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Books

Jo van Gogh-Bonger and her son Vincent Willem, as photographed in Paris in 1890

New Biography Spotlights Jo Bonger, Sister-in-Law Who Helped Rescue van Gogh From Obscurity

Bonger, wife of van Gogh’s brother Theo, described her mission as ‘getting [Vincent’s work] seen and appreciated as much as possible’

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How Lonnie Bunch Built a Museum Dream Team

An exclusive excerpt from the Smithsonian Secretary’s new book, ‘A Fool’s Errand’

In "Choose Your Own Adventure" books, the readers dictate the plot's twists and turns.

Is the Future of Entertainment the 40-Years-Old ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ Series?

Forty years ago, a beloved paperback series set the stage for today’s obsession with interactive entertainment

People gathered to watch a giant peach as it is moved through the center of Cardiff in September 2016—part of a celebration of the 100th anniversary of Roald Dahl's birth.

Exploring Roald Dahl’s Wondrous Wales

Follow in the footsteps of the beloved children’s book author by visiting these four locales in the United Kingdom

Coney Island Boardwalk, Day to Night, 2011

How Photographer Stephen Wilkes Captures a Full Day in a Single Image

In his new book ‘Day to Night,’ the photographer uses technology to play tricks on the eye

Readers diving into the 2019 Hay Festival.

The Man Who Transformed a Welsh Town Into a ‘Kingdom’ of Used Books

Thanks to Richard Booth, who died on August 20 at the age of 80, the town is still known as a literary hub

At the height of the book scare, news outlets reported that dust from library books could spread infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, smallpox and scarlet fever.

When the Public Feared That Library Books Could Spread Deadly Diseases

“The great book scare” created a panic that you could catch an infection just by lending from the library

Twain, pictured in 1902, was an eager reader of fiction, verse and non-fiction alike.

How to Read Like Mark Twain

Step one: Pretend you don’t like books

Cool Finds

Early Sketches From ‘The Little Prince’ Found in Swiss Collection

A folder includes images from the beloved book by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, as well as a love letter written to his wife, Consuelo de Saint Exupéry

Humble lettuce, according to John Evelyn, “may safely be eaten raw in Fevers; for it allays Heat, bridles Choler, extinguishes Thirst, excites Appetite, kindly Nourishes, and above all reprelles Vapours, conciliates Sleep, mitigates Pain.”

A 17th-Century Ode to Salads Is Heading to Auction

‘Acetaria’ celebrates the healthful benefits of meatless dining

Harjo, pictured at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

Joy Harjo’s New Poetry Collection Brings Native Issues to the Forefront

The recently announced U.S. Poet Laureate melds words and music to resist the myth of Native invisibility

The author's son plans on releasing a trove of his father's unpublished works at some point during the next decade

J.D. Salinger’s Work Is Coming to E-Readers for the First Time

The author’s longtime publishing company will release four e-books in August

Toni Morrison, painted by Robert McCurdy, 2006, oil on canvas

Toni Morrison, ‘Beloved’ Author Who Cataloged the African-American Experience, Dies at 88

‘She changed the whole cartography of black writing,’ says Kinshasha Holman Conwill of the National Museum of African American History and Culture

Marcel Proust in 1900.

Cool Finds

Nine Newly Discovered Proust Stories to Be Published

The works were slated to be part of the French author’s first collection of poems and stories, but were cut for unknown reasons

Section of fragment found

Cool Finds

Fragment of ‘The Rose Thorn,’ a Poem About a Talking Vulva, Dated to the 1300s

The section of the erotic Medieval fantasy was found in the binding of book in Austria’s Melk monastery

M. Amité, and his right-hand cat, Apollo

A Steinbeck Story About a Chef and His Cat Has Been Published in English for the First Time

The author wrote ‘The Amiable Fleas’ in 1954, for the French newspaper Le Figaro

Cine Lido, Havana

These Photographs Capture Cuba’s Fading Cinema Culture

In a new book, photographer Carolina Sandretto focuses on a piece of the island’s heritage that is often overlooked

The Charles Dickens Museum Acquires ‘Lost’ Portrait of the Author as a Young Man

The 1843 painting by Margaret Gillies surfaced at an auction in South Africa in 2017

The perpetrator rips pages in half horizontally

A Literary Vandal Is Ripping Pages Out of Books and Putting Them Back on Shelves

The so-called ‘book ripper’ has targeted more than 100 volumes at a library and charity bookshop in the English town of Herne Bay

The entrance to Taiohae Bay, on the island of Nuku Hiva, where Herman Melville lived in 1842.

How a Voyage to French Polynesia Set Herman Melville on the Course to Write ‘Moby-Dick’

We retrace the journey that had a long-lasting influence on the enigmatic author’s improbable career

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