books

The first time I played the tabletop game Fiasco, it wasn’t the story my friends and I made that blew me away. It was the realization that I had just experienced the limitless possibilities of collaborative writing, that the novels I loved featured just one way their narratives could have played out. Alice could have transformed the Mad Tea Party into Wonderland’s first organic tea shop. Don Quixote could have devolved into a windmill-killer for hire.

About 300 people from 60 countries are touring the world on board the largest-ever floating book fair to spread the joy of reading and bring hope and help to the needy. This is the mission of Logos Hope, a 132-meter-long ship that was placed into service in February 2009. It entered the Valletta harbor in Malta on July 12, where it is docked until the end of the month for bookworms of different ages to enjoy a world of books.

The crew members, from captains and chefs to those responsible for stacking the thousands of books on board, are all volunteers. 

In the cluttered world of TikTok, #BookTok emerged as a favorite long ago: a cozy, sprawling community with a hashtag that has over 64.3 billion views and counting. The social media giant is well aware of this popularity, seizing upon that long-embedded love for literature with by launching an official book club on the platform.

It's fair to say many of us spend a lot of time reading online. Whether it's required for work, or you happen to do most of your reading on a screen-news, ebooks, social media, etc. - the constant blue light glare and small fonts can take their toll. Not only can screentime cause eye strain and headaches, but for some, there's a feeling of frustration and the sense that they're just not fully comprehending what they're spending so much time reading.

Held every year on 21 March, World Poetry Day celebrates one of humanity’s most treasured forms of cultural and linguistic expression and identity. Practiced throughout history – in every culture and on every continent – poetry speaks to our common humanity and our shared values, transforming the simplest of poems into a powerful catalyst for dialogue and peace.