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BOOKS

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While it's not as easy for authors to become famous at a young age as it is for pop singers, it's still not unheard of for barely legal authors to find fame, success, and even fortune. Here are 23 authors who manager to achieve fame—though not always posi

Andréa Fernandes

“A combination of grassy notes with a tang of acids and a hint of vanilla over an underlying mustiness” is how an international team of chemists describes the unique odor of old books in a study. Poetic, sure, but what causes it?Books are made up almost e

Matt Soniak
"They almost called Scarlett what?!"

“Bladorthin the Grey” just doesn’t have the same ring to it as “Gandalf the Grey,” does it? Here are the stories of Gandalf and some other famous characters who experienced an identity change before publication.

Stacy Conradt






Insomnia Cured Here, Flickr // CC BY SA 2.0

There’s actually a whole group of people who enjoy the theory that Sherlock Holmes – or at least sidekick John Watson -- was real. The truth? Well that's elementary, my dear Watson.

Jason Plautz


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It’s hard to make that first trip to the college bookstore for required texts without leaving with a bit of sticker shock. Why are textbooks so astonishingly expensive? Let’s take a look.

Ethan Trex
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These days, damp, rainy spells usually inspire us to curl up on the couch and watch an American Pickers marathon (tell me that's not just me). But back in 1816 - also known as "The Year Without a Summer" - the results were much different. The summer was r

Stacy Conradt
When it was translated into Latin, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets became Harrius Potter et Camera Secretorum.

Despite its status as a "dead" language, pretty much anything can be translated into Latin. Here are a few modern classics that might make Latin class more fun.

Andréa Fernandes


BlöödHag is a death metal band from Seattle who perform, among other places, in libraries. Their songs are "Edu-Core," and focus on science fiction authors and literacy -- check out some lyrics here. In fact, what the heck, I'll just quote their classic

Chris Higgins






Vladimir Nabokov

Vladimir Nabokov, the author of such masterpieces as 'Lolita' and 'Pale Fire,' was also an expert on butterflies who inadvertently helped give Luciano Pavarotti a career boost.

Ethan Trex




I recently stumbled across an essay from 1946, by George Orwell. It describes his motives, and the motives he suspects are universal, in writing books. What's most interesting about the essay is his frank admission to the role of the writer's ego in the

Chris Higgins