Stephen S. Hall’s Slither will make you marvel at what we can learn from snakes, if only we can swap fear for curiosity and disgust for appreciation. ... Read full Story
Bonnie Tsui’s multifaceted celebration of muscles is an appealing, enlightening guide to understanding and appreciating our own strength. ... Read full Story
Jo Harkin’s rollicking saga of royalty, loyalty, lechery and treachery, The Pretender, is fit for a king . . . or a man who was merely told he would be one. ... Read full Story
In Gabriele, Anne and Claire Berest limn the life of their great-grandmother, finding a cavalcade of romance and drama at the heart of the European art world. The result is a historical novel unlike any other. ... Read full Story
Olafur Darri Olafsson’s deeply authentic performance breathes life into this emotionally rich tale, capturing both its stark beauty and its quiet heartbreak. ... Read full Story
Stephanie Sabbe’s Interiors of a Storyteller weaves memoir with interior design and is recommended for Southerners, designers and fans of storytelling of all stripes. ... Read full Story
Prose to the People overflows with photographs, oral histories, essays and interviews that document and celebrate Black bookstores. ... Read full Story
The poetic language in Jamie Sumner’s Please Pay Attention makes the horror of school violence clear without depicting it in a graphic way. ... Read full Story
In Pencil, Hye-Eun Kim artfully blends the fanciful and the practical as she invites readers to ponder cycles of destruction and renewal, creativity and inspiration. ... Read full Story
Every time Denne Michele Norris’ characters Davis and Everett interact—whether they’re at a family dinner, at home, or even avoiding conversations they need to have—the depth of their love is the loudest thing on the page. ... Read full Story
Renee Swindle’s novel Francine’s Spectacular Crash and Burn indeed does a spectacular and heartwarming job of showcasing how unexpected connections can be a salve for grief. ... Read full Story
Fourth-generation farmer Kaleb Wyse’s debut cookbook gets back to basics by resurrecting old comfort-food favorites that reflect his rural Midwestern roots. ... Read full Story
Words with Wings and Magic Things is sure to inspire readers to seek bold and courageous adventures. Many will likely even pick up a pen and create their own poetry. ... Read full Story
Don’t Trust Fish is an educational and highly entertaining delight, sure to inspire interest in oceanography and ichthyology—and lots of rereads. ... Read full Story
Maureen Shay Tajsar and Ishita Jain’s Midnight Motorbike is an exciting and ultimately comforting ode to adventure, observation and love. ... Read full Story
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 3, 2025 is:
tutelage • \TOO-tuh-lij\ • noun
Tutelage is a formal word that refers to the instruction or guidance especially of an individual student by a teacher. Tutelage may also refer to an act or process of serving as guardian or protector.
// Under the tutelage of his high school swim coach, Luis has greatly improved his times at meets.
// The company is relying on the expert tutelage of its new director to increase profits.
"[Hercules] Mulligan helped with [Alexander] Hamilton's education, including placing him under the tutelage of William Livingston of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), who was a leading local American revolutionary. ... Mulligan is said to have deeply influenced Hamilton towards engagement in revolutionary activity." — Brian Maye, The Irish Times, 2 Mar. 2025
Did you know?
Tutelage comes from the Latin verb tueri, meaning "to look at" or "to guard." When it first appeared in English at the turn of the 17th century, this word was used mainly in the protective sense of tueri; writers would describe serfs and peasants of earlier eras as being "under the tutelage of their lord." Over time, however, the word's meaning shifted away from guardianship and toward instruction. This pattern of meaning can also be seen in the related nouns tutor, which shifted from "a guardian" to "a private teacher," and tuition, which now typically refers to the cost of instruction but which originally referred to the protection, care, or custody by a parent or guardian over a child or ward.