Aaand… we’re back! Catch new episodes of A Word on Words, the Emmy-winning literary interview mini-show, on Nashville Public Television or online. The latest: Pulitzer Prize-winning author Elizabeth Strout explains how stand-up comedy made her a better writer. Lisa Ko, winner of the PEN/Bellwether Prize for Fiction, talks about the book that took the reading world by storm: The Leavers. And Weike Wang introduces her witty, wonderful debut novel, Chemistry.

In The New York Times Sunday Review: “My Adventures in Accountability” — “As an approval-seeking person, I always want a gold star. But to achieve one thing generally means letting go of another.” A humorous look at what happens when a busy person tries to be accountable to too many goals at once.

On Brevity: “An Egg-Poaching Pep Talk That Is Definitely Not a Metaphor for a Writer’s Career” — For anyone who has ever experienced creative anxiety.

In The New York Times Sunday Review: “Sing, O Muse, of the Mall of America” — Observe people in the act of searching — whether they get what they search for or not — and you will understand something about them.

On McSweeney’s: “A Usage Guide to Timely Phrases Beginning with ‘As’ and Their Lowercase Abbreviations” — Save yourself a few letters when tweeting or texting the news.

“It’s sort of like having David Sedaris run your online literary magazine on the side.” (<– Greatest compliment ever received.) Interviewed by Ann Patchett about reading, writing, winning an Emmy, and multi-tasking.

For The Washington Post: “Learning From Our Mistakes” — Maybe we could save our future if we paid a little more attention to the lessons of our past.

In The New York Times: “Wishing Away the Wish List” — The desire to bring back the mystery in giving has a little something to do with the desire to be taken care of, or maybe even to be a child again.

NEW cartoon! Need a pep talk? Follow @wildlifecoach on Instagram to get one from a WildLifeCoach. Giraffes, bats, turtles, pigs… they’re all here to help.

In the Washington Post: “Teaching Girls to Save Their Own Lives” — This essay has mermaids, Michelle Obama, and the book that changed one writer’s life forever.

Recent interviews: George Saunders, Brit Bennett, Colson Whitehead, Yaa Gyasi, Glennon Doyle Melton, Lee Boudreaux, Chuck Klosterman, Megan Abbott, Brad Watson, Louise Erdrich,  and more

“This Shop’s Walls Can Talk (In 140 Characters)” There’s enough opportunity for mistaken identity on Twitter to populate a Shakespearean comedy, but it’s still fun. Here’s an essay about creating a bookstore’s voice, from the front page of the Book World section in Washington Post.

Get your copy anywhere you buy books! (For autographed copies, order from indie bookstore Parnassus Books.) And check out the penguins on Buzzfeed, The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, BookPage, The Millions, and more…

Festival season keeps rolling! Coming up: the Southern Festival of Books!