Who Knew?

Yahoo! News

Writer’s Block? Invent a Word! Languages are always changing with the times, and new words are constantly being added. We can thank Shakespeare’s writer’s block for all kinds of great words!

Visual Thesaurus for Writers

GalleyCat

Looking for Just the Right Word? The well-thumbed thesaurus is a writer’s best friend. Check out a new take—a visual thesaurus to help you work your way through the "like" words to find the "best" word.

The Amorous Art of Esther Howland

American Heritage Magazine

America’s First Valentines A little bit of Valentine’s Day history—the first valentines in America were produced by a young woman, a descendant of a Pilgrim father and prosperous bookseller, who built the making of valentines into a business empire.

1,500-Year-Old Church Found in Israel

AP

New Discovery in Israel Israeli archaeologists have uncovered the ruins of a church southwest of Jerusalem in the Judean hills. It features an unusually well-preserved mosaic floor, tunnels, and a burial cave that scholars think was venerated as the burial place of the prophet Zechariah.

Bible Remains Backbone of Stores’ Stability

Christian Retailing

Still the Best Best-seller Bibles continue to provide stability to Christian stores. So let’s continue to provide them what they need!

Paris Opens Chic New Hotel for Book Lovers

Publishing Perspectives

Yet Another Reason to Visit Paris! Besides going to Paris to help save the bouqinistes (see IdeaWatch November 2010), book lovers can now stay in a hotel with 26 rooms (one for each letter of the alphabet), and each room pays homage to a writer or poet.

List of Ten Trends in Children’s Books from 2010

Book Publishing News

Kids Keeping Us on Our Toes Scholastic, largest publisher and distributor of children’s books, reveals ten trends in children’s books from 2010. Some of these will definitely surprise—dystopian fiction? It’s not all bad news though—kids also want more special needs protagonists and humor!

The New York Times to Launch eBook Best-seller Lists

Book Publishing News

Tracking the Best-sellers The iconic best-seller lists in the New York Times are about to get a new addition!

Top 20 Worst Nativity Sets

Mark Oestricher Blog

What Were They Thinking? Marshmallows? S’mores? Seriously? Check out the worst of the worst and wonder with us, "What were they thinking?"

Chile Miner Update

Campus Crusade for Christ International

Of Prayer, Food, and MP3s The faith of one of the Chilean miners helped keep everyone’s hopes up. On day 16, the food was gone. He prayed that God would multiply as he did the loaves and fish. Guess what happened on day 17?