Charlotte Ahlin is a writer, playwright, actor, and artist. She's a native New Yorker and a graduate of Oberlin College. She's also the Associate Artistic Director and Morale Officer of Fat Knight Theatre. Right now, she's reading science fiction from the '70s and drawing sad cartoons.
OK, It's Time To Give Up On These Book "Rules" For Good
Somewhere around kindergarten, most kids were given a lecture on treating books with respect. I don't remember the specifics (I was probably too busy drawing Aristocats fanart), but I do remember growing up with a set of (mostly) unspoken rules…
By Charlotte Ahlin
"The Little Mermaid" Story Gets Revamped In These 13 Books About Mermaids
Mermaids have been big for a while now. We have mermaid hair trends and mermaid fashion, mermaid TV shows and actual, factual mermaid tails that you can swim in. The animated mermaid film The Little Mermaid kicked off the great Disney movies of the…
By Charlotte Ahlin
13 Books By POC That Could Be The Next 'Game Of Thrones'
I will be the first to admit that I am trash for George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. I love the world-building, the intricate plotting, the not-so-subtle parallels to real world history. I am willing to wait through another five to…
By Charlotte Ahlin
Never Read Fantasy Before? Here Are 15 New Books To Introduce You To The Genre
So you've never read fantasy before. Or you haven't read fantasy since you were a kid, and you associate the genre primarily with wizard schools and children discovering theologically charged nation states in the backs of wardrobes. Perhaps your…
By Charlotte Ahlin
11 Biographies Of Women To Inspire You To Kick Ass This Week
Hey. So I know that we have our "girlboss" hashtags and our Wonder Woman movie now. I know that we're all supposed to love our bodies and lean in and have perfect skin (but in a self-care way!) and wake up every morning filled with righteous anger…
By Charlotte Ahlin
Writing Fantasy? Here Are 15 Tips For Creating A Fictional World
From Narnia to Neverland, literature is filled with fictional realms. There are High Fantasy worlds like Middle-Earth or Westeros, where everything is vaguely medieval and vaguely European (but also sometimes there are dragons). There are Urban…
By Charlotte Ahlin
15 Sci-Fi And Fantasy Books To Read If You Love N.K. Jemisin
If you love fantasy and science fiction books, you already love N.K. Jemisin, reigning queen of all things speculative. She made history as the first woman of color to win a coveted Hugo Award for her novel The Fifth Season, and then she made…
By Charlotte Ahlin
Edgar Allen Poe, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle & Agatha Christie All Got Mixed Up In IRL Crimes, Too
Between detective fiction, thrillers, murder mysteries, and true crime, I think it's safe to say that book-lovers adore getting to crack a tricky case. The crime/mystery genre is one of the most popular genres out there today, raking in hundreds of…
By Charlotte Ahlin
Learn About Alcohol, Poison, Space & More In These 11 Fascinating Science Books
Science! In many ways, we live in a thrilling era of scientific discovery. Some scientists are making breakthroughs in gene-editing and recycling orbital rockets. Others are perilously close to discovering life on other planets. Others have created…
By Charlotte Ahlin
The Bad Guy Becomes The Hero In These 13 Books Told From The Villain's POV
It's time to come clean people: we're all villain-loving trash. Sure, you can pretend that you're in it for the princesses, or that you never had a secret soft spot for Draco Malfoy, or that you didn't religiously follow Phantom of the Opera fan…
By Charlotte Ahlin
Never Read Sci-Fi Before? Here Are 11 New Books To Introduce You To The Genre
So! You've heard a lot about this so-called "science fiction" genre and you're interested in checking it out. Or you're tired of your usual genres, and you're looking for a change. Or you've heard about a great new sci-fi book— but you're not so…
By Charlotte Ahlin
These Are The 15 Most Re-Read Books, According To Goodreads
Re-reading can be a bit of a controversial topic among book-lovers. Some people seem to think that you haven't really read a book at all until you've read it at least twice. Others consider re-reading to be a waste of time—why read the same book…
By Charlotte Ahlin
11 Short Stories That Will Give You A Crash Course In Magical Realism
In some ways, magical realism is an easy genre to define: it incorporates fantastical elements into otherwise realistic fiction. That seems simple enough. But look a little closer, and you'll find that the genre of magical realism is far more…
By Charlotte Ahlin
This Ancient Writer Used His Poems To Subtweet His Enemies
When you hear about the Classics with a capital "C," you might imagine ancient men sculpted out of white marble, or epic poems being inscribed on great scrolls of parchment. You probably think of war heroes, of gods taking the forms of various…
By Charlotte Ahlin
15 Books That Readers Have A Hard Time Finishing, According To Goodreads
It's happened to the best of us. You pick up a new book and at first, it's great. This books just seems to get you. The two of you go everywhere together, and you can't stop telling all your friends about this great new story you've been hanging out…
By Charlotte Ahlin
11 Ways To Deal With Book Snobs, Who Just Don't Think You Read "Real" Books
The book snob. They haunt creative writing workshops and lurk on the outskirts of book clubs everywhere. They can be spotted scoffing loudly while passing airport bookstores and cornering women at parties to talk about Bret Easton Ellis. They come…
By Charlotte Ahlin
Only Read Thrillers? Or YA? 11 Simple Ways To Fall In Love With A New Genre
It happens to the best of us. You wake up one morning to realize, with a sudden start of horror, that you've only been reading 1970's hard sci-fi for the last six months. Or you've been reading nothing but contemporary showbiz autobiographies for a…
By Charlotte Ahlin
11 Politically Charged Plays To Read Right Now, Because Theater Has Always Been Political
If you can recall the far-away past of last summer (we were so much younger then) you might remember there being a bit of a hubbub about a certain production of Julius Caesar. The Caesar was not-so-subtly styled after America's current president.…
By Charlotte Ahlin
15 Chilly Books To Help You Beat The Heat This Summer
As you have probably already realized, many Americans are in the midst of hot and muggy summer. Temperatures are soaring and pit stains run rampant. Some people will tell you that this is the perfect weather for lying on a beach somewhere with a…
By Charlotte Ahlin
11 Super Sad Short Stories You Can Read Right Now If You Need A Good Cry
There are days when you feel down, or overwhelmed by the constant and unceasing stream of pre-apocalyptic news coming at you from all sides. It's a lot. Sometimes, it's nice to unplug with a sweet, inspiring comfort read, a feel-good book that will…
By Charlotte Ahlin
