In A Velocity of Being, a collection of letters to young readers, writer Alexander Chee offers reasons as to why he became a reader himself. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Why He Became a Reader” Alexander Chee has...
Summer reading recommendations! Martha loves A Velocity of Being: Letters to a Young Reader, a beautifully illustrated anthology of letters from well-known writers and others celebrating reading. The book is edited by Maria Popovic of Brainpickings...
Our discussion about cursive handwriting and whether it should be taught in schools brought a tremendous response from listeners. Most agreed that there are so many benefits to learning to write this way that it’s well worth the time and...
Joe Moran’s essay on writing well suggests that his forthcoming book is a great read. It’s called First You Write a Sentence: The Elements of Reading, Writing … and Life. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Joe Moran...
How many pages of a book should you read before deciding it’s not worth your time? We’ve talked before about this question, but now there’s a new formula to help with that decision based on your age. This is part of a complete...
A Jamaican English word for firefly is often rendered peenie-wallie, with many spellings, including peeni wally. Its origin is unknown. Valerie Bloom’s poem “Two Seasons” uses the word, and an audio reading preserves the sound of it in context. This...