Book reviews, release news and discussion of timeless classics or modern creations.
It’s not often that you see a charity decline a donation, but an exception was made for Jamie Lynn Spears. Spears was originally planning to donate the proceeds of her upcoming memoir to a mental health organization, This is My Brave, but was blindsided by rejection shortly after. When Spears announced the release of her … Read more
Looking for book club questions for The Whisper Man? This spooky thriller will jump-start your fall and prepare you for Halloween, and we’ve got some great discussion questions ready for your next book club meeting. The Whisper Man Summary The novel features Tom Kennedy and his seven-year-old son, Jake. The two pack up and move … Read more
Need some book club questions for Three Women by Lisa Taddeo? Look no further. If you’re looking for a masterful non-fiction book for your next book club meeting, opt for Three Women. It will make you reflect on topics most people are uncomfortable addressing out loud, and it will leave you wondering how Taddeo managed … Read more
Looking for book club questions for Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid? We’ve got you covered. If you’re in search for a book that covers timely, critical topics including racism, class structure and female friendship, this book’s the one. Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid reads gorgeously, all while addressing issues we all … Read more
The first line of A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens is: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Life, … Read more
The first line of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald reads: In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since. Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, he told me, just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had … Read more
The first line of Romeo & Juliet, perhaps William Shakespeare’s most famous play, reads: Two households, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona, where we lay our scene, from ancient grudge break to new mutiny, where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. Shakespeare’s opening line in Romeo & Juliet sets the play’s scene in Verona. … Read more
The last line of The Great Gatsby reads: So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past. F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby in 1925. The story follows wealthy money-man Jay Gatsby who pursues a life of riches and luxuries, but ultimately suffers from a great unhappiness. The last … Read more
The first line in Anna Karenina, an 1878 novel written by Russian author, Leo Tolstoy, reads: All happy families resemble one another; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. Tolstoy opens his nearly 900-page book with this bleak sentence to lure readers into a tale of marriage, love, betrayal and family dynamics. The … Read more
The first line of Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen reads: It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. As the first line notes, the novel is a story of romance and follows the life of Elizabeth Bennet, the protagonist. … Read more
The first line to the novel Dracula, by Bram Stoker, is from Jonathan Harker’s Journal. 3 May. Bistritz.—Left Munich at 8:35 P. M., on 1st May, arriving at Vienna early next morning; should have arrived at 6:46, but train was an hour late. Dracula was created by the Irish Author Bram Stoker in 1897 and is … Read more
