition to providing background regarding how some of the world’s greatest authors got on with each other (e.g., Truman Capote and Harper Lee, Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald, the very public fallout between J.K. Rowling and Stephen King).  

For the Love of Books is sectioned into reads that take only a couple of minutes. As such, it’s a fine alternative to screen scrolling & perfect opportunity to use those few minutes here and there to enrich your literary life.   

Barnum’s Lost Museum (CUNY website and archives)

Impresario P.T. Barnum earned his place in history as “the greatest showman on Earth” by creating what may be thought of as America’s earliest, most successful Gawker page. Sometimes this was in the form of a traveling show; at other times, he worked on creating more permanent exhibits.

In 1841, Barnum scored a deal on the Scudder Museum’s acquisitions, combined them with his own and opened the controversial American Museum in the center of Manhattan’s Financial District. Its popularity at the time rivaled that of what Walt Disney World’s is now. Unfortunately, this attraction succumbed to its own spectacular fire in 1868, thereby making its re-creation go by the title of The Lost Museum. 

When I stumbled upon City University of New York’s (CUNY)’s efforts to preserve what they could of this endeavor, just like people back then, I couldn’t help but stop and look—and I urge you to, as well.  

Now, I’m not recommending The Lost Museum for its outrageous spectacles. In fact, the exploratory area has a rather Nancy Drew point and click quality. 

Still, I am recommending this joint collaboration between CUNY and the American Social History Project because of the rich source of archives that reveal the American mentality and practices around the time of the Civil War. Whether you’re interested in the etiquette of the time, want to look at the Bowery boys in their original context, find out what is meant by “Circassian beauty,“ or just want to see what you missed via the museum’s illustrated guide, this is the place to go.

Melissa Haas is the author and illustrator of Catula: The Misadventures of Dracula’s Cat and The Night Before Christmas (NOW WITH CATS), among others. Follow Catula’s whereabouts on Instagram @CatulaTheCat. If you’re interested in downloading free coloring pages or seeing Margaret Atwood with a blowtorch, check out more Leisure Learning related content at www.MelissaHaasCreates.com.

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Whatever your pleasure, I hope that you will find inspiration, renewal and sheer delight among the following:

Beatrix Potter: The Secret Life Of A Victorian Genius

Documentary, 45 mins. (free)

May I have a moment of your time? I respectfully request that you stop your jam-packed day to take a minute and consider this question: have you ever met anyone – anyone in your life – who doesn’t like Peter Rabbit? I have yet to meet such a person. I wonder if such a person even exists. However, from the completely unscientific research I’ve gathered from friends and (mainly) Whole Foods customers, it seems conclusive to me that such a soul does not exist. For, it’s as if Beatrix Potter’s work represents a universal constant of charm.  

But just because Ms. Potter is remembered for Jemima Puddleduck and Peter Rabbit doesn’t mean that Ms. Potter’s days consisted solely of drawing and writing. As fellow authors, you understand the many layers of actual life and research that go into creating a well-formed work.  

In the documentary Beatrix Potter: The Secret Life of a Victorian Genius, famed thespian Dame Patricia Routledge leads viewers into the other facets of Beatrix’s life. Learn how this unintended author/illustrator was dismissed by scientists (“treated scurvily” by the Linnean Society), and therefore somewhat relegated to becoming a Victorian breakout star, whose work continues to sell at the worldwide rate of one book every 15 seconds.  

LitHub’s (Better) Version of the Oscars

List of Lists

On March 12, Hollywood’s most notable will convene for the 95th presentation of golden statuettes. Yes, The Oscars (aka my personal “How To Know What’s Worth Watching” guide). Now, I am all for the glitz and glamor of couture styled artistes, but I also know that I’ll be spending a good portion of my evening with my Kindle.

_{¹ There is always one.
² Accompanied by a suspiciously large rabbit, which simply must be a hare IRL.}

If you are of the same mindset, I invite you to bookmark LitHub’s 2022 “If Books Were Given Oscars” article. From Best Documentary (Non-Fiction) to Best Cinematography (Setting), their take on The Oscars (But For Books!) will not only provide you with a smile, you will also be spending the night with some of literature’s most up-and-coming stars with all of their splendid, sparkling brains.   

Mountain Talk  

Documentary, 1 hour (free)

Everyone reading this knows how very important words are. When words become specialized into a specific dialect, they can expose layers of culture, values and history.

The documentary Mountain Talk chronicles some of the most frequently occurring yet unheard words and phrases spoken today. This film follows linguists and locals through the mountains of southern Appalachia to get at the heart of how words and stories can bind a people both within a region and throughout time. Moreover, you’ll be introduced to unforgettable, real-life characters like pro moonshiner Popcorn Sutton. This production is part of North Carolina State’s Language and Life Project, which seeks to document American dialects (including sign language). The Project invites you to view the entire film on YouTube for free. 

Operation Mincemeat

Film

I’m sure you are familiar with those stories that are so outlandish, they could only be true. Like, if the British government used a real corpse to transport fake documents in the hopes of deceiving Hitler. What if that corpse needed a backstory? What if you could order the future creator of James Bond to write it as part of his service to Royal Naval Intelligence? While pitching such a story would probably get you turned down by agents and publishers, the true to life factors in Operation Mincemeat have made it intriguing enough to be turned into a full-length feature film, starring Firth. Colin Firth. 

