How to Read With a Cat on the Book
The cat is on the book. She was not on the book a moment ago, and now she is, face down on the open page, exactly where the sentence was. Here is what you can do, which is not much, and how to do it well.
Section
Instructions
How-tos for the committed homebody. Assume you already said no.
8 articles
How to Carry Six Hardcovers Home From the Library in One Trip
The holds came in. All of them. At once. Here is how to get six hardcovers, a paperback and a cat treat home without a second trip, a dropped book, or a conversation with a neighbour.
How to Read Horror Without Checking the Lamp
The lamp is on. You know the lamp is on. You can see it. And yet, at the end of every paragraph in which a door opens by itself, you will look at the lamp, as though it might have changed its mind.
How to Guess the Killer by Page 60, and Keep It to Yourself
Guessing the killer early is a skill. Announcing it is a character flaw. Here is how to do the first thing and avoid the second, so that you remain both clever and invited back.
How to Make Your Flat Feel Like a Manor House With a Secret
You do not have an east wing. You have a hallway cupboard. Here is how to furnish a small home so that it reads, at night, with the lamp low, like a house that is keeping something from you.
How to Keep Track of Who's Lying in a Thriller With Four Narrators
Modern thrillers come with four narrators, three timelines, and a chapter heading that just says THEN. Here is the method for keeping track of who is lying, so you can enjoy being lied to.
How to Read True Crime Responsibly, Then Check the Locks Anyway
True crime is the only genre on this site where the body count is not a joke. Here is how we read it in this house: with the sourcing checked, the victims named, and the deadbolt turned, in that order.
How to Decline an Invitation in One Sentence
Most people decline badly. They apologise three times, invent a cousin, and promise a rain date they will also have to decline. Here is the method we use in this house. It takes one sentence, and the sentence is not an apology.