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 […]
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 […]
Have you ever noticed that good comedians — really excellent ones — often had terrible childhoods? Or, at least, some aspect of their background is filled with tragedy and pain. Tragic Childhood by entrepreneur and motivational speaker Jack Branley centers around this premise. The book even begins with a quote from iconic proto-comedian Charlie Chaplin. “To truly laugh, you must be able to take your pain and play with it.” Chaplin had the air of […]
I’ve been an essential oil enthusiast for many years, reasoning that, whether or not you believe in the benefits of aromatherapy, there is no downside. Even if what the things we believe about essential oils aren’t true, worst case scenario your world smells better. How can that be a bad thing? Marian Fletcher, author of Aroma Household Magic, takes a way more scientific and pro-active approach. An alternative healing therapist, Fletcher knows this space thoroughly. […]
Like a lot of people, over the last few years, I’ve added a small amount of HIIT training to my fitness routine. I knew it was good — a positive add — but I didn’t know how good and why until now. Despite its cumbersome title, Paul W. Matthews’ Intense Transformation: Discover How HIIT—the Most Powerful Exercise to Transform Your Mind, Body, & Spirit—Can Activate Your Full Potential, gets right to the core (!) of […]
The splendid American diplomat and author Madeline Albright has died. She was 83. The Washington Post remembers Secretary Albright with affection: Madeleine K. Albright, who passed away on Wednesday, shaped a generation of foreign policy leaders — gently and usually with a smile. She knew every senior official, mentored many of them, and managed to say a cheery word even to people who took “dour” as a compliment. The New York Times reports that the […]
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