Poisonous Green Books

from National Geographic These green books are poisonous—and one may be on a shelf near you A toxic green pigment was once used to color everything from fake flowers to book covers. Now a museum conservator is working to track down the noxious volumes. BY JUSTIN...

Joan Didion Gone

from Vanity Fair Joan Didion, Literary Titan, Dies at 87 BY EMILY KIRKPATRICK Joan Didion, a resounding voice in American literature who insightfully captured the ’60s and California through observant and beautiful language, died on Thursday at home in Manhattan. She...

The Meh Courses

from The New Yorker What’s So Great About Great-Books Courses? The humanities are in danger, but humanists can’t agree on how—or why—they should be saved. By Louis Menand Roosevelt Montás was born in a rural village in the Dominican Republic and immigrated to the...

Anne Rice Gone

from Deadline Anne Rice Dies: ‘Interview With The Vampire’ Author Was 80 By Tom Grater Anne Rice / AP Anne Rice, the American writer whose Interview with the Vampire sold more than 150 million copies, has died. She was 80. “The immensity of our family’s grief cannot...

Rodrigo Corral

from Slate Sometimes You Can Judge a Book by Its Cover Graphic designer Rodrigo Corral explains how he comes up with iconic book-jacket art. BY RUMAAN ALAM Rodrigo Corral Anna Kassoway On this week’s episode of Working, Rumaan Alam spoke with graphic...