BOOKS

A few years ago, NYPL librarians found a small gray box containing a host of unusual questions patrons asked between 1940 and 1980. 'Peculiar Questions and Practical Answers,' excerpted here, rounds up some favorites.

From the clock in ‘Julius Caesar’ to Machiavelli in ‘Henry VI,’ the Bard made a few (possibly intentional) mistakes.

“We heard each of the two sharp hasty screams,” the ‘Pride and Prejudice’ author wrote of her niece’s turn in the dentist’s chair.

Still chasing the high of the Scholastic Book Fair? This one promises snap bracelets, spin art, books, and more—for adults.

The first edition print of 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone' had been locked away for decades. Experts say it was one of the most pristine copies they had seen.

For one of literature’s most enduring works, Bram Stoker's 'Dracula' didn’t receive much of a turnout when it was first adapted for the stage: A total of two people showed up.

Instead of using reading as a way to earn prizes, this vending machine teaches that reading is the prize.

On March 4, 1922, spectators filtered into the Marble Hall of the Berlin Zoological Garden to witness horror movie history—and a plagiarism success story in the making.

After temporarily closing this year, the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library is back at a new address in the author's hometown.

William Shakespeare had an enormous influence on "Paradise Lost" poet John Milton, and new evidence suggests that super fan Milton—who even wrote a poem called "On Shakespeare"—might have owned his idol's first folio.

The author of 23 pint-sized titles, including 'The Tale of Peter Rabbit,' perfected the character licensing template decades before 'Star Wars' or Marvel.

Because ‘happy’ doesn’t cut it when you’re trying to describe the particular euphoria of canceling social plans.