There’s no denying that 50 Shades of Grey has sparked quite the open discussion about BDSM in the bedroom. The number one bestselling book, which sold more than 70 million copies in just one year, has spawned fan-based fetish events worldwide and in one of the largest countries to be…
Harry Potter turned 33 on Wednesday (yeah, don’t you feel old?). To honor the birthday of the boy who lived and his creator, J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Publishing unveiled a line of newly designed book covers commemorating the books’ 15th anniversary in U.S. print…
The members of Hermitag/e know a thing or two about getting shit done. What began as two people sitting in a bar writing haikus on the back of drink menus has morphed over the past year into a group of poets, visual artists, and musicians committed to creating and producing…
The Eisners, “the Oscars of comics,” will be announced at Comicon (in San Diego) next month and I’m still madly reading to catch up with the best of the best of 2012’s amazing crop of graphic novels. But, as it’s (officially now) summer in Phoenix, it’s not too burdensome for…
Yeah, okay, back in February, I swore I was moving on to the graphic novels of 2013, running through the previous year’s must-read list double-time. But since the 2013 Eisner Award Nominees were announced last month, I had to make a U-turn. I thought I’d done a good job reading…
Idiot girls and humor fans rejoice — author Laurie Notaro is back in Phoenix for a few weeks and is hosting two events we’ll slash your tires to get to first. Notaro (who contributes to New Times) is releasing her latest collection of short stories this month, titled The Potty…
Native Arizonan Tom Leveen, who lives and works in Phoenix, is a YA fiction machine and the author of “Party” and “Zero.” His third novel, “manicpixiedreamgirl,” came out earlier this month, and he’s already working on numbers four and five (and maybe even beyond) right this minute. Look out this…
Classes are ending, vacations are being planned, and whether or not you can afford to get the Hell out of Dodge, a good book can always serve as a nice mental escape. Here are our top five books to read this summer — preferably by a pool. With a margarita…
No one sees the world quite like David Sedaris. The American best-selling author, humorist, and master of satire keeps a notebook on him at all times that holds observations from his travels and surroundings. Sedaris draws from the everyday — including his personal life and upbringing, things tourists say, and…
Faythe Levine and Sam Macon’s “Sign Painters” is the kind of book you buy as a present for someone else because it looks cool and then can’t part with yourself. The photographs are what draw you in first, of old school sign painters and their work. There’s Ernie Gosnell’s cartoonish…
We’re admittedly a little obsessed with manifestos. Last year, we asked a number of local creatives to write their own manifestos, which we paired with local designers who created a series of posters . . . But we doubt we’ll be doing the same for Jodi Arias. See also: -…
Welcome back to Explicitly Graphic, a monthly column by Cynthia Clark Harvey (who’s working on a graphic novel of her own). From time to time, Harvey will review graphic novels, talk to artists, and dive into the scene of all things explicitly graphic. Today, she unwraps Calling Dr. Laura by…
They had us hooked as soon as we caught wind of the words “Frankenstein” and “celebration.” The only problem is we’ll have to wait a few years — until the bicentennial of Mary Shelly’s classic novel — for our monstrous, science-experiment-gone-wrong dreams to come true. See also: – Center for…
Thom Butcher and Melanie Tighe opened Dog-Eared Pages Used Books in 2008 in a strip mall on 32nd Street just south of Bell Road. The used, rare, and collectible book treasure trove is stocked with almost 50,000 copies across all genres. But according to a note Tighe sent out to…
Welcome back to Explicitly Graphic, a monthly column by Cynthia Clark Harvey (who’s working on a graphic novel of her own). From time to time, Harvey will review graphic novels, talk to artists, and dive into the scene of all things explicitly graphic. Today, she talks about a few novels…
When was the last time you pitched a book? Not into a donate bin or a friend’s purse — we’re talking into a recycle or garbage bin. If you just winced at the thought, you’re not alone. And if you can remember (with or without shame) tossing a hardback or…
On a cool Thursday evening in January, several women gather around folding tables in a Central Phoenix warehouse to sort thousands of books, pausing only to pull out a greeting card used as a bookmark or to show off a rare find. This ritual takes all year — and every…
Gather your empty bags and prep your nose for the smell of books: the VNSA Book Sale is back. All year, members of the Volunteer Nonprofit Service Association (VNSA) have been sorting through hundreds of thousands of books, and this Saturday and Sunday, February 16 and 17, the collection will…
If you ask Lisa Short what she does for a living, her answer would include a variety of career titles from online children’s toy store manager to actress. She’s been a local DJ in the Valley for years now, currently working for MY103.9, as well as working frequently as a…
Judy Blume is an American author celebrated for her many children and young adult novels that have been translated into 31 languages. Blume’s work, including Iggie’s House, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret., It’s Not the End of the World, Just as Long as We’re Together, Blubber, Deenie, Forever,…
Cory Doctorow, is a man of many faces. The Canadian-born science fiction author, is also a technology activist, journalist, and blogger. He is the co-founder of an open source peer-to-peer software company called OpenCola, and has worked as an activist and later the director for the Electronic Frontier Foundation before…
Steve Wiley is Jackalope Ranch’s Parent Hood. He’s a slightly unorthodox father of five who will weigh in weekly with his mildly-rebellious views and observations. If you’d like to see how he came to write this column, watch the intro video. This week he recommends three kids’ books with phenomenal…
