Arika Okrent's new book explores some methods behind the madness of English spelling and expressions.  Continue reading...

A new book by Ralph Keyes looks at how words are invented and why some sizzle while others fizzle.  Continue reading...

Thanks to the prominence of pronouns and the depth of Baron's work, a Tour of the History of Nonbinary Pronouns is probably going to be the language book of the year.  Continue reading...

The famed copy editor's personal memoir is a joy to read and an inspiration to anyone who has toyed with the idea, but not yet taken the plunge, of learning a second language.  Continue reading...

Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language is a sparkling new book by the linguist Gretchen McCulloch whose title is both a description and an example of one of the "new rules."  Continue reading...

If you ask me to complete the phrase "hotter than ________", "July" is what comes to my mind first. The calendar inspires the subject of this month's column, which I might characterize as "uses and abuses of the comparative".  Continue reading...