Literary Trolls

If you think that writers or authors are a happy family, think again. They may be part of one big writing family, but the family can be highly dysfunctional. Authors are in fact able to be vitriolic in their abuse of other writers albeit with some style. Unlike the often incoherent mutterings of common internet trolls, their comments come with truly horrendous barbs, sharp like scalpels, and honed like harpoons.

Classic: Etiquette Handbook

Etiquette handbooks might seem out of fashion; they probably are, as having atrocious manners seems to become the norm. But this book is a treasure for several reasons. It was written in the 60s by a writer looking back to the 20s. All this makes double the fun, and that is not even all to have a good laugh while reading it. Just don't ever contemplate to follow the advice you're given.

Arthur Miller and The Witch Hunt

Arthur Miller died in 2005 at the age of 89, and the reactions were not universally of grief. Lights were dimmed on Broadway and one paper cleared its front page, but several dissenters made themselves heard over the empty rituals of public praise. The most famous of America’s playwrights had always called forth divided reactions from critics and public, so reactions after his death were in keeping with that.

Paul Newman and
Arthur Miller

Duchess of Death

It is always difficult to come second and later. When writing a biography, it makes your job as a writer that much harder and your research must be more thorough than that previously done. Still, the outcome might be a book that contains nothing new over what has already been written. It ends up being a rehash of well known and acclaimed books with no merit of its own.