The Rambling

03/12/2024

Robert Lublin on The Lord of the Rings

Robert I. Lublin has loved J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings series since he was 10 and re-read it often—but after finding comfort in Tolkien’s novels for so many years, he was dismayed to find how unsettling The Lord of the Rings novels were when he re-read them in the midst of the COV...

03/12/2024

Miranda Hoegberg on novels and reality TV

Miranda Hoegberg considers how couples learn about each other through watching reality dating shows—and what this might mean about how we learn in general from didactic forms like the realist novel. As Daniel Defoe tells us, “the best use” can be “made even of the worst story.”

30/11/2024

Ty Holter on the 50th anniversary of Shel Silverstein's Where the Sidewalk Ends

Shel Silverstein’s Where the Sidewalk Ends remains an unparalleled classic of children’s literature. On the occasion of its 50th anniversary, poet Ty Holter reflects on the book’s resistance to commercial intervention, its relation to American cities and the built world, and the significant ro...

30/11/2024

Julia Kendal on the intersection of illness and beauty trends

Hot girl summer gives way to sick girl winter in the long wake of COVID-19. Julia Kendal, a writer and social justice advocate, explores the phenomenon of “succubus chic” by connecting contemporary wellness trends to nineteenth-century aesthetics and reflecting on her own experience living with ...

28/11/2024

Abigail Spencer on finding troubled parental relationships in children's literature

Abigail Spencer revisits Paula Danziger’s Amber Brown series and finds kinship with a childhood not often depicted in children’s fiction. An only child of divorced parents, Amber manages her father’s absences and outbursts with refreshing nuance. When his behavior comes to a head, she finds he...

27/11/2024

Samantha Colicchio on the hit TV series and her journey with professional acting

On the 20th anniversary of the hit TV show Lost, author Samantha Colicchio examines the series through the lens of her experience at NYU’s acting conservatory. She explores the show’s philosophical questions and the universal desire for meaning.

27/11/2024

Give thanks—The Rambling is out! From Lost to Lord of the Rings, reality TV to “succubus chic,” you will not lack for conversation at the dinner table after reading our latest issue, now live at https://the-rambling.com/.