Book Reviews


Introducing: Annotated Shakespeare
The moment I began annotating classic novels, people started asking, "Why don't you do Shakespeare?"
"It's been done!" I'd reply.
Erica Abbett
Feb 203 min read


Conquer a Classic This Christmas
Did you know it's a Christmas tradition in Iceland to exchange books for Christmas? To be specific, these books are exchanged on,...
Erica Abbett
Dec 13, 20242 min read


The Worst 'School Book' Ever?
'Great American novel' or 'worst school book ever'? Having recently annotated 'The Great Gatsby' for Vocabbett Classics, I'm here to say...
Erica Abbett
Nov 16, 20242 min read


The Best Book You've Never Read (Farewell, Maggie Smith)
I can't be the only person who grew up thinking "good books" and "school books" were mutually exclusive categories. Now that I'm older...
Erica Abbett
Oct 1, 20242 min read


The Best Agatha Christie Mystery Is The Woman Herself
They say history is stranger than fiction, and nowhere is that more true that in the case of Agatha Christie. She may be one of the most...
Erica Abbett
Dec 31, 20212 min read


Classic Novels I Secretly Hated
Let’s preface this by saying that everyone’s tastes are different! I’m not saying these books are objectively bad, just that I personally...
Erica Abbett
Nov 25, 20213 min read


Hollywood Bombshell Helps Invent Wi-Fi…Gets Written Out of History
Did you know some of the foundational science behind WiFi, Bluetooth, and other modern technology was developed by a Hollywood bombshell...
Erica Abbett
Nov 21, 20212 min read


A College Admissions Secret You Won’t Believe
I’ve been scouring the latest college admissions research lately (so you don’t have to!), and holy moly, did I find a gem. Buried...
Erica Abbett
Nov 29, 20205 min read


How a Bestseller Gets Ideas (With Inspiration From Elizabeth Peters)
Have you ever loved a book so much that when you finished it, you just sat in stunned silence for a moment? How did the author get these...
Erica Abbett
Sep 7, 20203 min read