Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge. Carl Sagan ..read more

From Publishers Weekly: It’s been quite a run for indie press Entangled Publishing. The first two books in Rebecca Yarros’s Empyrean series, Fourth Wing and Iron Flame, took the publishing world by storm, selling 2.3 million print copies in 2023, according to Circana BookScan. But perhaps the most surprising thing about the books’ runaway success is that it didn’t surprise Entangled founder and publisher Liz Pelletier at all. “We knew Fourth Wing would be big,” Pelletier told PW, adding that she had such confidence in the book—the first book for Entangled’s Red Tower imprint—that she ordered a ..read more

From Making a Living Writing: In the realm of language and literature, euphemism serves as a linguistic tool that softens the impact of potentially harsh or sensitive words or phrases. It involves substituting a mild or indirect expression for one that might be considered too blunt, offensive, or uncomfortable in certain contexts. In this article, we will be exploring various ways to use euphemisms in your writing and give some euphemism examples. Euphemism is prevalent in both spoken language and writing, playing a crucial role in diplomacy, etiquette, and sensitive communicati ..read more

From The Economist: Of the world’s 7,000-odd languages, almost half are expected to disappear by the end of the 21st century. Two culprits are usually considered responsible for this decline. The first is colonialism: when great powers conquered countries, they imposed their language in government and schools and relegated local ones (or banned them outright). The second is capitalism. As countries grow and industrialise, people move to cities for work. They increasingly find themselves speaking the bigger language used in the workplace rather than the smaller one used at home. English, as the ..read more

From Elysian: In 2022, Penguin Random House wanted to buy Simon & Schuster. The two publishing houses made up 37 percent and 11 percent of the market share, according to the filing, and combined they would have condensed the Big Five publishing houses into the Big Four. But the government intervened and brought an antitrust case against Penguin to determine whether that would create a monopoly.  The judge ultimately ruled that the merger would create a monopoly and blocked the $2.2 billion purchase. But during the trial, the head of every major publishing house and lite ..read more

Dictators fall when they’re overconfident; they stay in power when they’re paranoid. Masha Gessen Dictators are allergic to reform, and they are cunning survivors. They will do whatever it takes to preserve their power and wealth, no matter how much blood ends up on their hands. They are master deceivers and talented manipulators who cannot be trusted to change. George Ayittey ..read more

From The Economist: North Korea’s rulers have always had strong views on art. Kim Il Sung, the regime’s founding despot, said artists should “arouse burning hatred for the enemy through their works”. His son and successor, Kim Jong Il, was such a cinema enthusiast that he kidnapped a South Korean director and his actress ex-wife and forced them to make propaganda films, including a (surprisingly good) revolutionary Godzilla-style monster flick. Kim Jong Un, the current ruler, demands “masterpieces pulsating with the sentiment of the times”, by which he means praise for himself. The president o ..read more

From The Literary Hub: One of the pleasures of reading 19th-century novels is that authors write openly about money. Take for instance Mr. Bennett, the patriarch in Pride and Prejudice, whose £2,000 a year makes him amongst the wealthier members of the gentry. With that sum, he can comfortably maintain a large household, with a full complement of servants and carriages. On the other hand, he is no Mr. Darcy, who with his £10,000 a year has an immense manor house and accompanying grounds. This attention paid to money accelerated as Romanticism gave way in the mid 19th century to Realism. I ..read more

From Make a Living Writing: Let’s start with the Dictionary definition of euphemism: A mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing. Dictionary.com definition Euphemism is a powerful linguistic tool used in writing to navigate sensitive topics with tact and diplomacy. It allows writers to convey information effectively while maintaining decorum and respecting cultural norms. By understanding and utilizing euphemisms appropriately, writers can enhance the clarity, sensitivity, and ae ..read more

From The Paris Review: “What do you do with the old magazines when the new issues come out?” I asked the librarian. “At the end of the year, we donate them to neighborhood schools so kids can cut them up and make collages,” she replied. Our small public library is relatively new, sparsely filled with only the most popular items: a smattering of pregnancy and parenting books, mostly on sleep training; the latest mystery novels; DVDs on how to build your own she-shed; and a few shelves of history and religion to round it out. We live in a master-planned community filled with parks in a kid-frien ..read more