There’s a significant increase in the use of swear words in American books, a sign that Americans are more accepting of taboo words, according to a recent study. The research showed that books published between 2005 and 2008 were 28 times more likely to include cussing than books published in the early 1950s.

Want to be a writer? Read, read, and read some more. It’s the first requirement for writing well. Don’t take my word for it, take Stephen King’s. He said: “You have to read widely, constantly refining (and redefining) your own work as you do. If you don’t have the time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write.”

A great novel or play touches or enrages or saddens us. It makes us look at ourselves or other people differently. Despite the many emotions we feel while reading books or watching plays, they follow one of only six emotional arcs, according to a study.

The competition for a reader’s short attention span starts in the opening sentences of a novel. Readers today are not only distracted most of the time, they’re also conditioned to judge a book or an image or a post within minutes. If you write fiction, it’s especially crucial to make the reader care about your story as soon as possible.

The word bookworm, dating back to 1592, refers to “a person unusually devoted to reading,” according to Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. It also means the larva of any wood-boring insect that feeds on paper in books. We avid readers are indeed a special kind of tribe! If you feel misunderstood for being a bookworm, rest assured there are many of us who share these 12 common traits.

Summer is here, stretching out as far as the eye could see, but it’s unlike any other because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. There won’t be any trips (at least not to foreign destinations). Social distancing is a must. In these challenging times, books offer a safe way to celebrate summer.

Some books I like for their clever plots or unexpected denouements, others for their dazzling narratives. But the books I cherish are those with memorable characters, especially heroines. I rounded up 10 of the most memorable literary heroines I’ve met over the years.

Stephen King believes the road to hell is paved with adverbs. Most editors and writing teachers hate adverbs as well. I agree that an adverb is superfluous most of the time, but when used in the right place, it can be effective.

Growing up in Manila, I always thought of California as John Steinbeck country.  I didn't make a distinction between northern or southern California. I only thought of the California in "The Grapes of Wrath" and "Cannery Row."

More often than not, movies adapted from novels are disappointing. Perhaps it’s impossible to capture the complexity and nuances of a 300-page (or longer) novel in two hours. I chose my top 15 book-to-movie adaptations based on how well the directors interpreted the novels in film. The movie may not be 100 percent faithful to the book, but it successfully preserved the novel’s essence.