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edbattistella.bsky.social
@edbattistella.bsky.social
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edbattistella.bsky.social
Next Thursday!
January 2, 2026 at 12:58 AM
edbattistella.bsky.social
My OUP Blog for December 2025

blog.oup.com/2025/12/on-r...
On reading reviews
Book reviews, like books themselves, come in all shapes and sizes. There are the sometimes inflated rah-rahs on Amazon or Goodreads, or short reviews in Kirkus, Publisher’s Weekly, and Choice.
blog.oup.com
December 28, 2025 at 3:15 PM
edbattistella.bsky.social
My OUP blog for November
blog.oup.com/2025/11/unex...
Unexpected words
When I read slowly, I’m a somewhat easily distracted reader. I might ponder an idea, puzzle at a phrasing, or admire elegance and style. Sometimes, though, it is unexpected words that cause me to stop...
blog.oup.com
November 30, 2025 at 3:15 PM
edbattistella.bsky.social
Now on Literary Ashland
literaryashland.org?p=12209
November 9, 2025 at 11:43 PM
edbattistella.bsky.social
My OUP blog column for October
blog.oup.com/2025/10/im-g...
“I’m good”
The word good does a lot of work in English. Aside from its garden-variety sense (as in “good game” or “good job” or “good dog”), we find the word has a number of extended uses.
blog.oup.com
October 26, 2025 at 5:09 PM
edbattistella.bsky.social
This Thursday
October 7, 2025 at 6:14 PM
edbattistella.bsky.social
My September blog piece: blog.oup.com/2025/09/symb...
Symbol swearing with the Grawlix
I miss a lot of things about the decline of paper newspapers, especially the comic strips. The comics were verbal humor with pictures and recurring characters, and the language of the comics provided ...
blog.oup.com
September 28, 2025 at 2:54 PM
edbattistella.bsky.social
My OUP blog from August
blog.oup.com/2025/08/lets...
Let’s stop talking about conspiracy “theories”
A few years ago, I taught an undergraduate course on “Cons, Cults, and Conspiracies Theories,” exploring the connections and parallels among those phenomena.
blog.oup.com
September 1, 2025 at 2:42 AM
edbattistella.bsky.social
Does anyone ever answer Cliff Bentz's phone?!
August 13, 2025 at 10:47 PM
edbattistella.bsky.social
Now on Literary Ashland
literaryashland.org?p=12178
August 11, 2025 at 4:24 PM
edbattistella.bsky.social
My review of BYE BYE I LOVE YOU in The Journal of the Medical Library Association jmla.mlanet.org/ojs/jmla/art...
Book Review: Bye Bye I Love You: The Story of Our First and Last Words | Journal of the Medical Library Association
jmla.mlanet.org
August 2, 2025 at 1:43 PM
edbattistella.bsky.social
My OUP blog for July
blog.oup.com/2025/07/what...
What does one day mean?
A while ago, a reader pointed me to a comment on another writer’s OUPblog piece. The comment complained about a caption on a photo, an image of the painting “Adam and Eve in Paradise” by the seventeen...
blog.oup.com
July 29, 2025 at 12:30 PM
edbattistella.bsky.social
Now that Congress is on its paid summer vacation, maybe Cliff Bentz will hold some town halls.
July 25, 2025 at 12:39 AM
edbattistella.bsky.social
Now on Literary Ashland
literaryashland.org?p=12172
What I’m reading King of Ashes | Welcome to Literary Ashland
literaryashland.org
July 15, 2025 at 8:21 PM
edbattistella.bsky.social
Just reminded my congressman that there aren't many billionaires in his district.
July 2, 2025 at 10:36 PM
edbattistella.bsky.social
My OUP Blog post for June
blog.oup.com/2025/06/dopp...
Doppelganger names
We often think of personal names as specific to an individual, and sometimes they are. Yet often they are not. After all, the same individual may go by more than one name.
blog.oup.com
June 30, 2025 at 7:24 PM
edbattistella.bsky.social
An interview with Parker Boom
literaryashland.org?p=12160
June 24, 2025 at 1:04 PM
edbattistella.bsky.social
What's missing?
June 14, 2025 at 1:12 PM
edbattistella.bsky.social
literaryashland.org?p=12150
June 11, 2025 at 8:51 PM
edbattistella.bsky.social
My OUP Blog post for May
blog.oup.com/2025/05/what...
What I learned from reading Harlan Ellison
When I was in high school, I went through a Harlan Ellison phase. Ellison, who died in 2017, was a prolific science fiction and screenwriter and the author of such stories as “‘Repent, Harlequin!’ Sai...
blog.oup.com
May 30, 2025 at 5:00 PM
edbattistella.bsky.social
Now on Literary Ashland: An interview with Marcie Rendon
literaryashland.org?p=12133
An Interview with Marcie Rendon | Welcome to Literary Ashland
literaryashland.org
May 1, 2025 at 1:41 PM
edbattistella.bsky.social
My OUP Blog piece for April
blog.oup.com/2025/04/what...
What to do with too many books?
A while ago, my wife and I had some work done on our house, which entailed packing up a half-dozen bookcases until the work was done. We took the opportunity to sift through our books and to decide wh...
blog.oup.com
April 27, 2025 at 2:45 PM
edbattistella.bsky.social
My OUP Blog for March: blog.oup.com/2025/03/slow...
Slow down your writing
Sentences that are clear in our heads may be less clear when they come out of our mouths. When we talk, we get feedback from our audience or conversational partners. We observe facial expressions and ...
blog.oup.com
March 30, 2025 at 3:07 PM
edbattistella.bsky.social
What I'm reading:
literaryashland.org?p=12110
Alter Ego, A Myriad of Tongues, & High Desert, Higher Costs | Welcome to Literary Ashland
literaryashland.org
March 28, 2025 at 7:27 PM
edbattistella.bsky.social
My review of REBEL QUEEN
literaryashland.org?p=12103
Rebel Queen: The Cold War, Misogyny, and the Making of a Grandmaster | Welcome to Literary Ashland
literaryashland.org
March 18, 2025 at 7:42 PM