Edgar Allen Poe pumpkin carving from 18 Literary Pumpkins For A Bookish Halloween carved by redditor r0cketballs 1. Halloween – or Hallowe’en, as in ‘All Hallows’ Eve’ – is a Scottish term, first recorded in print in 1556. 2. Robert Burns wrote a poem titled ‘Halloween’ in the late eighteenth century. 3. Edgar Allan Poe originally wanted a parrot to repeat the word “nevermore”, in poem The Raven. 4. Charles Dickens believed in the supernatural, and he belonged to something called The Ghost Club. 5. During a stormy night in the Swiss Alps, Lord Byron Percy and Mary Shelly and John Polidori had a spooky writing contest. Mary Shelly won it with Frankenstein, John Polidori wrote The Vampyre, which introduced vampires to the world. 6. The Monster in Frankenstein has no name, but Mary Shelly once referred to him as “Adam.” 7. The holiday is mentioned in Shakespeare’s play Measure for Measure. 8. The first Gothic novel was Horace Walpole’s 1764 work The Castle of Otranto, was originally passed off successfully as a genuine historical document describing real events. 9. Witchcraft was a major issue in the 15th Century, so much so that there were major pieces of literature written about witch hunting. These…

In 1927 Evelyn Waugh became engaged to Evelyn Gardner. The couple were known to their friends as “He-Evelyn” and “She-Evelyn”.

This book is a comprehensive look at Jobs’ life, not just his time in Apple

The story has many surprises and some twists which kept up my interest to the end.

10) Mr. Coleridge was so critical of the bad literary taste of his contemporaries that he thought that would mean a continued desecration of literature.

I love the sarcastic, bitter, dark Jewish humor which, to be fair, is shared with many cultures but with a twist of guilt and spice.

Michael Licwinko wanted to be a Peace Corps Volunteer when he graduated from college, but for reasons spelled out in this book the timing wasn’t right. Ten years later he thought it was, but no. Finally, after thirty years of hanging on to the dream, he realized it. In order to “edutain” his family and friends about the far away country of Kyrgyzstan, Michael blogged and emailed the events, incidences and ordeals of his service during this life-changing experience. Read how he adapted to living in a new country, learned the hard way that you can never be too culturally sensitive, created a social issues radio serial, lived through the overthrow of the Kyrgyz government and so much more. The book is formatted for easy reading. No chapters, just the original emails in chronological order followed by Michael’s fresh commentary, insights, opinions and untold stories that would have been unwise to publish while a volunteer because Big Brother may have been (was likely) reading what he wrote. As the majority of the vibrant baby boomer generation nears retirement and contemplates what to do next, joining the Peace Corps should be on their list of options. This book offers an unfiltered, authentic…

At a dinner at the White House with President Grover Cleveland and other dignitaries, Mr. Riley read a poem and spoke about the need for international copyright protections.

Photo via Pixabay Books have been an essential part of our lives since we entered this world. Most of us have memories of story time with Mom or Dad. Stories would transport us to other worlds and made us realize that anything is possible within those delicate pages. Unlike the fairy tale hero Peter Pan, somewhere along the way, we grew up. We find ourselves caught up in the daily grind of life, and we cast aside the things we deemed childish. Many people deem reading unnecessary as they grow older, but in all actuality, reading is as important in adulthood as it was for your development as a child. There are many reasons that you should keep your nose in that book. Mental Health Reading is one of the best things you can do for your brain, which is like any other muscle in your body in that it requires exercise to stay strong and healthy. One of the benefits of this type of brain exercise is the prevention (or even the slowing of the progress) of Alzheimer’s symptoms. Reading can also be a way to escape from the things in your life that are causing you extra…

The figure of President Richard Nixon, a puzzle in death as much as in life, still has historians bewildered and many mystified – A non-fiction book review