A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius: Pulitzer Prize Finalist

Dear Literary Lady, What go-to books do you use to convince someone who hated reading in school that reading is fun? —E.J., Flagstaff, AZ Dear E.J., There’s no greater joy than giving an avowed nonreader a book they enjoy immensely, then saying, “See, I TOLD YOU SO.” But mere enjoyment of one novel isn’t always enough […]

Reading when you’re a kid is the best, because everything is fascinating and new, and your heart is still fresh and unsullied by the wear and tear of commuting and filling out tax returns and waiting in line for coffee two hours each morning. Who wouldn’t want to go back to the days when the whole world felt magic, […]

Dear Literary Lady, My family won’t be able to get together for the holidays this year, so I’ll be spending it alone. Any suggestions for books to read when you’re missing your loved ones? – L.Y., Atlanta, GA Dear L.Y., I grew up far away from my family, so this is a question that I’m […]

Just over twenty years ago, David Foster Wallace published his best-known and most frustrating novel, Infinite Jest. It’s a big (very big), bold, complex book that divided critics yet nevertheless landed with a thud on that list of novels everyone intends to read “someday.” When people do tackle it, they often give up within the […]