Since 1982 the English Department at San Jose State University has sponsored the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest, a whimsical literary competition that challenges entrants to compose opening sentences to the worst of all possible novels.

While calling it an assassin's cabinet may be a bit exaggerated, the dramatically titled curio is a hollowed out book from the 16th century. In the pages' place are eleven drawers of varying sizes with meticulous labels, each spelling out which plant each drawer contained.

Libraries and other public spaces can help us bridge our divides, but only if they're funded adequately.

Critics see the Department of Corrections rules as part of a nationwide "war on books."

To Kill a Mockingbird has been a literary right of passage for more than half a century, credited with awakening thousands of teenagers to the rewards of reading.

The strangest of these characters are those who espouse Blue and Orange Morality. These characters have a moral framework that is so utterly alien and foreign to human experience that we can't peg them as "good" or "evil".

Finally, it's safe to read "Where the Red Fern Grows"

A catchy tune and one of Stephen Gammell’s illustrations from Alvin Schwartz’s trilogy, ‘Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark.’   If you look at the unassuming photo used by publisher Simon and Schuster of illustrator Stephen Gammell, you will, in no way, perceive the smiling, white-bearded and spectacled man was responsible for creating images which have terrorized the minds of children since 1981. But he is, and I hope this helps reinforce the golden rule one should never judge a book (or a person) by their cover.

“Transportation” — or the act of losing yourself in a book — makes you more empathetic, more creative and (hello!) it’s an escape.

New research suggests they have more mature ideas about how real-world relationships work.

Barnes & Noble said sales of books related to anxiety are up more than 25 percent through this past June from a year ago because "we may be living in an anxious nation." Shoppers are increasingly looking at workbooks that help them cope with anxiety, Barnes & Noble senior director of merchandising, Liz Hardwell, said in a statement issued Wednesday afternoon. Although times may be tough, wrought with political tension, "the good news is that book buyers across the country are also looking for solutions to their stress," she said.

Since it began in the 1960s, fanfiction has been both loved and dismissed as the work of nerdy amateurs. Now, a new generation of authors is dissolving the distinction

Sales are falling and critics say the company lacks a direction, sometimes seeming to give priority to sales of gifts and tchotchkes over books.

While some people love to dwell on the books they read, others zip through their favourite tomes, often having two or three on the go.

Traditional Christian values have long underpinned popular children's books such as The Chronicles of Narnia. But now Richard Dawkins wants to give youngsters a different perspective with a new book – Atheism for Children. The outspoken scientist, 77, hopes it will stop the 'religious indoctrination of children' by schools and family members.

A.E. Hotchner, who grew up to be pals with Ernest Hemingway and Paul Newman, just published a mystery about a boy, a long-ago summer and a jewelry heist.

It's no surprise that Steve Jobs was a jerk. There have been plenty of accounts over the years that have detailed his cruelty, rudeness, and miserliness to workers, business partners, and even family and friends. Still, the stories that have come out so far from "Small Fry," the new autobiography from his daughter Lisa Brennan-Jobs are shocking. Jobs comes across not just as someone who could be self-centered and mean, but someone who was a truly terrible human being.

The new book "Bad Blood" by John Carreyrou (and an expected movie) will show how Elizabeth Holmes duped Silicon Valley and some of the nation's top investors into believing in Theranos, a giant scam.

You’ve heard of speed reading – there’s a whole mini-industry of books and apps built around it. Increasing your reading speed has obvious benefits, but what happens when you slow it down?

Julie-Marie Strange reflects on our relationship with death in the modern world.

Five offbeat, inventive stories in one wild mansion. Read Common Sense Media's Jane, Unlimited review, age rating, and parents guide. Teen fiction, includes, mystery, fantasy, science fiction and some.

In December 2014, Max Brown was picking through an Incline Village dumpster for a community service project when a collection of 1980s cassettes caught his eye. Fancying himself a collector, he pulled them out and inspected them. 

In a new Taschen book, the photographer Massimo Listri travels around the world to some of the oldest libraries, revealing unique architecture

At the end of “On Writing” Stephen King lists 150+ books he believes are worth reading. Check out the list and let me know whether or not you agree with his choices.

As his new book is published, the bestselling author talks fake news, meditation and appearing with Natalie Portman

Official Author Website Buy the book HERE OFFICIAL BLURB: Humans, orcs, mages, elves, and dwarves all jostle for success and surviv...

Donald Hall, who died in June this year at the age of eighty-nine, compiled one final book of essays before his death.

It's no surprise that Steve Jobs was a jerk. There have been plenty of accounts over the years that have detailed his cruelty, rudeness, and miserliness to workers, business partners, and even family and friends. Still, the stories that have come out so far from "Small Fry," the new autobiography from his daughter Lisa Brennan-Jobs, are shocking. Jobs comes across not just as someone who could be self-centered and mean but as someone who was a truly terrible human being.

An expert on Russia discovered that bureaucrats and spies secretly gathered to watch Soviet movies. By Brian Bethune.

At some point, most science fiction readers come across the “Big Three” authors from its so-called Golden Age: Robert A. Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, and Arthur C. Clarke. Over the course of his lifetime, Clarke witnessed the birth of the space age, and helped push science fiction from a nascent literary movement into a modern vision for humanity’s future with grounded, realistic stories that drew on science and technology—themes that are more relevant than ever today, on the 100th anniversary of his birth.

Clare Pettitt on Charles Darwin’s method and approach to his scientific discoveries and the influence of ideology in shaping his theory of sexual selection.

The disagreement between Coates and me is clear: his view of black America is narrow and dangerously misleading. By Cornel West.

Court documents filed in the US have revealed the editorial concerns of the publisher Simon & Schuster about the manuscript of the “alt-right” controversialist Milo Yiannopoulos’s autobiography Dangerous. Having reportedly secured the book for an advance of $255,000 (£200,000), Simon & Schuster cancelled the deal in February after a recording emerged that appeared to show Yiannopoulos endorsing sex between “younger boys” and older men.

President Trump is reportedly attempting to stop the publication of “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House,” Michael Wolff’s explosive new book about his campaign and presidency.

Journalist Michael Wolff's new "front row" account of Trump presidency is causing controversy.