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Originally posted on WILDsound Writing Festival:
“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language” wrote the poet T. S. Eliot, “and next year’s words await another voice.” To that observation, we can add: this past year’s words also define the language, the conversations, or more accurately, the zeitgeist of the year. Each year, editors…

Originally posted on WILDsound Writing Festival:
The measure of a culture is what its people read or watch, which provides some insight into what they actually think about. As the year 2019 comes to a close it invites the question: what did people think about in 2019? What were they curious about? We can, of…

Originally posted on WILDsound Writing Festival:
“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language” wrote the poet T. S. Eliot, “and next year’s words await another voice.” To that observation, we can add: this past year’s words also define the language, the conversations, or more accurately, the zeitgeist of the year. Each year, editors…

“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language” wrote the poet T. S. Eliot, “and next year’s words await another voice.” To that observation, we can add: this past year’s words also define the language, the conversations, or more accurately, the zeitgeist of the year. Each year, editors of major dictionaries review the stats… Continue reading Word of the Year 2019 — Atkins Bookshelf

The measure of a culture is what its people read or watch, which provides some insight into what they actually think about. As the year 2019 comes to a close it invites the question: what did people think about in 2019? What were they curious about? We can, of course, ask that another way that […]… Continue reading What Were the Most Popular Wikipedia Articles of 2019? — Atkins Bookshelf

“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language” wrote the poet T. S. Eliot, “and next year’s words await another voice.” To that observation, we can add: this past year’s words also define the language, the conversations, or more accurately, the zeitgeist of the year. Each year, editors of major dictionaries review the stats… Continue reading Word of the Year 2019 — Atkins Bookshelf

The measure of a culture is what its people read or watch, which provides some insight into what they actually think about. As the year 2019 comes to a close it invites the question: what did people think about in 2019? What were they curious about? We can, of course, ask that another way that […]… Continue reading What Were the Most Popular Wikipedia Articles of 2019? — Atkins Bookshelf

During Jane Austen’s lifetime (1775-1817), her novels were published anonymously and although they were generally well-received, they were not runaway bestsellers. It was only after her death that her popularity grew dramatically. Sigh — the stereotypical life of the struggling artist. Today, of course, her novels are considered classics and Austen remains one of the… Continue reading The Best Books About Jane Austen: 2020 — Atkins Bookshelf

We live in the Google Era, where information comes so fast, it’s like drinking out of a fire hose. That information overload combined with the prevalence of apps like Twitter and TikTok has dramatically decreased the reader’s attention span to 144 characters or 15 seconds — whichever comes first. With that kind of an attention […]… Continue reading When You Don’t Have Time to Read the Classics: Moby Dick — Atkins Bookshelf

“Books are the treasured wealth of the world and the fit inheritance of generations and nations. Books, the oldest and the best, stand naturally and rightfully on the shelves of every cottage. They have no cause of their own to plead, but while they enlighten and sustain the reader his common sense will not refuse […]… Continue reading Books Are the Treasured Wealth of the World — Atkins Bookshelf