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Origin myths are interesting. This is a fact. No need to bicker, there’s no disputing it. Tell me the Hindi cyclical myth of universes created by Brahma only to be destroyed by Shiva, is not at all fascinating and I will know you are quite mad. Coax me into believing the Mayan Popol Vuh diluvian myth, that of the creators causing the vast sea to recede and the solid earth to rise, isn’t at all interesting to learn about and I will resist and resist. Dismiss the fire and ice proto-worlds of the Norse myths as trite trivia and I will simply feel sorry for you.

Ever wish you could hear what other people are thinking? In Patrick Ness'' curiously titled, award-winning novel, The Knife of Never Letting Go , your wish is granted--but be careful what you wish for. Protagonist Todd Hewitt can hear the thoughts of every living creature around him, and all he wishes is that it would stop. He is the last remaining child in Prentisstown, a small town formed by colonists from Earth, sent to populate an alien planet.

Chuck Palahniuk Is an Old Hat

Well, more like my favorite shirt. A shirt I will wear once a week for 10 years. One that I refuse to let go of, that has stitching resembling crooked scars to patch up the holes and it frays at the edges. One day it will have more homemade stitching than original fabric. It’s comfortable and familiar and I won’t throw it out.

Who is not completely fascinated by Henry VIII? My interest in Tudor England began with a trip to England with an Episcopal choir. We sang Evensong service every night for a week at Ely Cathedral. We were also fortunate enough to go to Canterbury, York, Lincoln, and London. When you process into the choir stall and walk over stones that literally have been worn thin by worshippers before you, the sense of history is palpable. Also lingering are the remnants of the major social, political, and religious upheavals of King Henry’s reign.

In The Yellow Wallpaper , Charlotte Gilman Perkins first introduced me to the concept of synesthesia, the odd, kinetic sensation of having the senses cross pathways: Being able to ‘feel’ a color, hear images, or smell sounds. Perkins links this strange neurological condition with the protagonist’s ‘hysterical depression’. The character’s exact cause of her synesthetic sensations is debatable.