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Trashing Tolkien, Finding Tom Sawyer

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On the Shelf

The real Tom Sawyer. Courtesy Guardians of the City, San Francisco Fire Museum.

  • The people have spoken, and the Best Word Ever is … diphthong.
  • A map of Zadie Smith’s NW.
  • And speaking of interactive tours: explore the Roald Dahl Museum from the comfort of home!
  • Tom Sawyer was apparently based on a real person. His name was Tom Sawyer. He was a volunteer fireman from Brooklyn, and he and Mark Twain used to go out drinking.
  • Billy Connolly: “I could never read Tolkien. I always found him unreadable … I didn’t read [the books], and I normally don’t like people who have! The people who love it, they’re kind of scary. They talk all this gobbledygook and they think of it as the Holy Grail.” Dáin Ironfoot clearly doesn’t know who he’s dealing with.

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