Are you old enough to remember TV cartoons from the 1960s? If so (or if you're a 'toon fan), you may recall a miniature devil, complete with pitchfork, who sat on the shoulder of many a main character. This little devil whispered bad advice and spiteful ideas into the character's ear -- egging him on to do the wrong or rotten thing. Believe it or not, you too have a devil sitting on your shoulder. And he can really mess up your writing.

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The Wall Street Journal recently featured Michael Kempner's five favorite public relations books. He's the CEO of PR agency MWW Group, and author of an influential blog on the subject. On his blog, Michael says the books were more "on 'spin,' a subtle but important distinction." Here are the books he chose:

Propaganda by Edward Bernays

American Hero by Larry Beinhart

The Eloquent President: A Portrait of Lincoln Through His Words by Ronald C. White, Jr.

Thank You for Smoking by Christopher Buckley

All's Fair: Love, War and Running for President by Mary Matalin and James Carville

Long before I ever dreamed up The Hazards of Hunting a Duke, a teacher told my class that the reason we should appreciate history is because we, as a society, can't know where we are going unless we know from where we have come.

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"Poetry can and should be an important part of our daily lives," The Library of Congress's Poetry 180 website proclaims. It's designed to for students to read a poem a day for every one of the 180 school days of a year. But you don't have to be a student to enjoy this selection of poems, of course. Click here to see the complete list of poems.

Sometimes you read a journalist's account of a place, person or situation that draws you in so deep you forget you're reading "news." They're more than just stories: The real-life scenes immerse you in a way that not only sticks, sometimes forever, but gives you meaning. To your humble editor, the absolute lion of this kind of journalism -- literary journalism -- was a legendary Polish reporter named Ryszard Kapuscinski, who sadly passed away last month. He was a hero, too, to a Canadian journalist named Deborah Campbell. Besides writing about the Middle East, Cuba and Russia and other places for leading publications, Deborah teaches literary journalism at the University of British Columbia. We had a fascinating conversation with her about this genre:

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We asked Deborah Campbell, the journalist we interview in this week's "Word Count" section, to recommend books by literary journalists. Here are her picks:

Shah of Shahs by Ryszard Kapuscinski

The Shadow of the Sun by Ryszard Kapuscinski

The Soccer War by Ryszard Kapuscinski

Opening Skinner's Box by Lauren Slater

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