Here’s hoping that you like Christmas carols, ’cause at this time of year, you can’t escape them. Whether you’re driving to work, doing a bit of shopping, or just sitting in a waiting room somewhere, chances are good that you’ll hear those same old chestnuts, sometimes comforting in their familiarity, sometimes downright annoying (yes, little Michael Jackson, we believe that you saw Mommy kissing Santa, we do, so shut up already!). But if you actually listen to this seasonal soundtrack, Read more [...]

It’s the time of year when everyone’s working hard on their holiday wish list, including us here at OWJ. A while back, we compiled a great list of gift ideas for writers, word nerds, and other bookish types. But there are so many more great products out there for bibliophiles now that we thought we’d put together another list of gift ideas for book-lovers and writers. If someone you love is a fan of the printed page, you can’t go wrong with any of these. Wearable Books Writing can be Read more [...]

If you’re a student heading back to school, you have a lot of learning ahead of you, and part of the curriculum is bound to be reading some of the classics of English literature. But in today’s fast-paced, texting-obsessed, “tl;dr” society, it can be hard to find the time to read a whole book, let alone a bunch of them. For those who are pressed for time or just have short attention spans, we present 14 famous novels, each condensed into the length of a tweet. Perhaps these will pique your Read more [...]

If there’s one thing most word nerds love, it’s a good game of Scrabble (or Words With Friends, for the more tech-addicted among us). Of course, having a good vocabulary isn’t everything if you want to win Scrabble games: Strategy plays a big part, too, whether it’s finding the perfect place on the board to play a word or making sure that you cut off scoring opportunities for your opponent. But knowing a lot of words is certainly helpful, especially when it comes to dealing with a difficult Read more [...]