Hell Yeah! Worthy: January

curated by the Atticus Books staff

Hell Yeah! Worthy is a weekly feature appearing every Friday where our staff distills the plethora of scat on the Internet into a succinct list of the best you haven’t seen, the best you ignored, and the best you should visit again. 

Downton Abbey’s Literary Pedigree
For everyone scrambling to justify their crackhead-like addiction to Downton Abbey, The Millions is offering a fourteen paragraph article (which is actually interesting) on “The Literary Pedigree of Downton Abbey.” Telling yourself it’s essentially a mash-up of Thackeray, Proust, Waugh and Marx makes it all better. (Libby)

The Casual Optimist: Books, Design and Culture

When Atticus Books first left the womb, I repeated quite often to writers, bloggers, and our then mostly imaginary followers that I sought people “of like mind and spirit.” I continue to use that phrase ad nauseam, but the contextual sensibility of The Casual Optimist is just the kind of substantive site that turns on my reading light. The founder, Dan Wagstaff, is a shameless book junkie like yours truly and his “personal project” is enviable in its organic execution and delivery. I also dig that he lives in Canada, which is where I’m headed if Newt Gingrich is elected to the oval office. (Dan)

If Famous Authors Had Written Twilight
I’ve never read Stephanie Meyer’s books and I’m happy to keep it that way. But what if literary authors had found inspiration in a love triangle between a human, a werewolf, and a vampire? From Annie Proulx (Edward and Jacob defy society’s expectations up in the mountains) to Lewis Carroll (Bella takes acid and charts syllogisms) to Jane Austen (Basically the same as the original), i09 pokes fun at the global phenomenon. (Lacey)

Stephen Colbert Interviews Maurice Sendak
Stephen Colbert interviewing Maurice Sendak (Where the Wild Things Are) is hands down the most entertaining thing I’ve seen all week. Good old “Mo” shares his opinions on everything from Newt Gingrich (“hopelessly gross and vile”) to the state of children’s literature (“abysmal”) and even gets a word in about e-books: “I hate those e-books. They cannot be the future. They well may be. I will be dead. I won’t give a s***!” (Libby)

Do yourself a favor and watch Part 1:

Do yourself another favor and watch Part 2: