Columns

10 Translated Books to Read for International Translation Day

September 29th, 2022

I still remember the rush of possibility, years ago, when I realized I’d soon be able to read literature in English — I suddenly had so many books within my reach. Much later, when I set out to read more translated books, I felt the same exact emotion: a feeling of abundance, the joy of choice, of plenty, of access.

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A Fiction Roundup Both Painful and Poignant

September 27th, 2022

In July and August, I wanted to read a group nonfiction books that had found their way to my home and share my thoughts about them on LitReactor. Which I did. After I finished those books I wanted to read some of the fiction that had come my way, which I also did, and with LitReactor’s blessing I get to tell you about these books today. I plan to move onto poetry next and I look forward to telling you about those as well. Did you hear that LitReactor? Word.

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8 Killer True Crime Books for Fans of 'In Cold Blood'

September 26th, 2022

Truman Capote was born September 30, 1924, in New Orleans, Louisiana. His career as a writer was seemingly a thing of fate, as he infamously taught himself to read and write at a young age. He began writing short stories before moving into novels, plays, and screenplays. The last novel he wrote was arguably his most famous and didn’t originally publish as a book. 

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Dispatch From The Querying Trenches (Part III): Getting Ready

September 22nd, 2022

We, and by “we” I do mean simply “I,” are about to be back in the querying trenches.

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The Melting Point of Platinum: On Joyce Carol Oates' 'Blonde'

September 20th, 2022

On September 28th, Netflix will release Andrew Dominik’s Blonde, the film adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates epic novel from 2000 shadowing the birth, life, and death of Marilyn Monroe.

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Magic When It All Comes Together: How To Assemble a Not-Boring Book

September 19th, 2022

Original header image by KRIPPS_medien  I tend to be musically minded, often swapping in songs and lyrics in place of emotional revelation, and, even in music, it's important not just what you say, but how and when you say it. In High Fidelity (both the 1995 novel by Nick Hornby and the 2000 film starring John Cusack), main character, Rob, lays down a series of rules of how to make a great mixtape. Roughly paraphrased, they are:

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Selling the Story of Your Story

September 16th, 2022

Kevin Smith racked up huge credit card debt to make his passion project, Clerks, shot inside a convenience store, where he actually worked, late at night. To promote The Lottery, Shirley Jackson told stories (probably at the urging of her publisher) about being a witch and casting a spell on Alfred A. Knopf that caused him to break his leg while skiing. Bon Iver and Thoreau, to greater and lesser degrees, sequestered themselves in cabins to complete their works.

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Why We Need Beta Readers Who Point Out Mistakes and Flaws In Our Books

September 15th, 2022

Being a novelist is hard. You have to conceptualize a story, then write the whole dang book, then revise it until it shines. And most of the time, you’re working on your own — especially before finding an agent, you’re working for yourself and guiding yourself and hoping and praying that you’re doing a good enough job on your own. Enter beta readers and critique partners.

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A Disordered Digest: Three New Books Exploring Eating Disorders

September 13th, 2022

I’m not sure if I was ever actually anorexic— luckily, I snapped out of it before a diagnosis—but there was that one summer of 1990 where I was trying to make my body disappear, parallel to the way other kids might run away from home. However, those kids would eventually get hungry and return to their family’s regimented dining room table, and I wasn’t satisfied until my bones began to protrude from my skin.

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Honoring the Legacy of J.F. Gonzalez

September 9th, 2022

Talented author J.F. Gonzalez, Jesus to those close to him, died from cancer on November 10, 2014. The loss to his friends, family, and readers was immense. The broader loss to the horror genre and literary world was the equivalent of deleting a storehouse of knowledge and all the future storytelling potential that came with it.

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