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Endings to a story are equally as important as those first lines that draw you in, because those last lines will remain with you and teach you the lessons the story intended to teach.

Some famous endings that left a deep, lasting impact on their readers:

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: “The scar had not pained Harry for nineteen years. All was well.”

2. The Great Gatsby: “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.The full explanation can be found at < Read more »

Works of great literature are often most remembered for iconic characters, vivid imagery in major scenes, or for key pieces of dialogue. But nothing makes a novel more memorable than its first line or first few words that kick the story off.

What follows is a list of novels famous for their opening words.

(1) A Tale of Two Cities: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…”
Charles Dickens’ sweeping 1859 novel opens with Read more »

The Ubiquitous Julia Child and Her Blowtorch Style
The beloved chef, Julia Child, had a singularly unique talent. The presentation of her recipes and cooking style implied, “anyone can do it.” She used a blowtorch in her kitchen to flamb desserts. Novice cooks in her audience were awed. The astronomical sales of small blowtorches brought joy to the hearts of hardware stores everywhere. The blowtorch may be the true symbol of Julia Child, the woman who made cooking lighthearted fun. Like the blowtorch, she possessed a fiery gastronomical confidence that blasted away fears of creating the perfect souffl or Read more »

Beach Bag: Sassy Books for Summer

Now is the time to start checking off those summer reading lists and get ready for the beach. The best time to read a good book is under the warm sun on a beautiful day at a nice sandy beach. But, what books are hot right now that will make for a good read this summer? Let’s take a look at some of the hottest choices for books for this summer’s beach days. Let’s start with Read more »

When asked which of their books they have written is their favorite, the popular answer among best selling authors is that their books are like their children and it wouldn’t feel right to play favorites.

However there are a few authors who will not be so coy. Neil Gamian has stated that his favorite book he wrote is his novella Mr. Punch. Sometimes other authors will take a more nuanced view, for example, when famed Russian author Vladamir Nabokov was asked which was his novels was his favorite he replied that he held the greatest affection Read more »

There are so many good magazines and books that are being released for readers. It is almost hard for many people to pick up their favorite reading materials and select just one.

This is why people are buying books in abundance as the summer approaches. The buzz about the Fifty Shades of Grey has sparked a nation of readers to come out and buy books in abundance. This is definitely among the favorites of a lot of readers at this time.

The Barack Obama: Read more »

Anyone that’s been to the movies has seen the smash hits that Dan Brown’s series of three books starring intrepid academic Robert Langdon have been made into. For those who haven’t it’s “Angels and Demons” and “The DaVinci Code” respectively. There’s a third book, “The Lost Symbol,” but let’s stick to the first two for now.

Both of these books are conspiracies, that’s what makes them fun. They’re plausible, if not precisely true, and it’s their very plausibility that has made so many people claim they might not be fiction. However, most of the facts presented are the Read more »

The Library of Congress, established in 1800, is the research library of the U.S. Congress. It sits in four buildings in Washington DC and boasts the largest shelf space of any library in the world, holding the most books also. And that’s just the for the bricks and mortar crowd. If you have not had a chance to check out what the Library of Congress has available online, you should take some time to explore its rich offering. The online Library divides its content into three main categories; Ask a Librarian, the Digital Collection and Library Catalogs. The Ask a Librarian area is for those requiring research assistance. The Digital Collection houses various bodies of work that are amenable to the digital medium. Here you will find newspapers, photograph collections, early sound recordings, archived websites of historical significance and legislative information. And finally the Library Catalogs where you can search the full set of Library resources. The Library really is an amazing place and a physical visit is absolutely required for anybody who appreciates the written word. Unfortunately, http://tvsavings.org/, for many of us, DC is not within easy striking distance so visit via cyberspace is the next best thing. Happy hunting!