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I Used to Know That
I Used to Know That Literature: Inside Stories of Famous Authors, Classic Characters, Unforgettable Phrases, and Unanticipated Endings
Bibliophiles, grab your glasses! Here is a compendium of interesting- and often scandalous-facts and quips about the literary world. Featuring authors and tomes of yesteryear and yesterday, from Tolkien's Middle-earth to Jeffrey Eugenides's Middlesex, I Used to Knew That: Literature includes sections such as: You Don't Say: Commonly-used words and phrases that were coined or popularized in classic words of fiction-sometimes with very different meanings. Gruesomely Ever After: The original endings of some of the world's most cherished fairy tales-Snow White, The Little Mermaid, Cinderella, and more. Hip to be Square: Banned works of fiction and the controversy surrounding them. Anthropomorphized Characters: The real-life stories and inspirations behind beloved "leading creatures." Time to Make the Doughnuts: Odd jobs of famous authors. Parental Guidance Suggested: Dahl's short stories, Seuss's political cartoons; the lesser-known, and sometimes shocking, adult writings of beloved children's authors. The Long Con: Shocking (and sometimes shockingly long-lived) literary hoaxes: Frey, JT Leroy, The Education of Little Tree, The Day After Roswell, etc. Science Fiction, Science Fact: If alien monoliths are ever found on the moon, the safer bet is that they would be translucent crystal; Sir Arthur C. Clarke is celebrated for making accurate predictions of various technologies, years ahead of their time. A look at which of his predictions held true and the same feats of other authors. Screen Test: The truth about great works of fiction and the odd challenges that had to be surmounted to bring them to the silver screen. The Secret Life of Kilgore Trout: True facts about fake characters (and the writers who created them).
176 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2012
7 people are currently reading
144 people want to read
About the author
C. Alan Joyce
8 books2 followersC. Alan Joyce works for WolframAlpha, a computational knowledge search engine. Alan was previously the Editorial Director for World Almanac Books, serving as chief editor for the #1 bestselling The World Almanac and Book of Facts. He created the new World Almanac blog in 2006.
Alan was a freelance writer and editor, with years of experience in reference publishing-and a lifelong addiction to reference books of all kinds. He is the former Executive Editor of The New York Times Almanac and The New York Times Guide to Essential Knowledge.
He lives with his wife and son in Illinois.
Alan was a freelance writer and editor, with years of experience in reference publishing-and a lifelong addiction to reference books of all kinds. He is the former Executive Editor of The New York Times Almanac and The New York Times Guide to Essential Knowledge.
He lives with his wife and son in Illinois.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
July 9, 2012
This book gave me a whole new list of books to read. Plus it was funny and interesting.
Favorite parts:
The entire Everyone's a Critic section, including:
"That's not writing, that's typing." -- Truman Capote on Jack Kerouac's On The Road
"Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words? He thinks I don't know the ten-dollar words. I know them all right. But there are older and simpler and better words, and those are the ones I use." -- Ernest Hemingway, having been informed that William Faulkner believed that Hemingway "had no courage" and "had never been known to use a word that might send the reader to the dictionary."
"This is not at all bad, except as prose." -- Gore Vidal on Herman Wouk's The Winds of War
The part about ghostwriters, especially the Sweet Valley Twins update from 1983 to 2008.
"In 1944, a woman named Ethel Malley sent the manuscript of a long poem sequence entitled The Darkening Ecliptic-- written by her brother, who had recently died of Graves' disease-- to the editor of the Australian avant-garde literary magazine Angry Penguins. The editor not only published the poems, he rushed a special edition of the magazine to press, complete with a specially commissioned cover painting and a 3000 word analysis of Malley's poems. But within a few months, he found himself subject to ridicule when it was revealed that the true authors of "Malley's" poems were James McAuley and Harold Stewart, who had thrown together the entire cycle in a single afternoon, copying random phrases from reference books and Shakespeare's plays, and intentionally choosing "awkward rhymes from a Ripman's Rhyming Dictionary." Their target was the entirety of late-Modern poetry, which they felt had degenerated into incoherence." (pg 113)
Proof Jane Austen sucks:
"David Lassman, the director of the Jane Austen Festival in Bath, England, was frustrated: he spent three and a half years writing a novel but couldn't find a single publisher willing to buy it. Convinced that present-day publishers wouldn't recognize a great book if it bit them on the nose, he made slight changes to names and places in Austen's Northanger Abbey (substituting Austen's original title, Susan) and shipped sample chapters to 18 publishing houses in 2007. Some publishers returned the manuscript unread, refusing to read any work that didn't come from an agent; but those who did read his submission didn't detect the ruse, usually writing back to say the book was 'not suitable for their lists.' Acknowledging that Northanger wasn't one of Austen's best-known works, Lassman tried again with Persuasion, with nearly identical results. Finally, he shipped out the opening chapters of Pride and Prejudice (renamed First Impressions), complete with its instantly recognizable opening lines. 'We don't feel that strongly about your work,' responded one literary agent; another publisher said the book seemed 'like a really original and interesting read,' but didn't request additional chapters. Only one editor correctly identified the hoax, writing back that his own 'first impressions' were 'disbelief and mild annoyance-- along, of course, with a moment's laughter.'" (pg 115)
Lewis Carroll was born Charles Lutwidge Dodgeson
George Orwell was born Eric Blair
Henry David Thoreau was born David Henry Thoreau
(pg 142)
C.S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien were friends, and shared a dislike for Modernist poetry. Lewis wrote:
"For twenty years I've stared my level best
To see if evening-- any evening-- would suggest
A patient etherised upon a table;
in vain. I simply wasn't able."
