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It’s cold and wet outside, so there aren’t many options for entertaining activities. Oh sure, you could turn on your television and sit on your butt for the next several hours, but there is only so much time you can spend watching daytime soap operas or court TV. Instead of just staring at a screen, letting your mind go sedentary, there are some exciting books to read that are just perfect for those stuck-in-the-house rainy days. One or two suggestions may be educational, but they are too fun to read to even notice that you’re brain is keeping active.

Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher

Do not let the name fool, there isn’t anything about marine life in the book. The main character, T.J. Jones, is an adopted teenager who is smart, funny, and an all-around cool guy, who is incredibly humorous to read about. The story deals with a team of underdog swimmers, and T.J. just happens to be the only popular guy on the team. Acting as the wise-butt hero at times, this book had me stifling my own laughter because I was afraid someone would hear me guffaw too loudly.

Darwin Awards Books

For those who are not familiar with the Darwin Awards, they are a comical competition that relay the odd, stupid, and funny things people do in life, as well as the interesting outcomes of these actions. There are at least seven of these books by now, so the options are wide and the hilarity of man’s stupidity just continues to entertain readers. If for some reason you cannot finish one of the books, there is no harm in putting it aside to come back to it on another rainy day. The chapters do not have a sequence of events, so there is no plot to keep up with. You can read one funny story after another. Or, if you somehow finish one book in a day, there are more to read out of the series.

A Bad Beginning, A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snickett

Yes, it is part of a series, but what better day is there to try out a new series of books than on a rainy day? And, there is never a dull moment in A Bad Beginning, not to mention it is a relatively shorter book, which also makes it a quick read. Funny, exciting, and sometimes creepy, the Series of Unfortunate Events relays the story of the cruel Count Olaf, who is trying to take the inheritance of three incredibly talented orphaned children. Don’t knock it just because it’s in the young adult section; this book even has adults enthralled to read the whole series.

Short Stories by Nikolay Gogol

For those who want a fun, yet slightly more sophisticated read, the short stories by Nikolay Gogol never seem to disappoint. Although most short stories are a good pick for rainy days, Gogol’s are both deep and amusing at the same time. Stories like “The Nose” is so incredulous to have a nose as the supporting role, while “The Diary of a Madman” is so funny, I almost felt guilty as I laughed at the poor narrator. Gogol’s short stories are a bit longer than others, but you can still several with a day’s time. And, with a collection of shorts, it is easy to just put the rest of the book aside once you have finished a particular story. There is no commitment to reading all of the short stories if you do not have time.

Psych – A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Read by William Rabkin

If you are a fan of the show, you are going to love the books, particularly this one. Although many popular shows are providing a series of books alongside their show, Psych is one of those shows that is both smart and funny at the same time, which is exactly what the books are like, too. A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Read happens to be only 273 pages, which makes for a quick read with all of the dialogue and humorous activities.

By: Garin Kilpatrick

As the curator of quotes for @EduifyQuotes on Twitter I have been scouring quotes websites across the internet in search of the very best literary quotes. As I have searched for the very best quotes I have encountered many quotes that are simply too provoking to tweet out without a warning first. You have heard this warning and decided to proceed.

I applaud your scandalous curiosity. Enjoy!

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By Julia Jackson

When I was a senior in high school, a real live writer came to my English class. She was a successful novelist, a middle-aged woman who later went on to win a series of literary awards. After she spoke about her latest novel, my teacher opened the class up to questions. I raised my hand and asked, “What advice do you have for young people who want to support themselves as writers?”

The author, who has since gone on to become a renowned writer and somewhat of a local hero in my hometown, smiled grimly and said: “Marry rich.” I put my hand down and before I could respond, someone else asked a question. Class resumed and it seemed that no one else was bristling as much as I was. How could this be true? This was the twenty-first century! Surely there were better ways of being a professional writer and a healthy individual in the world. The author both crashed my confidence and instilled a lifelong desire to prove her wrong, all in one fell swoop.

Just how do you become a professional writer? And how do writers combine their technical skills with careers that support themselves? Well, there are a lot of ways to do it. Welcome to Writing Careers: Real Tips from Real Writers. Over the next few weeks, we will be profiling professional writers who work in various media. Read the rest of this entry »

As beautiful as the sentences that come out of the brains of people like Marcel Proust, James Joyce, Gertrude Stein, or William Faulkner are, they are definitely of a different generation of thinkers than you students. You love their work, but you can’t really relate, on a tangible level, to what they say. Right? Or was the first time you read Ulysses the moment when you recognized your own soul inside the fictional framework of a literary character? Yeah right. Gimme a break.

I love Joyce as much as anyone else does. Heck, I’ll take your Joyce, and I’ll raise you a Samuel Beckett. I adore tough modernist literature as much as the next dude, but I’ll admit that I (a twenty-something former English major — I’m not that much older than you, dear student, even though in your eyes I might be ancient) have trouble relating to Estragon on a personal level. We speak a different language now. We are stuck in a post-modern fugue, and the entire landscape of literature has changed.

Luckily, there are many writers that consistently produce masterpiece-level literature and write through a modern lense. These writers talk about things like television, anti-depressants, and the Internet. Finally, someone who speaks our language! While we may not read them (yet) as a part of the canon of literature, these hip writers will one day be the Ezra Pounds of our generation. They are people that you should know and read, and here are 5 of our favorites:

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