Columns

6 Book Suggestions for the Young and Weird at Heart

December 13th, 2017

Some of my favorite holiday memories were of getting books. I like toys, but toys were temporary things. Books lived in me—that is the promise of books. They are ingested and they become part of our makeup. Toys live alongside us. They are external companions that are dragged through our lives until we bore of them, then they are discarded. Books can't be discarded thusly. If you were a fan of Piers Anthony in middle school, and later you come to realize that his books were pretty sexist and shallow, you cannot forget the magic they imparted on your days.

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LitReactor Staff Picks: The Best Books of 2017 (part 2)

December 12th, 2017

Another year has come and gone. You know what that means, don't you? Time for a bunch of strangers to tell you what was good! And why should you care what the LitReactor staff thinks are the best books of the year? Trick question! You shouldn't. But what they have to say might interest you nonetheless, because they are good-looking and knowledgeable and they read like the wind. So for those who care, we submit for your approval/derision some of LitReactor's favorite reads of 2017 (part 2).

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Holiday Gifts I Would Give To Famous Authors

December 12th, 2017

Close your eyes and imagine a holiday the way you've always wanted it. 

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Castration Anxiety and the Monstrous-Feminine in 'Thor: Ragnarok'

December 11th, 2017

Although there have been other side villains before, like Rebecca Hall’s Maya Hansen in Iron Man 3 or Karen Gillan as Nebula in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, Cate Blanchett’s Hela in Thor: Ragnarok is the first female main villain in the movies of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And what’s most important about Hela is how she’s personified by her femininity.

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The LitReactor Hanukkah Gift Guide: 8 Crazy Books for 8 Crazy Nights

December 8th, 2017

Menora Image via BookBubBlog Okay, maybe some of these selections aren't that crazy (I didn't include Ass Goblins of Auschwitz, after all), but you don't want to send your Rabbi running for the hills. Instead I chose a little something for readers of every age, with tones ranging from silly to somber. Happy Hanukkah!

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LitReactor Staff Picks: The Best Books of 2017 (part 1)

December 7th, 2017

Another year has come and gone. You know what that means, don't you? Time for a bunch of strangers to tell you what was good! And why should you care what the LitReactor staff thinks are the best books of the year? Trick question! You shouldn't. But what they have to say might interest you nonetheless, because they are good-looking and knowledgeable and they read like the wind. So for those who care, we submit for your approval/derision some of LitReactor's favorite reads of 2017 (part 1).

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Why I Am Writing Under a New Name

December 7th, 2017

This article originally appeared on the Hank Early website. Photo courtesy of the author. So, one of the questions I've been getting is why write these next two books under a new name. What was wrong with John Mantooth? Some folks have rightly pointed out that you can't really hope to find a better name than Mantooth, and I would tend to agree with them.

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10 Hot Caribbean Authors to Keep You Warm This Winter

December 6th, 2017

The Caribbean has given the world a wealth of superb writers. Some, like Junot Díaz, Nicolás Guillén, Alejo Carpentier, and Oscar Hijuelos are now household names in the US, but there are still a lot of gems to discover. In fact, between Cuba, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic, there is enough literature for book lovers to spend years reading only Caribbean authors and nothing else. I read Caribbean fiction throughout the year, but I've felt a stronger craving for it during the past few winters.

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Netflix's 'The Punisher': Aggressively Average

December 5th, 2017

 Out of all the Marvel Netflix series, The Punisher was definitely the one I looked forward to the most. He was one of the first characters other than Batman and Superman to really fascinate me, and despite some rather unfortunate divergences (FrankenCastle anyone?) he has continued to maintain my interest ever since. Perhaps it's because he is a rebuttal to the traditional superhero archetype.

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Write Who You Don’t Know?

December 4th, 2017

Header image by spekulator A psychologist always stirs up suspicion at a party. Guests laugh as they ask whether they’re being analyzed, but they’re never quite joking. Should they avoid mentioning their mothers? Not pick up any phallic objects?

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