The Girl With the Green Ribbon: A Grisly History of ‘Headless Woman’ Stories
Precursors to the story about the girl with the green ribbon were written by Washington Irving, Alexandre Dumas, and more famous authors.
Precursors to the story about the girl with the green ribbon were written by Washington Irving, Alexandre Dumas, and more famous authors.
‘The Vampyre’ is largely forgotten today, but it upended centuries of vampiric lore 80 years before Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’—and from its spooky beginnings to its scandalous misattribution, its history was as dramatic as fiction.
Shirley Jackson's classic novel ‘The Haunting of Hill House’ was inspired by real-life paranormal investigators—and so scary her husband was afraid to read it.
‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’ was the Harry Potter of its day: There was merchandising, a Broadway musical, a silent film, and a whopping 13 sequels.
These offenses include everything from historical forgeries to audacious heists to cold-blooded murder—all with a bookish twist.
Shirley Jackson is best remembered for “The Lottery” and 'The Haunting of Hill House,' but her gothic mystery 'We Have Always Lived in the Castle' is regarded as her greatest literary achievement.
John Steinbeck’s 1939 book ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ humanized the “Okies,” captured history as it was happening, and earned its author so much personal trouble that he started carrying a gun for protection.
A number of noteworthy historical figures were born in the month of August. We couldn’t possibly name them all, so here are just a handful of lives we’ll be celebrating.
'My Brilliant Friend' kicked of Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan series and inspired an HBO adaptation.
The author of ‘East of Eden’ and ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ was also a three-time Academy Award nominee and found an enemy in J. Edgar Hoover.
These 20 bands each took their names from the pages of classic works of literature by the likes of C.S. Lewis, William S. Burroughs, Charles Dickens, and beyond.
Although we’re probably still a long way off from the sentient forms of AI that are depicted in film and literature, we can turn to fiction to probe the questions raised by these technological advancements.
If you read to explore different worlds, this map of Goodreads' top book by a local author in each country is for you.
'The Canterbury Tales' author Geoffrey Chaucer's work spanned poetry and prose and ranged from the humorous to the scientific—but there's so much more to know about the "father of English poetry."
James Baldwin's novel 'Giovanni’s Room' was rejected by editors and publishers before it was eventually released in 1956.
The Stonewall Book Award celebrates LGBTQ+ literature and includes standouts from authors like Alison Bechdel, Rivers Solomon, and Michael Cunningham.
Here, in no particular order, are just a few of history’s most influential tomes—and how they made humanity look at things in a new light.
The pulp magazine, which turns 100 this year, inspired Stephen King and made a star out of Conan.
The best children’s books of all time include works by J.R.R. Tolkien, Maurice Sendak, Louisa May Alcott, and more.
The figurative phrase is more than 200 years old, but the obscure etymology of a 'red herring' is a fishy story that is itself a red herring.
Nilanjana Sudeshna Lahiri, otherwise known as Jhumpa Lahiri, first came to prominence with her award-winning 1999 debut, the short story collection 'Interpreter of Maladies.' Here's what you need to know about 'The Namesake' author.
Everyone from Richard Scarry to Ian Fleming to Agatha Christie has had changes made to their books by their publishers long after they were released.
For AAPI Heritage Month, check out these incredible books by Celeste Ng, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Helen Hoang, and others.
The American Library Association logged a record number of complaints in 2022.