Mental Floss: The Curious Reader

A Literary Miscellany of Novels & Novelists


Written By: Erin McCarthy and The Team at Mental Floss

$24.99
Readers rejoice! From Mental Floss, an online destination for more than a billion curious minds since 2001, comes the ultimate literature lovers' book. From Americanah to War and Peace, from Jane Austen to George R.R. Martin, learn surprising facts about the world’s most famous novels and novelists.

The Curious Reader will delight bookworms everywhere with fascinating facts about famous authors and their works, such as George Orwell’s near-death experience during the writing of 1984; the inspiration for Pride and Prejudice’s Mr. Darcy; which famous author kept her husband’s heart after he died; the influence of psychedelics on Dune, and more. The Curious Reader also contains beloved book-related articles from 20 years of Mental Floss, including “Cat-Loving Writers,” “Famous Authors’ Unfinished Manuscripts,” “Literary Characters Based on Real People,” and “Books You Didn’t Know Were Self-Published.”
Format: Hardbound
Publication Date: 5/25/2021
ISBN: 9781681887555
Pages: 288
Trim Size: 7.5 x 9.5 x 1

  • About the Authors
  • Press

About Erin McCarthy: The editor-in-chief of MentalFloss.com since 2017, Erin McCarthy has been shaping the site’s content for nearly a decade. She hosts The List Show and Throwback on Mental Floss’s YouTube channel and was the executive producer and host of its History Vs. Theodore Roosevelt podcast. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband Sean and their two cats, Pearl and Oliver.


About Mental Floss: Since its founding in a Duke University dorm room in 2001, Mental Floss has reached more than 1 billion readers with smart, quirky content presented in a witty, upbeat voice. Our New York City-based team of editors and writers—as well as our worldwide network of contributors—answers life’s big questions, uncovers fascinating facts, and finds stories so interesting that our readers absolutely must share them.

Mental Floss has won four Webby Awards (including a People’s Choice Webby in 2020), been nominated for an ASME award, and published 15 books, five board games, and a fact-of-the-day calendar. We reach more than 19 million users per month across our site, social media accounts, and popular YouTube channel.

Visit Mental Floss today!

"With sumptuous, visually stimulating spreads, this book delivers on its promise– to unearth strange stories, bizarre facts, or unexpected details about the books on our shelves. Good for curious readers, whether they want to delve into authors and books they love, feel competent faking knowledge about books everyone else seems to have read, or just dip into and out of literary worlds" – Library Journal

"If you’re at all curious about authors, their books, history, and/or the literary world, I highly recommend it. And maybe it will encourage you to revisit a beloved classic with new eyes, or try on something new for size." -- Geekmom

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