Congratulations. You have just been named King (or Queen) of the English Language. It’s not all glitz and glamour, but the job does have an interesting perk: you get to choose the one word you will banish from the language forever. The word you love to hate, the one that makes you cringe every time… Read more »

If you’ve ever read a Western, you’ve probably encountered the passage where X marks the spot: the scene where an uneducated character makes his “mark” on a contract (and usually needs someone to point out where to do it). For centuries, good handwriting denoted a certain refinement, a higher level of education and class. But… Read more »

When you step into your favourite literary world, where do you go? Maybe It’s to a shire full of hobbits and wizards, or to the ominous shores of Shutter Island. But if you like to be carried away by flights of imagination, how far would you go to step through the looking glass—to experience a… Read more »

If you love words, You’re probably revelling in the current climate of e-books, audiobooks, and more blogs than even Matilda Wormwood could devour. One of the driving forces behind this word resurgence has been generosity—an open-source, communal attitude That’s given readers access to more content than ever before. So as we approach the traditional season… Read more »

It takes a strong will—or a contrary nature—not to get caught up in the gloom and doom surrounding the written word these days. Libraries are closing, publishers are struggling, and major booksellers are shuttering their stores (though not before some employees get the last laugh). Still, as new forces sweep away the old, there’s one… Read more »