This month, we’re celebrating our fourth birthday as a blog. Interesting Literature began life on 1 December 2012 (41 years, to the day, since Project Gutenberg was launched; though needless to say we’ve yet to match that site for popularity or sheer usefulness!). Since we began blogging about some of the more curious aspects of literature, this blog has grown to include a Twitter feed, a Facebook page, and – this year – a book, The Secret Library: A Book-Lovers’ Journey Through Curiosities of History
The book, which we’ve offered a taste of here, was a real joy to put together, since, although we’ve also branched out into literary analysis (and are currently working our way through all of Shakespeare’s Sonnets), this blog was founded in the first place 
with the modest intention of sharing bits of literary trivia, curious stories and anecdotes, and surprising but forgotten titles from the bookshelves of the past. This is what The Secret Library is about – the core essence of our blog, but in a rather beautifully packaged hardcover book. (If you’ve already read it and enjoyed it at all, then do please consider letting our publishers know on Twitter – it might convince them to commission another book, which we’d very much like to write.)
US readers: our book is available to pre-order now, if you’re interested in discovering more obscure trivia about the world of books – everything from the first detective novel (not Wilkie Collins’s The Moonstone, it turns out) to the first vampire novel (whose protagonist was modelled, somewhat unflatteringly, on Lord Byron). And to all of our readers, of this blog and of our book, thank you – it’s a pleasure sharing the interestingness with you all.
And before we go, here’s the most interesting literary fact we’ve learned so far this week: in her 1850 book The First Christmas in New England, Harriet Beecher Stowe – better-known for writing Uncle Tom’s Cabin – included a character who complains that the true meaning of Christmas has been lost in a shopping spree. Nothing’s new, it would seem…
CONGRATULATIONS OLIVER 👍😃
Thank you, Chris! :)
Congratulations on the anniversary! Here’s to many more blogs and years. I love reading them!
Tyler Tichelaar
Thanks, Tyler! Indeed – we’ve got some exciting ideas for posts lined up in 2017, and can’t wait to see what you make of them!
Congratulations, many more years to come we hope, and thanks for the daily Christmas Gift. Merry Christmas.
Thank you! Hear, hear – we’ll raise a glass to the next four years! Thanks for reading :)
Congratulations and thank you for all the work you do to provide us with the interesting and entertaining tidbits.
Thank you, and thanks for reading! It’s great fun sharing the curious bits and pieces we unearth, and heartening to know that others share our interest :)
Congratulations! So glad I stumbled across your site – it’s a joy:)
Thanks, Sarah! And we’re very glad you stumbled across us – thanks so much for reading and supporting :)
Congratulations!
Thank you! :)
Happy Birthday! And may I heartily recommend The Secret Library to all an sundry, it makes a great Christmas gift ;)
Congratulations! It is a delight to follow your posts! Thank you.
It delights us to hear it’s a delight! Many more interesting bits and pieces to follow in 2017. Thanks so much for reading and commenting! :)
Congratulations on reaching this far and many more years to come.
Best wishes on the occasion of your 4th anniversary!
Thank you, Mary! :)
Best wishes on the occasion of your 4th anniversary!