books

The words of the free-thinking, veteran skeptic, humanist humorist live on.

“I numb my twanging intellect with several belts of Scotch and water.” —Kurt Vonnegut during his Iowa Writers’ Workshop era.

No, Kurt Vonnegut was not frat bros with Dr. Seuss. But the world-renowned author did love watching “Cheers.”

How to ignore the distractions and get your nose back in a book.

Dobby gains his freedom in 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets' (2002).

The harbor porpoises that live near Dobby’s Pembrokeshire grave site don’t love socks as much as the Harry Potter house elf did.

From which character is the most like her to the book title she most regrets, here are some things you might not know about Judy Blume.

Think you know these classic literary monsters? These compelling modern-day retellings will have you doing a double take.

From Dracula to Beowulf’s Grendel, these classic literary monsters have all been reimagined in these gripping contemporary books.

Paranormal investigator Nandor Fodor angered spiritualists, earned praise from Sigmund Freud, and influenced one of the most famous ghost stories of all time.

A self-portrait of Junji Ito with a cat.

From his first encounters with manga to his diverse range of artistic influences, here are a few things you might not know about the reigning king of horror manga.

Pennywise, Tim Curry's homicidal, pasty-faced clown, managed to really scare the poor little kid who played Georgie.

Truman Capote believed it would be his “magnum opus,” but 'Answered Prayers' turned out to be his undoing—not to mention one of the most notorious unfinished works in literary history.

The newest knowledge bomb from Mental Floss contains history, trivia, and lore about dozens of films from the past 50 years.

Clockwise from left: Kazuo Ishiguro, Toni Morrison, Gabriel García Márquez, and Nadine Gordimer.

The Swedish Academy has been awarding Nobel Prizes in Literature since 1901; here are a few laureates whose books you might want to consider picking up.

Webster's An American Dictionary of the English Language.

Noah Webster’s two-volume 'An American Dictionary of the English Language' earned him a place in linguistic history, and a reputation as the foremost lexicographer of American English.

Sci-fi lovers will get a kick out of these fun gifts.

From groundbreaking movies to landmark novels, these are the best gifts for sci-fi fans in your life.

The author's 100th birthday will be celebrated in style, with attendees encouraged to BYOV (Bring Your Own Vonnegut).

N. Scott Momaday’s novel ’House Made of Dawn’ was a breakthrough for Native American literature.

A Felonious Float (left) and some Pumpkin Cakes (right).

You don’t have to go all the way to Honeydukes to enjoy a good Pumpkin Cake—Ashley Craft’s latest cookbook has you covered.

Bargain hunters can now comb through an online inventory of more than 100,000 items like clothing and books.

The creator of Sherlock Holmes believed in ghosts so strongly he opened a bookstore devoted to educating the general public about them.

How many Christopher Pike books did you read in the '90s?

In the ‘90s, it felt like every teenager had their nose buried in a Christopher Pike novel. Here are the stories behind novels like 'The Midnight Club,' 'Fall Into Darkness,' and 'Chain Letter.'