When scientists and others use their specialized jargon terms while communicating with the general public, the effects are much worse than just making what they’re saying hard to understand. In a new study, people exposed to jargon when reading about subjects like self-driving cars and surgical robots later said they were less interested in science than others who read about the same topics, but without the use of specialized terms.

Dylan’s “Tangled Up in Blue” strikes a middle point between his more surreal lyrics of the ‘60s and his more straightforward love songs, and as Polyphonic’s recent video taking a deep dive into this “musical masterpiece” shows, that combination is why so many count it as one of his best songs. By Ted Mills.

The authorship controversy has yet to surface a compelling alternative to the man buried in Stratford. Perhaps that’s because, until recently, no one was looking in the right place. The case for Emilia Bassano.

Samuel Delany was 20 when his first novel, The Jewels of Aptor, appeared. That was in 1962, and by 1967–69 (when “Time Considered as a Helix of Semi-Precious Stones” and “Aye, and Gomorrah …” nabbed Hugo and Nebula awards), he was a luminary of American science fiction and fantasy.

Warring contingents of the Steinbeck family have been battling over the rights to his works for half a century.

The problem with literature is that there's so much of it. Books go back a long time (like at least ten or fifteen years, I'm thinking), and if you're a student taking an English class, you're supposed to be familiar with basically all of them. But that's impossible. Allow us, then, to suggest an alternate strategy: you fake it. The following literary movements and periods span whole centuries, numerous cultural milestones, and multiple historical turning points, but we have taken the liberty of reducing them all to a single sentence. This should be more than sufficient to convince your teacher you actually did the reading. So, without...

The year I was born was the year that “fist bump” was first used in print. Other year highlights include “boom box,” “autocorrect,” “sleazebag,” and “buffalo wing.” Is this information I need to know? Probably not. Is it information that’s fun to know? Absolutely.

New Yorkers love nonfiction, and that’s a fact. The bestselling memoir “Educated,” by first-time author Tara Westover, was the most read book throughout all New York Public Library’s 88 branches in…

Just a few years ago, the Kindle was being blamed for the death of the traditional book. Literary analysts circled the publishing and sales figures of giant and independent publishing houses alike, looking to confirm the trend so many expected. Yet the last few years have seen a reversal of fortune for e-books – showing quite a dramatic reversal of fortunes, with sales of ebooks plunging by over 20% since 2016, while sales of physical books increase.

It's always fun to speculate about how we'll die, like to break the ice during a party or while chatting in the subway with terrified strangers. We've all done that, right? Well. these people took it to a whole new level.

An interview with Paul Tang, whose People' Recreation Community has tapped into an intriguing new market.

With the onslaught of e-books, what will the rare book even look like 50 years from now? 200? Will it exist?

London's Lambeth Palace, home to the Archbishop of Canterbury, also has a leading historic book collection. The palace's library was the scene of a major crime that stayed undiscovered for decades.

We're here to help.

Etymology, or the study of the origin of words, is dry, dusty stuff that will give you allergies if you play with it too long.

Are you uncomfortable with ambiguity? It’s a common condition, but a highly problematic one. The compulsion to quell that unease can inspire snap judgments, rigid thinking, and bad decision-making. New Canadian research finds reading a literary short story increases one’s comfort with ambiguity.

It turns out that Harry Potter scribe J.K. Rowling is the author behind “Robert Galbraith’s” The Cuckoo’s Calling. Amazon reviews are overwhelmingly positive, citing its “engrossing” twists and “complex and compelling” characters as a few of the highlights.

People say it all the time: they’d love to get into science fiction or fantasy, but they’ve no idea where to start. If this is you (or if you’re one of those stubborn folks who looks snootily down on genre), listen up. Your trusty Flavorwire editors have a few suggestions for you — that is, a whole 50 sci-fi and fantasy novels that are well worth your time, whether you’re brand new to the concept of dragons and/or spaceships or a seasoned veteran.

The literary world may seem quiet and remote, sometimes, boxed away in libraries, but words have power, and their cumulative effect can rattle the world—culturally, politically and philosophically.

Five years before publishing ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four,’ George Orwell penned a letter detailing the thesis of his great novel.