I always wait until the last minute to buy Christmas and Chanukah presents for my family. It’s not because shopping slips my mind, or because I forget about the holidays or my family, but mostly because I never know what to get my family. I generally end up buying them things I would actually likeContinue reading

Why do we celebrate Labor Day? Is it because 200 hundred years ago, President Cleveland was feeling a tad sheepish about that whole Pullman-Strike debacle? Possibly. But I think it serves a grander purpose. It’s because we’re all tired and could really use an extra day to catch up on our reading. It’s because theContinue reading

I feel like I’ve been having a lot of conversations about love lately–or rather, the nature of relationships. And I’ve come to the following conclusion: The very person you pine for, swoon over, and generally idolize also inspires you to plot elaborate murder-suicide scenarios which include dragging your beloved around by the (undoubtedly luscious) hair.Continue reading

Happy Friday the 13th! Or is it Unhappy … Either way, it’s a Friday and it’s a day of note so there must be festivities and there must be a toast. And who better to guide us than our literary authority on all things doom, gloom, and fright? Edgar Allan Poe had a great affectionContinue reading

Algonquin Books can’t help but feel a special bond with Dorothy Parker and the members of the Algonquin Round Table, despite the fact that we are not, as many believe, named after the Algonquin Round Table. Parker is known for having one of the sharpest tongues of the era (she occupies two spots on theContinue reading

During these long, hot summer days, nothing feels quite so right as sitting down with a good book,  a chilled beverage at your side. We hand out suggestions about good books like candy, but I feel we’ve been lacking in the beverage department. To remedy that, today we have a recipe for the Mojito, courtesyContinue reading