Great Unexpected Literary References

References to books and literature in places where books and literature don't usually go (cartoons mostly)

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Have you found yourself asking these questions while playing What Remains of Edith Finch?

Are those books actual real books?

What are the titles of those books?

Seriously, how many cookbooks does one family need?

I have. So, I decided to find the answers (at least to the first two questions).

If you found this page via a search for information about the books found in the video game What Remains of Edith Finch, welcome. I, too, was on such a hunt. Finding nothing else online, I decided to start my own list. I hope you find this information helpful.

View the list here: https://www.calebjross.com/misc/the-books-of-what-remains-of-edith-finch/

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Another Joseph Conrad Heart of Darkness inspired beer.

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A mutant is showing the gang around their home in the sewers. The sewers are full of items that humans have flushed down the toilet.

Mutant: This is our library Bender: Nothing but crumpled porno and Ayn Rand

Futurama, Season 1, Episode 5, “I Second that Emotion”

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More wonderful beer bookery. This one from Mystery Brewing. A sour peach ale called Faulkner. Mmmmmm.

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Boulevard Brewing revealed their Tell-Tale Tart, which is an obvious play on Edgar Allen Poe’s Tell-Tale Heart. And like the story, it’s a bit offensive to the palette for many.

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When Dale is impressed by Peggy's taxidermy skills he says "Peggy, you're the Hemingway of the taxidermy diorama." King of the Hill, "Hank's Bully"

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This one comes courtesy of one of my favorite cartoons of all time: Rocko’s Modern Life.

From episode 10a, “Cabin Fever.” Via a series of wacky events (aren’t they always?), Ed Bighead gets stranded on a desert island with two marooned moronic sea gulls who are playing a game of charades. The scene is quick; we are only able to hear two of the implied many, many guesses (Bighead’s facial expression seems to indicate that he’s quite annoyed). Those guesses: the books Lord of the Flies and Harold and the Purple Crayon.

The thematic contrast of these two guesses (how could anyone actually think the two are related enough to be possible answers to a single charade turn?) captures well the overall nonsensical zaniness of Rocko’s Modern Life.

Check out the episode in question here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-vwCtEfn7s

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Krusty the Clown: Where am I?

Rodney Dangerfield-like character: You’re in Jewish heaven. Hoooo, this place is great. My necktie straightens itself. Even Portnoy has no complaints.

(a reference to the book Portnoy’s Complaint by Philip Roth from “Clown in the Dumps,” Episode 01, Season 26

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In season 5, episode 14 of Bob’s Burgers, titled Lil Hard Dad, Jack London’s Call of the Wild is featured prominently.

A Tale of Two Cities is also mentioned.

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This one I found via Cracked.com

The Darkness, [a video game] where you play a brutal mob enforcer who tears people limb from limb. Naturally, the game has a scene where you sit down with your girlfriend and watch To Kill a Mockingbird on a crappy TV. All of it.

After a few moments, you can stand up and get back to ripping bad guys' spines out of their dicks, which you obviously want to be doing at all times ... but if you resist that urge, you can actually watch the entire movie. 

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In the video game Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, a boss called Granfalloon is said to be inspired by a Kurt Vonnegut creation per his novel Cat's Cradle:

A granfalloon, in the fictional religion of Bokononism (created by Kurt Vonnegut in his 1963 novel Cat's Cradle), is defined as a "false karass". That is, it is a group of people who affect a shared identity or purpose, but whose mutual association is actually meaningless. (via 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granfalloon)

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From Family Guy, Season 12 episode 17. Peter's sudden worldly travels expand his knowledge the the degree that he trades the family's TV for a bookshelf full of books.

Chris: Mom! Dad! The T.V.'s broken.

Peter: Actually, Chris, I got rid of our television. This is our new bookshelf, and I think you'll find it has more channels than any T.V. we ever owned.

Chris: I want to watch The Walking Dead!

Peter: Then I shall read to you from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

Meg: I want to watch New Girl.

Peter: Perhaps you'd like to hear about Jane Eyre, who felt quite the new girl at Rochester's Thornbury Hall.

Chris: How about Game of Thrones?

Peter: Instead I shall read to you from...Game of Thrones.

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A show on Nickelodeon called Breadwinners aired an episode called “Food Fight Club” (with a title graphic made to look like a SNES game, for some reason). I know the show likely takes inspiration from the Fight Club movie rather than the Chuck Palahniuk book, but I’m counting it.

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Moby D, an ale named after, I would have to assume, Moby Dick. Not the best reviews for this beer, but I'm all about literature and beer combos.

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Remember The State? Oh, I do. While reliving my high school years the other day I came across this visual of the Selected Short Stories of William Faulkner (from Season 1, Episode 2). Some of you may recognize the dynamic man to the left as Louie, the guy who wanted to dip his balls in everything. In this instance, Faulkner.

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According to brewer Boulevard Brewing, the name of this beer comes from a Hans Christian Andersen story: "Do you know what dwells in a glass?" asks Ole, in Hans Christian Andersen's The Watchman of the Tower. Better known for stories such as The Little Mermaid, Andersen wrote this short, cautionary tale for a somewhat older audience. Our quadrupel ale, also meant for the mature connoisseur, is a deep and mysterious libation, dark auburn and full-bodied, its sweetness deceptive. As Ole describes the glasses in turn, their contents become more ominous until, in the sixth glass...