There is an incredible body of Holocaust memoirs and novels that has been built up over the past 80 years, from classics like Night by Elie Wiesel, originator of the phrase "never forget," to fiction like The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, also a 2013 feature-length film. Often disturbing and vivid, Holocaust-era books give us […]

Coming of (P)age in 2026 To come of age in this world is to realize that you don’t actually know much of anything, especially in the Age of Information. It’s already difficult enough to not know who you are or what you’re capable of: the things lost in the churning tides of youth. To find […]

Book Recommendations for Yuletide The clear, bright stars of a winter night have inspired centuries of people toward stillness, self-reflection, rest, and renewal as the new year approaches. Many modern pagans and Wiccans celebrate the ancient holiday Yule by participating in the tradition on the long night of the winter solstice, which is traditionally perceived […]

Is it really the holiday season for a literature lover unless it's merry, bright, and a little uncanny? As we near the longest night of the year in December, the veil between this world and the unknown feels just a little thinner—a refrain of Samhain, if you will. That's probably why ghost stories feel so […]

Susanna Clarke's debut novel sets the bar for world-building literature and alternative history cloaked in the mystique of Britain's ancient magical practices. Of course, we're talking about 2004's Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. Set during the Napoleonic Wars in 19th-century England, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell tells the tale of two rival magicians with opposing […]

Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist is a study in destiny that explores fear, love, and the obstacles that manifest on a personal journey. A modern and magical descendant of great works like Homer's Odyssey, The Alchemist rewrites the concept of the hero's journey by intertwining it with the universe conspiring to support personal destiny and the […]

We all know the genre of "fairy tale rewrite," in which a classic, familiar tale gets rewritten or recast from a new perspective. But there are other ways to riff on fairy tales in contemporary novels: by leaning on them for inspiration and peppering references to them in an original story. Some of these novels […]

Mediumship 101 Have you ever wondered what the origin story of a medium looks like? For most, the ability to communicate and interpret messages from the dead began in childhood. For others, it takes major life milestones or traumatic events for gifts to begin taking shape. There's no one size fits all way to become […]

Toto, I don't think we're in Hogwarts anymore. Hogwarts is over, for a variety of reasons (i.e. J.K. Rowling's political views, and the fact that it's been a minute since Harry Potter was novel). The books are distant childhood memories and the movies are outdated and overplayed (especially around Christmas--have you noticed?). Regardless of how […]

Magical realism is when elements of the fantastic, the otherworldly, the "unreal" slip into day-to-day life. "Unreal" is in quotes because reality is subjective, and good literature's purpose is to present a variety of perspectives and challenge our notion of what's "normal" and "accepted." When used like a lens with a blurring effect, magical realism […]