The egg cream costs 12¢, or 88¢ adjusted. The economics of being a kid in a classic adventure novel.

The Anatomy of Book Reviews: breaking down the book review to see what makes it good (or bad).

Now she was staring at him as he moved nervously around the house, drawing curtains, checking window bolts, his body galvanized by the news, as if an electric current were passing through it, and he had to explain to her what was happening. Salman Rushdie on life under a fatwa.