Operation Mincemeat was an actual, implausible, yet successful military operation carried out in 1943, with the purpose of redirecting Hitler to invade Greece rather than Sicily. This movie is filled with the wry humor its actual story implies. Still, on a more serious note, it highlights just how very important not only writing but also implementation of the human imagination can be when used in times of crisis.  

Tales from the Emerald Isle

Spectacular website

Old wives’ tales are serious business in Ireland; so much so that in 1935, the National Folklore Commission of Ireland was formed by the government. The project aimed to formally collect the legends of leprechauns and fairies from the Emerald Isle. As oral histories, songs, and regional languages were added to the initial materials, these resources were turned over to academics at the University of Dublin and aggregated into the National Folklore Collection. 

In 2012, these materials began to be uploaded via The Dúchas project and has become a localized Heritage.com for the realm of Irish folk knowledge. The Dúchas project contains oral histories, fables, jokes, remedies and more passed down by the Irish, generation to generation, with just the right amount of magic.

Moreover, one of the primary methods of collection couldn’t be more endearing: stories, as told by elders in the community, were recorded by children which visitors can actually see handwritten in the striving penmanship of grade school. 

Finally, check out their extensive Folktale Index, as it is an excellent way for writers to compare what regional variations (ahem, dialect) may reveal about the rich life Ireland is known for.

Melissa Haas is the author and illustrator of Catula: The Misadventures of Dracula’s Cat and The Night Before Christmas (NOW WITH CATS), among others. Follow Catula’s whereabouts on Instagram @CatulaTheCat. If you’re interested in downloading free coloring pages, getting some sparkle in your inbox every other Wednesday or seeing Margaret Atwood with a blowtorch, check out more Leisure Learning related content at www.MelissaHaasCreates.com.

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In Two Boys Kissing, David Levithan brings back the literary chorus of old. The narrative guides of Shakespeare and Ovid at long last reappear, this time through the collective voice of our “ancient” gay predecessors. These are the people who bravely pioneered the social frontier, the rainbow-clad Lewis & Clark who pressed love onward – quietly or with booming voice – and who were lost to one of the greatest tragedies of our day, the AIDS epidemic.

The Premise 

As our guide, this chorus reveals to us a day in the life of multiple contemporary gay youths, in many iterations of the “type.” The main couple, Craig and Harry, are the two boys kissing, but they are not a couple at all (although they used to be). Their goal is to stand up for equality by breaking the world’s record for longest kiss – hoping that the process and the result of two boys’ names together in a permanent book of world records will get people thinking, if not change the world entirely. They are also standing up for their friend, who was violently and viciously beaten for being gay.

In addition to their primary story, the chorus gives us a peek into the worlds of Peter and Neil, a young couple who are learning what that word, “couple,” means; learning how to navigate life for themselves and for each other, including, most importantly, how to understand and respond to one another, sometimes without words. We also meet Avery and Ryan, both of whom have their demons, past and present, and who must confront the idea of what it means to be different, even within the same “gay world.”

Finally, we see Cooper, the boy who no one sees and who refuses to be seen. Cooper’s story is where the chorus truly rallies and where these spirit guides are needed most, lest we forget that where we came from and where we are going are inextricably linked. Technology advances, and these advancements change our perspectives and our possibilities, but for boys like Cooper, the loneliness and isolation only grow deeper, more vacuous.

Thoughts on the Book

Before there was Heartstopper, there was Two Boys Kissing: the gay anthem for our day. It is the very book created from the very inspirations that many of us have been waiting to read for a long, long time. Levithan pulls stories from the real world and links them to our present and our past. He does this through the eyes of a compassionate yet devastatingly helpless and sometimes forgotten chorus of our forbearers.

Levithan, since the publication of his wonderful short novel Boy Meets Boy twenty years ago, has veered from the idyllic and romantic, to the daring and experimental (Every You, Every Me), and the exploratory (Every Day), right into the real, the raw, and the historical. He keeps getting better, and Two Boys Kissing is a triumph indeed.

Quotes to Consider

“It is hard to stop seeing your son as a son and to start seeing him as a human being. It is hard to stop seeing your parents as parents and to start seeing them as human beings. It’s a two-sided transition, and very few people manage it gracefully.”

“What strange creatures we are, to find silence peaceful, when permanent silence is the thing we most dread. Nighttime is not that. Nighttime still rustles, still creaks and whispers and trembles in its throat.  It is not darkness we fear, but our own helplessness within it.”

“You grow. Your life widens. And you can’t expect your partner’s love alone to fill you. There will always be space for other things.”

“Here we are, thousands of us, shouting no, shouting at him to stop, crying out and making a net of our bodies, trying to come between him and the water.”

“There is the sudden. There is the eventual. And in between, there is the living.”

Adam W. Burgess is an English Professor at College of Southern Nevada. He has a Ph.D. from Northern Illinois University and is pursuing a post-doc writing certificate at the University of California, Berkeley. He loves engaging in all topics related to LGBTQ literature and craft. You can find Adam on his website or follow him on Twitter, and Instagram.

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