This was a particularly enjoyable issue of The Believer for me, mainly because there were a good number of articles and essays relating to language and/or literature. The first essay, "Absent Things as If They Are Present" was one I had to read twice, it boggled my mind so. I'm still thinking about that one a month later; still quoting from it, writing about it, and referring to it in personal essays of my own.

Michael Schulman's "Language Murder," about how the gay "in"-language of Britain began as a "safe" language, took over the airwaves, took over the gay world completely, and then fell so far out of use that it's almost extinct at this point was so historically, literarily, and anecdotally rich it was practically a college course in itself for my liberal, linguistic-loving heart.

Meghan Daum's "Haterade" was a salve for my soul. I love the internet, and blogs, and free news, and good discussion--but I can't stand internet commentors. Let's be honest, a tirade against the ignorant and anonymous e-commentor had to be written, and Meghan Daum did it with much more class and sympathy than I would have.

I absolutely loved the interview with psychic Betsy Cohen, who was insightful and down-to-earth; as well as the interview with mapmaker Denis Wood--because who doesn't love a person who helps us understand where we are and how to reach the world around us? And the conversation between Laird Hunt and Harry Matthews was absolutely delightful. But my favorite interview was probably Amanda Stern's interview of Laurie Anderson, who made me take a step back and look at myself and the world around me with fresh eyes.

Nick Hornby's "Stuff I've Been Reading" column once again added two or three books to my already overloaded TBR list, a sure sign that The Believer is still absolutely on the right track. Keep it going! ( )