I Used to Know That Literature: Inside Stories of Famous Authors, Classic Characters, Unforgettable Phrases, and Unanticipated Endings (I Used to Know That: Stuff You Forgot from School) - Hardcover

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).

C. 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.

Sarah Janssen is the Editor-in-Chief of The World Almanac and Book of Facts and other diverse titles, focusing primarily on arts and media, consumer information, geography, history, and sports. She currently lives in Brooklyn, NY.

C. 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.

Sarah Janssen is the Editor-in-Chief of The World Almanac and Book of Facts and other diverse titles, focusing primarily on arts and media, consumer information, geography, history, and sports. She currently lives in Brooklyn, NY.