Columns

The Best Book Covers of 2015

January 28th, 2016

It was a good year for books. Let's take a look at what I consider the best, most original book covers of 2015.  This is most definitely a subjective selection, but I tried to pick books that represent different styles, genres, publishers and artists/designers. Props to Lazy Fascist Press for pushing the envelope, Matthew Revert who I had to limit to one entry, and that really great The Visible Filth cover. It was a close call for #1. And probably #2. Here goes.

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Screw Your Resolution: 10 Dystopian Beauty Narratives

January 28th, 2016

The winter months following the holiday season are a time for stoic contemplation and self-improvement for many. Eat more salad, develop a regular workout routine, drop five pounds; these are common resolutions made by thousands every January first. But why do we make these same resolutions, year after year? Whether fully dystopian or just disillusioned, these books will give you the perfect excuse to cancel that gym membership you'll only use for a month anyway.  

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Patton Oswalt's Night Café, 'The Great Gatsby' and How Guided Reading Can Reinvigorate a Classic

January 27th, 2016

Not all love is at first sight. Sometimes it takes a little bit of convincing to blossom. That can be said of the love between people, as well as the love of art.

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Three Books About... Beginnings

January 26th, 2016

January is the month for beginnings; a time for ignoring the obvious fact that nothing much ever changes and forging regardless into a new year, full of optimism. We start life full of optimism too — unblemished by experience or disappointment. This might be why so many writers eventually turn to memoir. The beginning of life represents the foundation on which we are built and the subject of we proves irresistible to most of us, writers not excluded. Some writers turn to the subject of their beginnings as a postscript to an otherwise successful career in fiction.

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Writing Gave Me Hemorrhoids

January 25th, 2016

This is my PSA. My chance to give back to other writers.  [Imagine me narrating this to you while I’m in some kind of mountainous meadow. I’m in a jean jacket for sure. Jean pants, commonly referred to as “jeans.” My hair looks great. And there’s something wise about my face. It's a dark wisdom. I've seen...things.] Here we go.

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The Dreaded R-Word: The Goods and Evils of Rhetoric

January 25th, 2016

Seems like every time I read the news, I see the word “rhetoric.” But what is rhetoric anyway? Merriam-Webster says it is “the art of speaking or writing effectively.” Honestly, I never gave the word or what it meant much thought until I was assigned to teach First Year Rhetoric and Composition at Penn State while I was a grad student there. What a fancy name for “English 101,” I thought.

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10 Mistakes (Almost) Every Rookie Writer Makes

January 22nd, 2016

photo by Matt McGee via Flickr The thing about being a rookie writer is that you can't tell when you look like one.

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Book vs. Film vs. TV Series: 'Hannibal'

January 21st, 2016

Good evening, LitReactor readers.

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Self-Editing For Dummies

January 20th, 2016

Should you hire an editor for your novel?  Yes, you should. But if you write short fiction and are looking to submit your writing for publication, you probably need to self-edit your stories. Having an editor on call isn't feasible and it can get real expensive, real fast. At the same time, you want your writing to be the best it can be, even when you know your manuscript is going to be edited by a professional before publication. Novels or shorter work, you're here because you want to know how to do the grunt work yourself.

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30 Much Anticipated Young Adult Novels for the First Half of 2016

January 18th, 2016

It’s January, and that means looking forward to all of the highly anticipated novels that are releasing in the coming year. 2016 is bringing the young adult community many new and wonderful books, from sought-after sequels in well-loved series, to fresh, new debut voices. Here are thirty of the most talked about young adult novels of 2016 to get you started.

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