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Why Learning To Write Is About So Much More Than Writing

Learning to write is about more than learning to write. For one thing, it’s about learning to turn a loose assemblage of thoughts into a clear line of reasoning—a skill that is useful for everyone, not just those who enjoy writing or need to do a lot of it for work. - The Atlantic

Our Kids Are Struggling To Read. Growing Evidence Suggests We Can Teach Them A Better Way

There is growing evidence from neuroscience and careful experiments that the United States has adopted reading strategies that just don’t work very well and that we haven’t relied enough on a simple starting point — helping kids learn to sound out words with phonics. - The New York Times

What Fluency Means, In Speech And Writing

"My capacity for speaking German is not unlike imagination or good writing: Believe hard enough and the genie reappears. But belief also cannot be faked or summoned. It can falter, prove you wrong." - LitHub

The Indian Writer Reclaiming Her Language

Geetanjali Shree's Tomb of Sand, written and published in Hindi, pushed Western readers and critics to learn about the deep diversity of Indian literature that wasn't written in English. - The New York Times

How To Fall In Love With Writing Romance Novels

After all, it's by far the best-selling slice of publishing, keeping most of the rest afloat. But keep in mind, says one successful author, "The truth is that most authors don’t earn enough to write full-time." - Irish Times

The Messages Of Political Leaders’ Libraries

"Gabriel Boric, Chile’s progressive president, is a 'serious reader of poetry,' Lily Meyer writes. One might wonder how his reading has influenced his robust education platform. ... On the other end of the spectrum is former President Donald Trump." - The Atlantic

Canada’s Indigo Books Hit By Ransomware

Indigo says it can't process electronic payments, accept gift cards or deal with returns. But at one location in Toronto on Friday, the store was able to process credit and or debit transactions, but gift cards were still not operational. - CBC

The Strike At HarperCollins Appears To Be Settled

"HarperCollins Publishers and the union representing around 250 striking employees reached a tentative agreement providing increases to entry level salaries. If union members ratify the contract, it will run through the end of 2025 and end a walkout that began nearly three months ago." - AP

Righteous Anger, Rightly Directed: Edouard Louis’s Books About Working-Class Poverty And Pain

"Louis's depiction of poverty is more radical in its honesty. Deprivation doesn't just cause pain and hunger; it also fosters hostility. Circumstances warp behavior. ... Louis is scathing about the government's neglect of the working class, but he also makes no attempt to sugarcoat the psychological effects of poverty." - The Nation

My Book Was Canceled. Just Who Is In Charge Here?

What motivates the anti-colonialist cancellers? On the surface, of course, they believe that I’m wrong. But only on the surface. They could react, as thoughtful people do react to things they object to, with skeptical, critical curiosity. - Compact

Coded Letters From The Imprisoned Mary, Queen Of Scots Have Been Deciphered

The 57 pieces of correspondence had been languishing unidentified in the archives of the National Library of France.  They date from Mary's 18 years of captivity at the hands of her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I; most are complaints addressed to France's ambassador to England. - Ars Technica

UK’s Women’s Prize For Fiction Is Getting A Nonfiction Equivalent

"The Women's Prize is to launch a non-fiction award to sit alongside its long-running fiction prize, in response to research that found that female non-fiction writers are less likely to be reviewed or win prizes than their male counterparts." - The Guardian

In Nairobi, A Kenyan Nonprofit Is Making Libraries Truly Public, And Beautiful

The "public" libraries used to be segregated, for whites only, and then they fell into disrepair. Now, Kenyans "are here to reclaim history, to occupy its architecture and to subvert its intended use." - The New York Times

Penguin Random House Restructures After Its Failed Bid To Buy Simon & Schuster

"Though the restructuring is still a work in progress, its goal is to reinvigorate internal competition for new titles among PRH's many imprints. ... The question about how aggressively (the) imprints actually bid against one another came up during the trial … to block PRH's S&S purchase." - Publishers Weekly

The Long Friendship, And Many Lunches, Of Yiyun Li And A.M. Homes

Li: "The reason I’m so curious about the concept of the quintessential American writer is because I am not one, although my coming of age as a writer happened in America. So I’m curious about how you define an American writer." - The Paris Review

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