January LitBits 2019

January LitBits 2019

Considering the Lego-like malleability of letters and the ease with which new arrangements come into fashion, words have astonishing power — to provoke, irritate, catch a moment or a year in their syllables. Word of the Year is a game we play in North America every December, searching for the one arrangement of those bits of alphabet that perfectly reflects where we stand at this moment in the sweep of history.

Others play a different game: Words that should be wiped from our mouths.

Read more

Books UnPacked blog logo

Sign Up for Books Unpacked Blog

Want occasional news from my literary world? Advance notice of new books, samples of works-in-progress? Join the circle of book-lovers who receive LitBits.

Sign up for LitBits

Why a blog?

Because sometimes the world moves too fast for books.

Because it feels good to be part of the conversation.

As I wrote Gutenberg’s Fingerprint, I thought a lot about books, what they are, what they mean, why I love them, how they are changing and how they are becoming what they started out to be. The brain doesn’t turn off when an editor says “Stop!” so in Books UnPacked, these thoughts spool on, exploring the past and future of books, and the actual books I’m unwrapping to read.

If you subscribe, you'll be notified whenever I post a new blog. As a bonus, you'll also automatically receive LitBits.

You won't be swamped with emails - I'm too busy writing books to blog daily or even weekly, though I hope to post a couple a month. You won't hurt my feelings if you decide to unsubscribe.

I’d love to hear from you, so please join the conversation at the end of the blog.