Sometimes reading really depressing books can be good for you. From Aristotle’s classic theory of catharsis to the modern ‘misery memoir,’ I explore how encountering literary tragedy can actually be uplifting.   The classical t...

A curious hobby Graveyards are some of my favorite places to explore. Not for any morbid reason, mind you. I don’t find them spooky (though I don’t tend to walk through them at night) or even melancholy. Instead, I browse the g...