Bright Lights and Summer Nights is a true lullaby, gently soothing readers to a place where they are ready for an enchanted night’s rest. ... Read full Story
Celebrate queer stories for Pride Month 2025 with graphic novels, romances, horror and science fiction featuring LGBTQ+ characters. ... Read full Story
Dreamy, poetic and almost hypnotic, Megan Giddings’ masterful speculative novel Meet Me at the Crossroads eschews sentimentality for wonder. ... Read full Story
Allison King’s tender debut novel, The Phoenix Pencil Company, combines family history with ethical questions about modern technology in a lovely balance of the old and new. ... Read full Story
Maggie Stiefvater’s adult debut, The Listeners, asks the reader to see a new angle on a familiar time period, with a delightful mix of realism and enchanting what-if. ... Read full Story
Author Amal El-Mohtar put some extra magic into the audiobook of her beautiful fable of sisterhood, The River Has Roots: She wrote and performed original music with her own sister, Dounya El-Mohtar. ... Read full Story
Music journalist Jeff Weiss gives an insider’s view into the media machine that tormented Britney Spears, and how he contributed to it. ... Read full Story
Inspired by The Nutcracker, Rowenna Miller’s historical fantasy novel The Palace of Illusions expands the story of the ballet and reconstructs it in an unforgettable way. ... Read full Story
Fun and heartfelt, Thank You for Calling the Lesbian Line uncovers powerful, emotional moments during calls to the London-based helpline, which provided support for more than 30 years. ... Read full Story
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 17, 2025 is:
fugitive • \FYOO-juh-tiv\ • noun
Fugitive refers to a person who runs away to avoid being captured or arrested.
// The FBI regularly updates and circulates its list of most wanted fugitives, and asks communities where they might be seen to be careful and on the lookout.
“The automated plate readers, as they are known, enable authorities to track when vehicles of interest pass through certain intersections. The devices can also be mounted on police cars, allowing officers to sweep up troves of license plate data as they drive around. Police say the gadgets help investigate stolen cars, locate fugitives, and solve crimes by checking who came and went from a neighborhood on any given day.” — Libor Jany, The Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2025
Did you know?
Fugitive entered English as both a noun and an adjective in the 14th century, coming ultimately from the Latin verb fugere, meaning “to flee.” As a noun, it originally referred, as it still does today, to someone who flees a country or location to escape persecution or danger, as from war, making it synonymous with another fugere descendent, refugee. The noun soon expanded beyond those fleeing peril to individuals (such as suspects, witnesses, or defendants) trying to elude law enforcement especially by fleeing the pertinent jurisdiction. The adjective fugitive describes those literally running away or intending flight, but also has multiple figurative uses, being applied to that which is elusive, of short duration, or of transient interest, among other things.