Literary essay

Starboard Wine: More Notes on the Language of Science Fiction

by Samuel R. R. Delany & Matthew Cheney

The long-awaited reissue of a classic work of criticism -- revised and expanded

Beyond the Wall: Exploring George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, From A Game of Thrones to A Dance with Drago

by James Lowder, Daniel Abraham & R. A. A. Salvatore

"There were a number of books about A Game of Thrones (the HBO series) and A Song of Ice and Fire (the books) published last year . . . the one that impressed me most was James Lowder's Beyond the Wall."

—George...

Vintage Reading: From Plato to Bradbury: A Personal Tour of Some of the World's Best Books

by Robert Kanigel

Vintage Reading brings eighty of the world's most unforgettable books out from behind the high castle walls, lowers the drawbridge, and welcomes readers inside. With lively and concise commentary, award-winning...

Art Spiegelman’s Private Museum

by Art Spiegelman

Art Spiegelman’s Private Museum is a 100% digital essay on the history and aesthetics of comics trip.

This text, previously unpublished in France, summarizes Art Spiegelman’s thoughts and reflections....

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave & Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

by Harriet Jacobs, Frederick Douglass & Kwame Anthony Appiah

This Modern Library Paperback Classics edition combines the two most important African American slave narratives into one volume.

Frederick Douglass's Narrative, first published in 1845, is an enlightening and...

The Graphic Mythology of Tintin - a Primer

by Tim Mountford

From the black and white pages of a Belgian Catholic newspaper in the late 1920s to the virtual world of a 3D CGI Hollywood movie in 2011, the young adventurous reporter Tintin has come a long way.

When Georges...

Death in the Afternoon

by Ernest Hemingway

Still considered one of the best books ever written about bullfighting, Death in the Afternoon is an impassioned look at the sport by one of its true aficionados. It reflects Hemingway's conviction that bullfighting...

The Chinese Written Character as a Medium for Poetry: A Critical Edition

by Ernest Fenollosa

First published in 1919 by Ezra Pound, Ernest Fenollosa's essay on the Chinese written language has become one of the most often quoted statements in the history of American poetics. As edited by Pound, it presents...

100 Must-read Fantasy Novels

by Nick Rennison & Stephen E. Andrews

Fantasy is one of the most visible genres in popular culture - we see the creation of magical and imagined worlds and characters in every type of media, with very strong fan bases in tow.

This latest guide in...

Pocket Companion to Narnia

by Paul F. Ford

The pocket guide is an adventurer's passport to the land of Narnia. From Aslan, the great lion, to Zardeenah, the mysterious lady of the night, this comprehensive and accessible companion contains hundreds of...

American Renaissance: Art and Expression in the Age of Emerson and Whitman

by F. O. Matthiessen

An ambitious literary critique of the works produced during the American Renaissance of the mid-19th century. Matthiessen analyzes and links together the works of five preeminent American writers: Emerson, Thoreau,...

The Theatre of Martin Crimp ebook PDF

by Aleks Sierz

A guide to all of the plays of Martin Crimp.

For a decade, Martin Crimp has been in the vanguard of new writing for the British stage. His main stage plays include Dealing with Clair, The Treatment, Attempts...

Agatha Christie

by Mark Campbell

The Pocket Essential Guide To Agatha Christie provides an informed introduction to the whole Christie phenomenon; a biography of Dame Agatha Christie; in-depth profiles of ten of her most popular characters...

The Post Office Lady with the Dragon Tattoo: An Essay

by Laurie Notaro

I had been dreading this day for more than a year.

Everyone’s favorite Idiot Girl, Laurie Notaro, is very close to wearing out her welcome in her hometown of Eugene, Oregon. Just a year ago, she was eighty-sixed...

This Is a Book

by Demetri Martin

From the renowned comedian, creator, star and executive producer/multiple title-holder of Comedy Central's Important Things with Demetri Martin comes a bold, original, and rectangular kind of humor book.

Demetri's...

Wicked: A Musical Biography

by Paul R. Laird

This book explores the creation of the popular Broadway musical Wicked through an examination of draft scripts, interviews with major figures, and the study of primary musical sources such as sketches, drafts,...

Noises Off

by Michael Frayn

Noises Off, the classic farce by the Tony Award—winning author of Copenhagen, is not one play but two: simultaneously a traditional sex farce, Nothing On, and the backstage “drama” that develops during...

Like Shaking Hands with God: A Conversation about Writing

by Kurt Vonnegut & Lee Stringer

Like Shaking Hands with God details a collaborative journey on the art of writing undertaken by two distinguished writers separated by age, race, upbringing, and education, but sharing common goals and aspirations....

The Jewel-Hinged Jaw: Notes on the Language of Science Fiction

by Samuel R. Delany & Matthew Cheney

An indispensable work of science fiction criticism revised and expanded

The Use and Abuse of Literature

by Marjorie Garber

As defining as Christopher Lasch’s The Culture of Narcissism, Allan Bloom’s The Closing of the American Mind, and Dinesh D’Souza’s Illiberal Education were to the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, respectively,...