According to a recent survey, 62% of women would rather spend Friday night reading a good book than out on a date, and the similarities between how people talk about both reading and dating is fascinating. Given these similarities, and with the success of popular dating apps like Tinder, Bumble, Match, Grindr, and eHarmony, Brant Menswar and Jim Knight, the founders of digital book marketing… [Read More]
With a beautiful blend of art and prose, graphic novels are one of the most accessible mediums out there. Even if you’re not a huge reader, a graphic novel is easy to pick up and digest. More than just superhero comics and manga, graphic novels contain stories from many different genres—mystery/thriller, romance, sci-fi/fantasy, and so much more. While comics and graphic novels are certainly not… [Read More]
After an absence that followed the cancelation of their 2020 festival due to the pandemic, UntitledTown has partnered with the Friends of the Brown County Library and Lion’s Mouth Bookstore and is making a comeback with a one-day event of readings from your favorite Wisconsin and Midwestern authors. UntitledTown: the Comeback Event will take place on Saturday, August 21 from 10am to 4pm at the… [Read More]
You can tear a thing apart and tape it back together, and it will still be torn and whole. There is no other way. In her fiercely beautiful memoir, Jeannine Ouellette recollects fragments of her life and arranges them elliptically to witness each piece as torn and whole, as something more than itself. Caught between the dramatic landscapes of Lake Superior and Casper Mountain, between her stepfather’s… [Read More]
The Soul’s Twins: Emancipate Your Feminine and Masculine Archetypes by Jean Benedict Raffa releases today, November 17, from Schiffer Books. A former television producer and college professor, Dr. Jean Raffa changed directions in midlife to discover and write about her passions. Informed by over 30 years of psychological and spiritual study, her books and teachings guide others to growth and self-empowerment. Humanity today is plagued… [Read More]
Propitious – adjective Likely to result in success, or showing signs of success (Cambridge) Favorably disposed: benevolent (Merriam-Webster) Being a good omen: auspicious (Merriam-Webster) Tending to favor: advantageous (Merriam-Webster) Presenting favorable conditions; favorable (Dictionary.com) Favorably inclined; disposed to bestow favors or forgive (Dictionary.com) “Propitious, which comes to us through Middle English from the Latin word propitius (same meaning as ‘propitious’), is a synonym of ‘favorable’… [Read More]
Incongruous – adjective Out of keeping or place; inappropriate; unbecoming (Dictionary.com) Not harmonious in character; inconsonant; lacking harmony of parts; inconsistent (Dictionary.com) Unusual or different from what is around or from what is generally happening (Cambridge) Appearing strange or wrong within a particular situation (Cambridge) Lacking congruity: such as not harmonious: incompatible not conforming: disagreeing inconsistent within itself lacking propriety: unsuitable (Merriam-Webster) “Incongruous is a… [Read More]
“Caught Between Worlds is a fantastic story set in Iraq in 1980 about a kidnapping—except instead of a kid, it’s his father who is taken hostage when war breaks out with Iran. Tom O’Hara’s father is taken by armed militants shortly after they move to Baghdad. Grieving the loss of his mother a year ago, Tom relies on his memories of her, an anthropology professor, and… [Read More]
When Jill Swenson consulted with Jeff Selingo on his new book proposal two years ago, no one could have imagined a college admissions bribery scandal involving Hollywood celebrities would unfold. Or that a global pandemic would fundamentally alter the higher education landscape for students and their parents. Jeff Selingo’s book, Who Gets In and Why: A Year Inside College Admissions, will be released on September 15. From… [Read More]
Colloquial – adjective Characteristic of or appropriate to ordinary or familiar conversation rather than formal speech or writing; informal (Dictionary.com) Using conversational style (Merriam-Webster) (Of words and expressions) Informal and more suitable for use in speech than in writing (Cambridge) “The noun colloquy was first used in English to refer to a conversation or dialogue, and when the adjective colloquial was formed from colloquy it… [Read More]