I’m so happy that the Bulwer-Lytton contest—”to write an atrocious opening sentence to the worst novel never written” à la Edward Bulwar-Lytton‘s “it was a dark and stormy night”—is still being held. (LitHub)
Although I firmly believe that authors should be well compensated for their work, I can’t help but cheer organizations like Z-Library that challenge Big Publishing (especially for textbooks). Georgie Newson reports. (London Review of Books)
Colin Marshall introduces us to the concept of wonky English in Japan through a museum dedicated to the phenomenon. (Open Culture)
John Donne was a troll. Matthew Wills reveals Donne’s “The Courier’s Library,” a list of non-existent books designed to make people look like idiots if they name-dropped the titles in conversation. I do love a joke that still works after 400+ years. (JSTOR Daily)
Fairy tales play a lot of roles but this is the first time I’ve heard of them being used as war propaganda. S. N. Johnson-Roehr and Jonathan Aprea look at Edmund Dulac’s Fairy-Book, published in 1916. (JSTOR Daily)
This isn’t about books but it’s definitely bookish: Pitchaya Sudbanthad likes to restore fountain pens when he’s not writing. (LitHub)
