There is something unique about genre fiction. Perhaps it is the notion that great fiction should offer an escape. Perhaps it is with only these types of stories that true escapism can be attained some small path to temporary nirvana not found in other genres. That’s what we like to […]
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando is a fantastic park to visit for any fan of the series or films, but if I had my druthers, I’d take the “real” Hogwarts over the Muggle version of Harry’s world. But until that’s a viable option, I’ll stick to dreaming […]
I confess that I was one of those mothers. You know the type, the one who screened everything my kids read, watched, and listened to. Even up to their mid-teens, my son and daughter (bless their hearts) had to ask permission to listen to certain music, read certain books, watch […]
Here are a few posters and quotes that remind us why we love books. Which is your favorites, LitStackers? Tell us about them in the comments below. Happy reading!
It’s been said that families are like fudge—mostly sweet with a few nuts. If we’re lucky, the balance between the two is just right, but even then, we have moments when we wonder what it would be like to have a different set of relatives. Reading gives us that opportunity. […]
There is a baby in my home. Evidence of his existence is littered around us, blocking the sparse surroundings with furniture, general things that aim to keep him sated, none of which he is aware are his at all. Blankets and small bottles are in every room. Lone socks no […]
The best thing about running a site like LitStack is the diversity of folks you meet. Our writers come from all walks of life; their ages vary from those still in college, to a granny or two. With this diversity comes a variety of tastes and preferences, a fact that […]
A few years back I was asked by a dear friend if I teach the classics and I answered with an emphatic “No!” He scrunched up his face, tilted his head to the side and replied “Why not?” I sighed and then prepared myself for explaining why I feel like […]
An Actress, Yes, But Also an Amazing Writer I first came across Carrie Fisher, as so many of us did, as the feisty Princess Leia Organa in 1977’s cinematic classic Star Wars. That movie holds a special place in my heart, not only for what it is, but because it […]
The Varying Poverties of Now In the appendix to his brief but radiant 2010 manifesto ‘Reality Hunger’—a supremely confident and practically pedagogical collage of quotations and personal observations published in order to define a perceived new age of literature—David Shields writes with this kind of over-excited, unnecessarily aggressive tone. He’s […]
On this day, December 3, in 1857, Joseph Conrad was born in Berdichev, Imperial Russia (modern
Ukraine, then a part of Poland). While he settled in England and wrote in English, he always considered himself a Pole. Heart of Darkness, one of the most famous of his 20 novels (which explores colonialism and the attitudes regarding what constitutes a barbarian versus civilized society) is considered one of the best English novels of the 20th century, as is his novel Lord Jim, which chronicles a crew’s abandonment of its disabled ship. Conrad died in England in 1924 at age 66.