Riot Headline The Best Books of 2024

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Misconceptions About American Food I Had From Books

For a long time, I thought Americans put ice cream on bread, ate peanut butter mixed with a sweet gelatin dessert, and weirdly boiled bread. I was wrong.

Letter by Letter, Word by Word: An Interview with David J. Peterson

Angel Cruz talks with David J. Peterson about constructed languages.

With Friends Like These, Who Needs (the word) Frenemies?

A discussion of why the word frenemies does more harm than good when it comes to female friendships.

Let’s Stop Saying “Just Happens to be Gay”

"Just happens to be gay" is outdated, dismissive, and it's just not working. Let's find new ways to talk about diverse characters in books.

Risky Similes and Writing Style: They Can Make or Break It

The great risk of writing with similes, referencing Junot Diaz, David Sedaris

Is There A Name For That? Grammar Fun With -Nyms

How often have you thought about some language phenomenon and wondered if there was a name for that? Is there ...

Bob’s (Literary) Burger of the Day

It didn’t take long for me to devour all of the episodes of Bob’s Burgers that I could when I watched ...

Giveaway: Let’s Bring Back Lost Language

It will come as no surprise to you to learn that we at the Riot love words. We love old ...

Gimmicks, Language, and the Evolution of Reading

(This is No. 43 in our series of Public Service Films, following the success of No. 42, How Not To Be ...