(pg 161)
Death by Misadventure section
"Sherwood Anderson (1876- 1941): After accidentally swallowing part of a toothpick embedded in an hors d'oevre at a cocktail party, Anderson contracted peritonitis and died a few days later." (pg 165)
Favorite parts:
The entire Everyone's a Critic section, including:
"That's not writing, that's typing." -- Truman Capote on Jack Kerouac's On The Road
"Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words? He thinks I don't know the ten-dollar words. I know them all right. But there are older and simpler and better words, and those are the ones I use." -- Ernest Hemingway, having been informed that William Faulkner believed that Hemingway "had no courage" and "had never been known to use a word that might send the reader to the dictionary."
"This is not at all bad, except as prose." -- Gore Vidal on Herman Wouk's The Winds of War
The part about ghostwriters, especially the Sweet Valley Twins update from 1983 to 2008.
"In 1944, a woman named Ethel Malley sent the manuscript of a long poem sequence entitled The Darkening Ecliptic-- written by her brother, who had recently died of Graves' disease-- to the editor of the Australian avant-garde literary magazine Angry Penguins. The editor not only published the poems, he rushed a special edition of the magazine to press, complete with a specially commissioned cover painting and a 3000 word analysis of Malley's poems. But within a few months, he found himself subject to ridicule when it was revealed that the true authors of "Malley's" poems were James McAuley and Harold Stewart, who had thrown together the entire cycle in a single afternoon, copying random phrases from reference books and Shakespeare's plays, and intentionally choosing "awkward rhymes from a Ripman's Rhyming Dictionary." Their target was the entirety of late-Modern poetry, which they felt had degenerated into incoherence." (pg 113)
Proof Jane Austen sucks:
"David Lassman, the director of the Jane Austen Festival in Bath, England, was frustrated: he spent three and a half years writing a novel but couldn't find a single publisher willing to buy it. Convinced that present-day publishers wouldn't recognize a great book if it bit them on the nose, he made slight changes to names and places in Austen's Northanger Abbey (substituting Austen's original title, Susan) and shipped sample chapters to 18 publishing houses in 2007. Some publishers returned the manuscript unread, refusing to read any work that didn't come from an agent; but those who did read his submission didn't detect the ruse, usually writing back to say the book was 'not suitable for their lists.' Acknowledging that Northanger wasn't one of Austen's best-known works, Lassman tried again with Persuasion, with nearly identical results. Finally, he shipped out the opening chapters of Pride and Prejudice (renamed First Impressions), complete with its instantly recognizable opening lines. 'We don't feel that strongly about your work,' responded one literary agent; another publisher said the book seemed 'like a really original and interesting read,' but didn't request additional chapters. Only one editor correctly identified the hoax, writing back that his own 'first impressions' were 'disbelief and mild annoyance-- along, of course, with a moment's laughter.'" (pg 115)
Lewis Carroll was born Charles Lutwidge Dodgeson
George Orwell was born Eric Blair
Henry David Thoreau was born David Henry Thoreau
(pg 142)
C.S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien were friends, and shared a dislike for Modernist poetry. Lewis wrote:
"For twenty years I've stared my level best
To see if evening-- any evening-- would suggest
A patient etherised upon a table;
in vain. I simply wasn't able."
(pg 161)
Death by Misadventure section
"Sherwood Anderson (1876- 1941): After accidentally swallowing part of a toothpick embedded in an hors d'oevre at a cocktail party, Anderson contracted peritonitis and died a few days later." (pg 165)
Read
August 6, 2012Fun book filled with interesting facts about authors and books to share with my students. Quick read!
February 7, 2017
It's odd reading the dark, disturbing secrets of authors you've known and loved for so long. It's an amusing book but it sacrifices breadth for depth. Just as I was getting interested in one author's life, it would move on to another. I wished the author had spent more time on the rivalries between writers - I found this fascinating.
I had heard some of the stories before but others were new to me. Some of my most cherished books now seem different! It's hard to fathom that Sendak's 'Where the Wild Things Are' only included wild things because he found horses too hard to draw!
The title's a bit of a misnomer as most of the information here would never be taught at school.
I had heard some of the stories before but others were new to me. Some of my most cherished books now seem different! It's hard to fathom that Sendak's 'Where the Wild Things Are' only included wild things because he found horses too hard to draw!
