Atlas Shrugged: (Centennial Edition)

The 1950s saw the emergence of literary lights including J.D. Salinger and Jack Kerouac, authors whose books questioned the status quo and the midcentury preoccupation with conformity. The decade’s best books were mired in the dark realities of recent history, and looked forward to seismic social shifts to come. Novelists explored cultural norms through timeless dystopic visions, and […]

It’s election season! Yes, still. And now that the field of candidates has narrowed, perhaps you’re mourning the loss of slogans like “Jeb!”—that exclamation point was everything. But we’ve still got some gems in the running—like the ominous “A Political Revolution is Coming” (Bernie Sanders), the demanding “Make America Great Again!” (Donald Trump), the don’t-you-know-who-I-am? “Hillary […]

When you pick up a book described as “dystopian,” it’s natural to assume you’ll be reading science fiction set in the future. But that’s not always the case—certainly some would argue dystopian societies exist right now in the real world, and some authors obviously think so too, because their dystopian visions are set in the here-and-now, or, […]

Chatting up strangers in public can be an awkward proposition, but having an awesome icebreaker like a book can be a great way to get the conversation going. Just be sure to steer clear of tomes with titles like Don’t Talk to Me and I Have Enough Friends Already, Thankyouverymuch or anything akin to comedian […]