The Rise of Ragebait Lit “This spring, arguing about books in the group chat is back” In Harper’s Bazaar, Maris Kreizman discusses the predominance of “ragebait lit,” books that “are dominating the cultural conversation.” “The premises of these books may have inspired more than their share of hot takes . . . but the conversations […]
15 Graduation Gifts for English Majors “WHAT TO GET THE SOON-TO-BE BARISTA IN YOUR LIFE” “If you happen to have a favorite English major about to burst forth into the hard-scrabble, AI-invested, job-scarce media apocalypse” and are searching for an appropriate gift, Literary Hub has some suggestions. Prices range from $18 to $1,550. (Of course,
Reading to young kids improves their social skills − and a new study shows it doesn’t matter whether parents stop to ask questions Interested in developing empathy and creativity in her school-age children, Erin Clabough, associate professor of psychology at the University of Virginia, compared two methods of reading aloud to children: (1) reading straight
Text Is (Still) King “Why the written word will never die.” Psychologist Adam Mastroianni argues that all the current narratives about the decline of reading and the related decline of civilization itself “tend to leave out some inconvenient data points.” He concludes that “humans have a hunger that no video can satisfy. Even in the
Is AI hurting your ability to think? How to reclaim your brain Noel Carroll, an associate professor in Business Information Systems at the University of Galway, warns that “many people may be falling victim to the same phenomenon – outsourcing the ‘struggle’ of thinking to AI.” He calls this condition “cognitive atrophy.” Essentially, AI is
Deep reading can boost your critical thinking and help you resist misinformation – here’s how to build the skill Two college professors, a cognitive scientist and a literacy expert, explain the drawbacks of doomscrolling and how deep reading can help overcome brain passivity. Deep reading . . . refers to the intentional process of engaging
The Best Literary Love Stories A satisfying literary love story doesn’t need to end happily ever after—but one does need to be left with a sense that two characters belong together, advises the novelist Lily King . . . Thomas Mallon’s Theory of the Diary “The New York writer and editor’s diaries of the AIDS
How to Be a Good Literary Citizen (in Seven Easy Steps) Maris Kreizman writes about “literary citizenship . . . an amorphous kind of concept, often changing with the moment, but needed more than ever today when corporate interests have a stranglehold on the arts, literary institutions are being devastated by the cancellation of NEA
#bookstodon #BookBlog #literature This Is Your Brain on Tropes: Why Readers are Addicted to the Familiar In the world of literature, a trope is: Monique Snyman explains that “tropes aren’t just lazy storytelling, as so many people like to say. Tropes are brain candy. And our brains are wired to crave them.” How Publishing Has
I was surprised recently to learn that Joy Fielding has a new book that came out this month (August 2025), Jenny Cooper Has a Secret. About 30 years ago I read and enjoyed several of Fielding’s novels: That was before my book-blogging days. Then life got busier, and I lost track of Joy Fielding—another case
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