A meditation on literary craft that muses on how and why novels communicate with readers. Shows how fiction operates, exploring the conventions of form, the novel as a house that one must build brick by brick, and the objects and characters that build out the world of the novel. The author uses his own line drawings to portray the ebb and flow of novels. He considers how writers invent or discover their characters, the importance or unimportance...

"Comedy is king. From multimillion-dollar TV specials to sold-out stand-up shows and TikTok stardom, comedy has never been more popular, democratized, or influential. Comedians have become organizing forces across culture--as trusted as politicians and as fawned-over as celebrities--yet comedy as an art form has gone under-considered throughout its history, even as it has ascended as a cultural force. In Comedy Book, Jesse David Fox--the country's...

"Discover the many genres of music, from orchestral symphonies and jazz to modern pop and hip hop. Learn about different instruments, find out about musical styles from around the world, and explore the history of music. Packed with facts, illustrations, infographics, and photos, this is the perfect introduction to music"--

"Explore the science behind some of your favorite popular science fiction tropes--from escaping a black hole to riding a space elevator to the stars--in this illustrated guide from NASA advisor and host of the popular Tested podcast Offworld"--

"This collection of graphic reviews, illustrated prose, and visualized poetics addressing the last century of American poetry establishes the roots of Terrance Hayes's poetic influences and reconstructs modes of poetic engagement, demonstrating what makes a poem both move and be moving and illustrating how drawing itself can be a kind of critical, poetic discourse"--

"Provocative and compulsively readable, on the fiftieth anniversary of the release of the landmark blockbuster The Exorcist comes the definitive, fascinating story of its lasting impact as one of the most shocking, influential, and successful adventures in the history of film"--Jacket. On December 26, 1973, The Exorcist was released. Moviegoers braved hours-long lines in winter weather to see it. Half a century later, the movie that both inspired...

"Alice Randall, award-winning professor, songwriter, and author with a "lively, engaging, and often wise" (The New York Times Book Review) voice, offers a lyrical, introspective, and unforgettable account of her past and her search for the first family of Black country music. Country music had brought Randall and her activist mother together and even gave Randall a singular distinction in American music history: she is the first Black woman to cowrite...

"From underground roots to mainstream popularity, hip-hop's influence on music and entertainment around the world has been nothing short of extraordinary. Ode to Hip-Hop chronicles the journey with profiles of fifty albums that have defined, expanded, and ultimately transformed the genre into what it is today. From 2 Live Crew's groundbreaking As Nasty As They Wanna Be in 1989 to Cardi B's similarly provocative Invasion of Privacy almost thirty years...

The definitive documentary of legendary metal icon Ronnie James Dio. Transcending the standard rock documentary and beautifully highlighting both his powerful voice and his gentle heart, "DIO, dreamers never die" delves deep into the singer's incredible rise from '50s doo-wop crooner to his early rock days in Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow to replacing Ozzy Osbourne in Black Sabbath, and finally cementing his rock star status with DIO. The first career...

"A bestselling music historian follows Jelly Roll Morton on a journey through the hidden worlds and forbidden songs of early blues and jazz. In Jelly Roll Blues: Censored Songs and Hidden Histories, Elijah Wald takes readers on a journey into the hidden and censored world of early blues and jazz, guided by the legendary New Orleans pianist Jelly Roll Morton. Morton became nationally famous as a composer and bandleader in the 1920s, but got his start...