One Flew Over the Cuckooo's Nest by Ken Kesey took place in Salem, Oregon. The Jungle by Upton Sinclair was based in Chicago. The Shining by Stephen King took place in Estes, Colorado. These novels, and 39 others, are on this Great American Novel Map ($30) published by Hog Island Press.
Nobel Prize-winning author John Steinbeck is best known for The Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men, but in 1930 he wrote a horror novel under a pen name. He was unsuccessful in his attempts to find a publisher for Murder at Full Moon and shelved it. Today the 233-page typescript site in the… READ THE REST
In the New Yorker, Eli Grober rewrote the opening sentences of iconic novels to make them reflect the (sur)reality of today. Here are a few of my favorites: "A Tale of Two Cities," by Charles Dickens "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. But, mostly, it was the worst of… READ THE REST
Susanna Clarke's debut novel, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, took the world by storm when it came out in 2004. The 900-page magical Victorian epic was swiftly followed by a short story collection, The Ladies of Grace Adieu, which was set in the same universe. A TV adaptation of the book came out in 2015—but… READ THE REST
Catching up on podcasts or audiobooks is the perfect way to fill the time and power you forward on a long run or an even longer bike ride. As you push your body, you can zone out the discomfort with the distraction of fun, stimulating conversation, or burying yourself in a gripping story. While headphones… READ THE REST
Software companies want you to think that the only apps worthy of your time and money are the ones that are tremendously expensive. Which sort of makes sense in its own perverse way. Who would drop $400, $500, $800 on a digital creation platform unless it was really, really good, right? And since you might… READ THE REST
We're past the point of making stoner jokes every time a cannabis product is mentioned, right? Sure, it's tempting to always reference the munchies or laziness or just start giggling incessantly at the mere mention of marijuana, but we're in a different age now. An age of legalization and CBD and wellness. That said, there… READ THE REST
