First published in 1927, E. M. Forster's "Aspects of the Novel" compiles a series of lectures given to Trinity College at the University of Cambridge in that same year. By utilizing examples from other classic works Forster puts forward a standard theory on the writing of fictional prose. The book takes turns tackling the issues of story and plot, character, fantasy, prophecy, pattern and rhythm in the writing of novels; the elements which Forster...

Organized around key American films from the 1970s, all of which he first saw as a young moviegoer at the time. At once film criticism, film theory, reporting, and personal history, it is written with the rare perspective about cinema possible only from one of the practitioners of the artform.

Discusses topics ranging from prehistoric instruments to modern-day pop to explain how respective musical innovations were inspired by original forces that reflected common human themes.

The first book in the English language on the history of baroque music does not need either apology or justification. Histories of music have been written usually as quick surveys of the entire field and if they specialize at all they concentrate as a rule on a single composer. It is a strange though incontestable fact that by far the great majority of music books deal with composers rather than their music. This attitude is a survival of the hero-worship...

Children's Literature charts the makings of the Western literary imagination from Aesop's fables to Mother Goose, from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland to Peter Pan, from Where the Wild Things Are to Harry Potter. Seth Lerer here explores the iconic books, ancient and contemporary alike, that have forged a lifelong love of literature in young readers during their formative years. Along the way, Lerer also looks at the changing environments of family...

"A magic curtain, woven of legends, hung before the world. Cervantes sent Don Quixote journeying and tore through the curtain. The world opened before the knight-errant in all the comical nakedness of its prose." In this thought-provoking, endlessly enlightening, and entertaining essay on the art of the novel, renowned author Milan Kundera suggests that "the curtain" represents a ready-made perception of the world that each of us has-a pre-interpreted...

Pop music surrounds us - in our cars, over supermarket speakers, even when we are laid out at the dentist - but how often do we really hear what's playing? Switched on Pop is the book based on the eponymous podcast that has been hailed by NPR, Rolling Stone, The Guardian, and Entertainment Weekly for its witty and accessible analysis of Top 40 hits. Through close studies of sixteen modern classics, musicologist Nate Sloan and songwriter Charlie Harding...

"Monumental Lies explores early western folklore complete with its playful embrace of tall tales and exaggeration, a brand of deceit woven into diverse traditions by people placing their mark on the region. Examining a wide variety of sources ranging from private journals, books, newspaper articles and archaeological remains, this considers how folklore took root in rocky soil during the nineteenth century and then how modern perspective regards the...