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I’m finally done with university deadlines and want to read! The last book I read and loved was Roth’s Goodbye, Columbus. What should I read next? I’ve ordered The Human Stain and The Professor of Desire (both by him).
posted by bigyellowtaxi at 7:39 AM - 15 answers

I'm learning English. My question is from The moon and six pence. Why does Maugham write ' The suggestion sent a ray of hope in all their breasts ,but I would have nothing to do with it.'? Why not their minds nor their hearts? To me the breast sounds a bit strange. I'd like to know the differences in nuance. Thank you.
posted by mizukko at 8:14 PM - 18 answers

There are certain youth slang words that have always been around:"groovy", "cool", "awesome", "gnarly" and "lit" all work the same way, as a compliment. Then there are those words inspired by new developments: Social media led to "flex" and "low-key" and "high-key" and "virtue signal" and "humblebrag." But what explains "yeet"? Why is sudden expulsion suddenly so popular? Does it have something to do with the "eet" sound? Is it a reflection of how instantaneous technology has made processes, like "delete"?
posted by Borborygmus at 12:59 PM - 35 answers

I'm looking for any blogger or magazine out there has lists of upcoming academics books released in the social sciences and humanities although other disciplines are also welcome. There are such lists books for example but usually they're focused on either a particular year or month or season and are not specialized for more non-fiction or academic titles [published by Harvard University Press, for example, but this can W.W. Norton or other more commercial publishers]. [more inside]
posted by caudal at 11:33 PM - 5 answers

I am especially interested in work that uses spellings like "ze" and "hir," rather than the singular "they." Bonus points if at least some of the poems are about gender issues.
posted by mortaddams at 9:18 AM - 5 answers

My 10y.o. daughter loves to read, and recently she's been talking about different kinds of narration -- first person, third person, a narrator that has their own personality versus one that just presents the perspective of the main character, etc. I'd love to give her a book at her reading level that has an unreliable narrator. [more inside]
posted by Winnie the Proust at 5:03 AM - 23 answers

I'm reviewing competitive bids from translation companies for a research study, and trying to figure out whether it matters that one has ISO 17100 certification and the other doesn't. [more inside]
posted by quiet coyote at 9:20 AM - 3 answers

I'm looking for insight into a particular passage in Goethe's Faust. Specifically, I'd like to understand the context of a line about the nature of signed documents and a reference to "wax and leather" in the scene where the notorious bargain is made. Hope me, scholars of MetaFilter! [more inside]
posted by nosila at 8:55 AM - 16 answers

Before Osama bin Laden, before 9/11, before ISIS, before the End of History, there was Bosnia. Years ago, there was a fair amount of primary content regarding Bosnia on the internet, but I don't think I ever saw anything that brought it all together. And now a lot of that information is gone. Does anyone have any recommendations for books about the breakup of Yugoslavia in general or the war in Bosnia more specifically? I am particularly interested if the book covers the flow of events: the whos, the whats, the wheres, and the whens. Illustrations with maps and such would be a plus.
posted by Stuka at 12:20 PM - 11 answers

Trying to find a quote from Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt -- from about 20 years ago I think. [more inside]
posted by zenpop at 12:02 PM - 2 answers

My local public library plans to start a write and illustrate your own book contest geared toward students from elementary school through high school. But surely there's a better name than "Write and Illustrate Your Own Book Contest"? Suggestions, please?
posted by MonkeyToes at 11:22 AM - 12 answers

I received an Honorable Mention in a writing competition last fall and the pub is going to publish said piece in their Spring 2021 edition. I signed a contract in November 2020 giving them permission to publish and they said they'd be in touch in March to finalize everything and give me a chance to update my bio if necessary. I have not heard from them since, and am not sure if reaching out is pushy or or not. [more inside]
posted by nayantara at 9:03 AM - 3 answers

What book or piece of writing helped you to grieve? I wish to gift a book to a distant friend who is about to lose their mother after a swift illness. Here's some characteristics i'm looking for, but please don't let it limit your sharing of ideas: - written by a woman/NB/queer person/people - feminist approach - philosophical or sociological e.g. not a self-help book, or a 'science of grieving book'... more like an Audre Lorde or bell hooks style. - poetry or prose or graphic novel - could be old or contemporary
posted by MT at 10:03 PM - 13 answers

A friend of mine on Facebook is trying to remember a book about orphans living on their own, which she read circa 1980-ish. [more inside]
posted by Orlop at 7:39 AM - 14 answers

MeFites have been very generous with their time previously translating a postcard written in Norwegian by my great-great grandmother Johanne in early 1900s Minnesota. Now I have another postcard written by her (though seemingly unsent) which I need help translating, mainly because I’m bad at deciphering her handwriting.
posted by theory at 2:10 AM - 3 answers

I'm looking for examples of science fiction where linguistics is the science in question, or one of them anyway. A few examples I'm already aware of (and love, thus my wanting to find more): Babel-17 by Samuel Delany, Embassytown by China Miéville, the story "Story of Your Life" by Ted Chiang (that the movie Arrival was based on), arguably aspects of Jeff VanderMeer's Southern Reach trilogy. Any SF where translation plays a major role would probably fit the bill. Qapla’!
posted by slappy_pinchbottom at 7:42 PM - 37 answers

Our book club just read Isabel Allende's novel A Long Petal of the Sea and would like to read the Neruda poem that contains the title line. [more inside]
posted by Joleta at 8:08 AM - 4 answers

I have been advised by a friend who is an editor at a publication where I submitted an essay for consideration (though not in her area) to reach out to the essays editor and inquire about the status of my submission, since it has been nearly three months and that is within the timeline of when they were planning on getting back to writers who submit. I am still new at this. How do I approach writing this email? [more inside]
posted by nayantara at 2:40 PM - 6 answers

I'm translating an Italian Baroque era text sung by the character of Emperor Nero, who at this point is dead and in the underworld. At the end, he threatens to go to war with the Gods, and makes a reference to using a string instrument as a weapon against the Giants. Is this a reference to something in the Gigantomachy? Text below. [more inside]
posted by Pallas Athena at 2:09 PM - 5 answers

I noticed on The Good Wife that many characters would say "Keep me in touch" which always sounded a little strange to me. I would have expected "Keep me in the loop" or "Keep in touch" (more likely "Stay in touch") but idk, is "Keep me in touch" a thing? [more inside]
posted by mpark at 11:51 AM - 15 answers