First Lines: Flannery O'Connor

Besides the neutral expression she wore when she was alone, Mrs. Freeman had two others, forward and reverse, that she used for all her human dealings.

Good Country People (from A Good Man is Hard to Find)

Flannery O’Connor

"They say it's your birthday" - writers born on September 16

Julia Donaldson  (1948)
Henry Louis Gates, Jr.  (1950)
John Gay  (1685)
Justin Haythe  (1973)
Nancy Huston  (1953) 
John Knowles  (1926)
Francis Parkman  (1823) 
H. A. Rey  (1898)
Frans Eemil Sillanpaa  (1888)
 

The Biblio File: images of cover art, for bibliophiles

David Levine on writers: James Ellroy

David Levine (1926-2009) was one of America’s most prominent illustrators during a career that spanned decades. No less an authority than Jules Feiffer described him as "the greatest caricaturist of the last half of the 20th century,” although Levine continued to work in the early years of this century as well. Levine’s subjects included himself (above) and people from many walks of life. Authors, scribes and scribblers were a big part of the mix, as these caricatures make clear.  

Lit Toons: Cartoons with a bookish bent

First Lines: Barbara Kingsolver

Imagine a ruin so strange it must never have happened.

The Poisonwood Bible

Barbara Kingsolver