When you hear the word adaptation in reference to novels, you tend to think of big-budget TV series like HBO’s Game of Thrones or Starz’s Outlander, or big-budget films like World War Z. But in recent years, there’s been a surge in novels adapted for the Broadway stage. In a modern theater atmosphere where a […]

Is life, as the famous quote would have it, like a box of chocolates? Not necessarily, but a good story collection is: full of surprise, variation, and occasionally some very unexpected contents. I consider short stories to be members of an entirely different species than novels, with their own distinct pleasures. In stories, feats of language […]

Dear Literary Lady, What literary prizes are some of your favorites? I pay attention to the Pulitzer and the National Book Award, but I’d like to branch out. –Z.J., Austin, TX.  Dear Z.J., I love this question! I have to admit I’m a bit of a prize nerd—one glimpse of a gold seal or a […]

Novels can be roughly divided into two broad categories. You have your books that simply seek to tell a good story1, and you have your novels that attempt to do something new and unexpected. Every month brings us dozens of books that keep us turning pages with their expert use of tension, twists, and character development, and an […]

Earlier this month, Time released a list of The 100 Best Young Adult Books of All Time, which was less, well, young adult than you might expect. While it stands as a collection of 100 worthwhile reads, many are more reasonably classified as children’s, middle grade, or even adult titles. And while I’d never complain about a reminder to reread, […]