I have an irrational fear of jellyfish. Scientifically-minded folks tell me that the real name for my fear is scyphophobia, presumably from the Greek word for squishy monster.* If they ever say anything more about jellyfish, I never hear them over the sound of my screaming. I had thought that my life was mostly insulated… Continue reading People are Making Books Out of Jellyfish Now
For many of us, the scent of a book represents windows into innumerable worlds. Chemists have tried to translate this experience and have described books as smelling grassy and acidic with hints of vanilla and mustiness. However, that combination of scents does not simply arise through happenstance. Traditionally printed books produce those smells as a result of… Continue reading Stoking a Hunger: The Scent of a Book
“I passed so many vacant acres and looked past them to so many more vacant acres and looked ahead and behind at the empty road and up at the empty sky; the sheer bigness of the world made me feel lonely to the bone. The world is so huge that people are always getting lost… Continue reading Friday Quick Quote: ‘The Orchid Thief’
“I had traveled from Spain into Morocco and from there south to the Atlas Mountains, at the edge of the Sahara Desert…one night, in a youth hostel that was more like a stable, I woke and walked out into a snowstorm. But it wasn’t the snow I was used to in Minnesota, or anywhere else… Continue reading Friday Quick Quote: ‘The End of Night’
When I first got glasses at age 9, it opened up a whole new world for me. I had forgotten that I was supposed to be able to see leaves on trees without being close enough to touch them. Then I put my first glasses on, and there those leaves were. I imagine that someday… Continue reading Afraid of Reading Glasses? There May Be a Way to Prevent Your Brain from Needing Them
It turns out that if you want your children to be writers, you should consider naming them Kate and Simon. In 2014, Verdant Labs used public records to analyze common names by profession in the United States. They found that people with certain names are disproportionately more likely to have various careers. They based this… Continue reading Want Your Kids to Grow Up to Be Writers? Choose These Names
When I say that they murdered Jane Austen, I’m not speaking metaphorically. Some person in the distant past didn’t simply eviscerate her work. No, I mean that a few scholars believe that someone poisoned Jane Austen. With arsenic. According to research from the British Library, Jane Austen’s death at the age of 41, her early… Continue reading And Then They Murdered Jane Austen
I’m thrilled to add another interview to my series of discussions with editors, writers, and other folks in books publishing. I had the opportunity to speak with the marvelous and ever brilliant Ree Kimberley who is the author of Rat City, a young adult science fiction novel, as well as a brilliant scholar. She offers… Continue reading Science Fiction and Young Adult Lit: An Interview with Author Ree Kimberley
Just as some readers turn up their noses at young adult fiction, many sneer at romance novels. But these books aren’t simply trashy bodice rippers filled with swooning and ridiculously attractive heroes. They may also increase self-reflection and empathy in readers. (There is often still swooning though. Lots and lots of swooning.) Romance novels can help… Continue reading Understanding Others: The Benefits of Romance Novels
I’ve talked a bit about the health benefits of writing, but what does reading do to the human body? Luckily the fine folks at the University of Virginia Library have put together an infographic on just that topic. During the first stages of reading, the tactile senses are engaged, and people enjoy things like that book smell.… Continue reading Hallucinations and Psychology: What Happens When You Read?
Kristen Twardowski 