Readings

Joel and Ethan Coen don’t just challenge their characters—they punish them, humiliate them, are even accused of hating them. But just because they put their creations through the wringer, doesn’t mean they delight in their despair.

Bryan Cranston’s portrayal of Walter White in Breaking Bad may have been masterful, but his character's fate was always in the hands of writer-showrunner Vince Gilligan. Then again, the show's audience probably had something to say about it, too.

In Jonathan Franzen’s view, e-readers will disrupt the permanence of books, with dire consequences for human society. A Czech novelist would recommend that he calm down and have a drink.

Macabre books for young adults—the kind popularized by the unsurpassed Roald Dahl—deliver chills to young readers without alarming their parents, or whacking them over the head with morals. This way, they teach kids the joys of reading.