Book synergy abounds! Frank rediscovers Anne Frank's diary in a newly released graphic novel, Gwen becomes obsessed with a group of time-traveling historians, and everyone absorbs the small details of day-to-day lives during World War II.
Book Recommendations
Anne Frank's Diary: The Graphic Adaptation, adapted by Ari Folman and illustrated by David Polonsky
Blackout by Connie Willis (All Clear is the second book in the series, plus much more of her work in the catalog)
Non-Book Recommendations
Sandhya Menon's Twitter post that helped Gwen understand how people feel when you mispronounce their names.
Frank and Gwen celebrate the life and work of Mary Oliver by reading a handful of her poems and doing something she might approve of—letting it all go and singing about dogs.
Have you ever truly grieved over the loss of someone in a book? Together with Eric Molinsky, host of the Imaginary Worlds podcast, Frank and Gwen dive into the psychology of readers' responses to character deaths. Don't worry, it's not as depressing as it sounds! Maybe!
Eric's podcast, Imaginary Worlds, the "Imaginary Deaths" episode, the fanfiction episode, and the Madeline Miller episode
Some books with deaths we've mourned:
Gwen gets fired up about reading—you guessed it—new fiction this year, while Frank dips into the backlist of a new favorite author. Plus: New Year's resolutions, The Bachelor, and the best short stories of 2018.
Best American Short Stories 2018, ed. by Roxane Gay
The Mere Wife by Maria Dahvana Headley
Encocylopedia Britannica's quick summary of "Beowulf"—or check out lots of versions of the actual poem from the Library