The title's a bit of a misnomer as most of the information here would never be taught at school.
July 2, 2021
I was between books and waiting for my new release to come in the mail so I picked this book off my shelves. I found it really interesting, even though I had never heard of some of the works and authors.
April 23, 2023
This book is a great read of just tidbit information in an arrangement of characters. Although there are mentions of foreign writers within the book, seems like the greatest information is from American writers and the crazy lives they lived(which makes sense since Europe tends to pride itself on conservative life). The information is organized more by category of subject rather than timeline so if you like crazy sub titles this is definitely a hoot. Great also for those that want to add obscure facts in papers.
June 11, 2019
I'm not always a fan of Reader's Digest products, but this was a fun look into authors and the histories of their books that included many stories and facts I'd never heard before. I especially appreciated the chapter about young adult and children's literature, which is often glossed over in compendiums like this.
August 20, 2018
Interesting. A bit like watching the special features or directors notes at the end of a movie. However, the lack of reference and sometimes gossipy writing style made me wonder what was true and what was tabloid. Still fun.
August 27, 2019
Just what the budding writer in my ordered. Funny and informative quips about all kinds of genres. My reading was getting too heavy and this book lightened my reading load. I used to love and still do love lists and biographic history one liners.
February 5, 2024
most of this book felt like a gossip rag about authors who had horrible habits. If I had stopped on chapter 1 with Charles Dickens and the information about The Mystery of Edwin Drood, I would have been happier with the book.
Read
October 3, 2020It was funny and light. A little bit of profanity. Besides that, it was a quick laugh.
June 7, 2025
An abundance of fun stuff...but hampered in spots by a rather wienie outlook.
July 27, 2025
Love it! Super recommended.
September 3, 2016
Usually books like this promise much and deliver little. This, oddly, seems t do the reverse, promising only to remind you of things you already learnt, but delivering enough from a broad enough spectrum of writers that it can't help but deliver more than you would know, even if you are into gossip about writers.
Also well written enough that it keeps you interested, this book feels like one for the internet age, reminding me of a list article on a website, but obviously enough to fill a small book. As such, it is hard to know how to rate it, but I think 4 stars sums up my feelings on the matter quite appropriately.
Also well written enough that it keeps you interested, this book feels like one for the internet age, reminding me of a list article on a website, but obviously enough to fill a small book. As such, it is hard to know how to rate it, but I think 4 stars sums up my feelings on the matter quite appropriately.
March 21, 2012
A most pleasing romp through literary trivia throughout history. I've read a lot of literary trivia, but this book didn't just cover the same old ground again -- there was a great deal of stuff here that I'd never seen or heard of before. And the book covers not only historical authors (Shakespeare, Mark Twain) but modern, still-living, still-writing writers (James Patterson, J.K. Rowling). I highly recommend.
April 11, 2014
A collection of stories and anecdotes about authors, characters, and famous phrases in the world of literature.
I especially liked the section on scientific predictions in literature, usually science fiction. Jules Verne, Orwell, H.G. Wells, and Aldous Huxley show up here.
Books that changed history: The Republic, Common Sense, Democracy in America, Communist Manifesto, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Origin of Species, and Silent Spring.
I especially liked the section on scientific predictions in literature, usually science fiction. Jules Verne, Orwell, H.G. Wells, and Aldous Huxley show up here.
Books that changed history: The Republic, Common Sense, Democracy in America, Communist Manifesto, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Origin of Species, and Silent Spring.
September 15, 2019
I like to know about author's lives, their background and experience. This book is full of such material, well researched and presented matter of factly. Tess Gerritsen was a doctor who started writing when a patient gave her a bag of romance novels. Her first books were written while she was still practising. The authenticity of her medical thrillers like Gravity make sense knowing her training. Good read.
June 16, 2016
Because I needed to know that Mark Twain lost a ton of money (half a million?) investing in inventions such as a typesetter, which caused him to pass up an investment in a newly-designed product by Alexander Graham Bell that just so happened to be the TELEPHONE!!!
August 15, 2012
Excellent read for literature and trivia lovers.
September 14, 2012
Fun quick read. Gave me ideas for books to read.
September 25, 2012
I forgot a whole bunch!!!
May 24, 2013
Just a bit of trivia in literature....authors, books, etc.
December 26, 2014
Interesting to know that the depth of creativity comes in many forms. Yet, the best stories always comes in the form of real life itself.
Read
July 27, 2015What a fun book.. I was an American Literature teacher--I love this book!
April 7, 2016
This is a fun little book of trivia about authors and books. It's not too heavy and is great for reading in short spurts, but is interesting enough that I read it in two sittings.
October 20, 2012
Great collection of random and interesting facts about famous authors and their stories.
March 30, 2017
This book was helpful and served its purpose. I would recommend to anyone that wants to review literature/ still wants to be well rounded and isn't in school any more, or does quiz bowl/ academic team. This would be a wonderful and reliable resource for the latter! Five stars, awesome information, exactly the type of content I wanted/needed!
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews