Welcome back, friends. I hope you’re having a fantastic week! If you’re looking for some bookish or literary content to read, you’ve come to the right place. This week, I’ve got a look at little free library use during the pandemic, a piece on early manuscripts of classic novels, a profile of an anonymous Twitter proofreader, and a Guinness word record. Hope you enjoy! Little Free Libraries Are little free libraries helping people access books during the pandemic? The Los Angeles Times weighs in on the purpose and actual use of these free book boxes, noting that they have noble goals but aren’t always well-curated. Proofreading by Tweet Grammar and spelling can be contentious topics on the I

Welcome back once again to Around the Web, our weekly list of bookish and literary content from across the wide reaches of the internet. This week, I’ve got a study on “invisible” words, a look at diversity in publishing, an essay on personal canon, and some fun pencil art. “Invisible” Words and Story Structure There are a lot of words that the average reader doesn’t pay much attention to (at least when they’re used in familiar ways)—pronouns, articles, prepositions, and plenty of other short words. Yet these words play an important role, as further shown by a recent study from the University of Austin. Researchers found that tracking use of such words unveils a consistent “narrative curve.”

It’s time for another web content roundup! This week, I’ve got a visual essay on gender and physical descriptions in literature, a list of words with different meaning in the US and the UK, a book club announcement, and some books to help kids deal with anxiety. Gendered Physical Traits In Books Inspired by an eye-roll-inducing book club experience, Erin Davis wanted to see how widespread stereotyped descriptions of bodies are in literature. After analyzing 2000 books for mentions of men’s and women’s body parts and the adjectives used to describe them, she found that there’s a definite trend in how men and women tend to be described. Check out the full essay for the full breakdown and for s

Welcome back, readers! This week’s roundup of web content includes a funny research mistake, a new way to read Emily Dickinson, some writing advice, and some thoughts on writing retreats. Zelda Ingredients in Historical Fiction Image: syfy.com Zelda: Breath of the Wild fans noticed something a little off in John Boyne’s latest historical fiction novel. Some ingredients like “red lizalfos” and “Hylian shroom” come from the video game, so what are they doing in a novel about Atilla the Hun? Writer Dana Schwartz guessed that Boyne did a quick google search for red dye ingredients and found a recipe without checking the source—and Boyne admits it! Check out SyFyWire for the full story of how th