literature

Two images side by side: on the left, two knights fight each other on horseback; on the right, the knight ask a woman for forgiveness after he killed her husband

Arts & culture

Why did medieval readers kiss, smudge and deface their books?

“What they were really touching was each other,” says French Professor Henry Ravenhall. “The book was just a conduit for whatever kind of social desire was needed to be expressed within that group.”

Fiona McFarlane holds an award for The Story Prize and smiles

Arts & culture

English Professor Fiona McFarlane’s ‘Highway Thirteen’ wins The Story Prize

Fiona McFarlane juxtaposed next to the cover of her book Highway 13

Arts & culture

In 12 short stories, ‘Highway Thirteen’ traces the ripple effects of one man’s violence

Two young girls sit closely together in this scene from the HBO series

Arts & culture

No. 1 book of the century, ‘My Brilliant Friend’, is subject of UC Berkeley research, courses

Percival Everett speaks at a podium at a UC Berkeley event

‘James’ author Percival Everett discusses his ‘Huckleberry Finn’ retelling at a campus event

The white cover of an artist book with a sepia-toned drawing of an eye next to a row of several vials labeled things like,

Artists’ books shine in new exhibit at the UC Berkeley Library

Sonali Deraniyagala and Ramona Naddaff talk on stage for a UC Berkeley event

Berkeley Talks: ‘Wave’ memoirist on writing about unimaginable loss

a student sits surrounded by tall grass reading a book

UC Berkeley summer reading list for new students

images of three book covers: one that reads

Check out this year’s Library picks of books by LGBTQ+ authors

a person stands next to an image of a book

Berkeley Voices: How the Holocaust ends

UC Berkeley alum Hua Hsu wins 2023 Pulitzer Prize

Library reading list: Great books by Black authors

Berkeley Talks: Adriana Green and Nadia Ellis discuss ‘The Yellow House’

black and white portrait of a person holding up two fingers to frame his eye

Berkeley Talks: Novelist Ilija Trojanow on the utopian prerogative

photo of a person next to a cover of a book called Interior Chinatown

Author Charles Yu: ‘Interior Chinatown’ is about roles and how we play them

two book covers: oryx and crake, and salvage the bones

English professor on climate fiction: Powerful, terrifying — and inspiring

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