Bel Canto

Entertaining the entire world is a lot harder—and more expensive—than you might think, and over the decades the Entertainment Industrial Complex has developed strategies for mitigating those costs. In television, one of the great cost-cutting techniques is the “bottle episode,” an episode set in a single location and involving a limited cast. This allows it […]

As comedian Martin Mull once said, “Writing about music is like dancing about architecture.” That is, words often fail when describing music. But there are many stellar music-infused works of fiction that prove this adage wrong, with writing that’s just as artful as the music that inspired it. Here are five books involving music that […]

Here are fifty incredible literary works destined to become classics (in no particular order!). Many are Pulitzer Prize winners, but there are a few dark horses. If your favorite literary masterpiece has not been included, fret not, the comments section awaits! Tell us about any we’ve missed, any you disagree with, or any you think are […]

The perfect summer read, this debut follows two talented musicians on a dueling piano show as they reclaim their love of music. Prudence is a former child star, known for her prodigious piano talent, who stepped away from the spotlight when she was old enough to be independent. Alexei is an exhausted young Internet sensation with helicopter parents who care only about his playing. Their stories harmonize with one another as they change the composition and their ending, and The Second Ending is certain to strike a chord with music lovers. Keep reading to hear how being a musician has impacted Michelle Hoffman as a writer.