Infinite Jest turns 30 this month. One can’t help but think what David Foster Wallace would make of the world he left behind. The world, in fact, where few new readers could imagine tackling the behemoth novel of thoughts and ideas that Infinite Jest represents. With the anniversary in sight, over the last half year or so, critics and cultural commentators have been revisiting the book. And they’ve been doing it not just as a […]
With the end of 2025 hurtling our way, “best books of the year” selections have been gushing forth from both print and Web publications. Our sister blog, The Rap Sheet, joined in the merriment this last week, posting lists of its contributors’ favorite crime, mystery, and thriller fiction from the last dozen months. There are six parts to its celebration, from that same number of critics: Peter Handel Steven Nester Kevin Burton Smith Jim Thomsen […]
What’s that old saying? That the greatest composers of musicals are able to create melodies and songs we can hum as we walk out of the theater after the show? By that standard alone, the greatest film music composer of our time—and maybe any time—is John Williams, whose melodies are recognizable and hummable from the moment they’re heard in the movie they’re composed for. Think Jaws. Think Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Jurassic Park. […]
Recent research has brought a sobering revelation: leisure reading among U.S. adults has dropped nearly 40 per cent over the last two decades. Where once nearly a third of Americans reported reading daily for pleasure, now barely 16 per cent do so. On the surface, this looks like a cultural shift. In truth, it may also be a biological one. The Brain on Fiction Reading matters. When we immerse ourselves in a novel, our brains […]
So this is what happens a decade after you fire all of the copyeditors and then swirl AI into the mix. According to NPR: Some newspapers around the country, including the Chicago Sun-Times and at least one edition of The Philadelphia Inquirer have published a syndicated summer book list that includes made-up books by famous authors. Chilean American novelist Isabel Allende never wrote a book called Tidewater Dreams, described in the “Summer reading list for […]
Earlier this spring, when Education.Com invited young writers from around the world to unleash their imaginations and submit original works for the 2025 Story Challenge, the responses were nothing short of spectacular. Inspired by National Reading Month, the contest received hundreds of entries from all corners of the world, including Australia, Canada, Egypt, Hong Kong, Mexico, Peru and Spain. The entries were judged on creativity, originality, organization, and descriptive language. Education.Com wanted to spotlight ten […]
What follows is a statement from Mike Balsamo, president of the National Press Club on POTUS denying wire service reporters access to the presidential plane, Air Force One, for an overseas trip. “Wire service reporters are central to a free and independent press—providing fast, fact-based reporting that millions of people around the world rely on every day. “Their absence from Air Force One today breaks with decades of precedent and limits access to critical information […]
Today I learned that counterculture novelist (though he would have cringed at the description) Tom Robbins has died. I learned it because a bunch of folks quoted an interview I did with him back in 2000. I returned to that piece today and read the interview. It was good. But it also missed some notes. He was brilliant, Robbins was. And it was difficult — then as now — to do him justice. So the […]
In an era when even returning a shopping cart can be controversial, Daily Ethics: Creating Intentional Practice for Behavior Analysts by Tyra P. Sellers, Emily A. Patrizi, and Sarah Lichtenberger can be a potential minefield. The authors combine decades of experience in the chosen field of this book. The modalities span teaching, clinical, and administrative roles in behavior analysis. In Daily Ethics, the authors offer new ways of thinking about ethics. Daily Ethics encourages readers to […]
Terry P. Tanner’s How to Be the Old Lion is meant to be a roadmap for navigating life’s challenges with confidence and purpose. Drawing from real-life examples and lessons learned over a lifetime, Tanner provides readers with the tools needed to overcome common pitfalls and embrace a life of intentionality. With an emphasis on spiritual and ethical principles, this book serves as a guide to living fearlessly. The core message of How to Be the […]
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