Martha Barnette @marthabarnette.bsky.social · 20/08/2026Meet my fellow San Diegan, Darth Vader. #sandiegogizmodo.com'The Emperor Is a Fan of Flock': Darth Vader Speaks at City Council Meeting"This council was elected to serve the police, not the public," said Vader. 010
Martha Barnette @marthabarnette.bsky.social · 19/08/2026Now you can get FRIENDS WITH WORDS in paperback! (That’s his heavy breathing, not mine.) 030
Martha Barnette @marthabarnette.bsky.social · 15/08/2026www.theguardian.com/technology/2...theguardian.comSecondhand booksellers in UK and Ireland suspect AI firms behind ‘strange’ bulk ordersDevelopment comes after Anthropic was found to have spent millions on books to scan for ‘data acquisition’ 000
Martha Barnette @marthabarnette.bsky.social · 01/08/2026Some wonderful recommendations here. I’m especially looking forward to digging into Crossing the Wine-Dark Sea and There Is No Place for Us. 🙏 031
Martha Barnette @marthabarnette.bsky.social · 27/07/2026Yes indeed! It’s an action film starring an action hero. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but this hero’s hardly complicated. That said, I loved Circe’s pork-in-progress! 020
Martha Barnette @marthabarnette.bsky.social · 21/07/2026People keep asking what I think of the movie. Here, @wmarybeard.bsky.social explains it all for you. 🙏 to @cartersherman.bsky.social for this splendid interview.theguardian.comMary Beard on The Odyssey and how empires fall – Stateside with Kai and CarterChristopher Nolan’s new adaption of The Odyssey is an absolute monster of a hit, grossing $264m in its opening weekend. But celebrated classicist Mary Beard tells host Carter Sherman that Nolan’s film... 030
Reposted by Martha BarnetteLauren Hall-Lew (she/her) @lhlew.bsky.social · 21/07/2026Haben Girma rocks!!! Illuminating, powerful, and also funny :)habengirma.comFrance made me a Knight, and my mission is Braille!Official website of Haben Girma, keynote speaker, bestselling author, and advocate. 153
Martha Barnette @marthabarnette.bsky.social · 18/07/2026Yes, I saw The Odyssey, and yes of course, I have thoughts. But I’ll save them until more folks have seen it (except to say that Samantha Norton must be a goddess in real life). 040
Martha Barnette @marthabarnette.bsky.social · 10/06/2026No mention of widdershins OR deasil???theguardian.comHumans prefer to walk anticlockwise, scientists find – but reason is unclearFrom Spain to Japan, experiments have repeatedly shown a left-turn bias, but exact mechanic ‘is still an open question’ 030
Martha Barnette @marthabarnette.bsky.social · 11/05/2026Hey, #sandiego! Take a break and feed your mind along with fellow language lovers as we celebrate some wonderful words! It’s free and open to the public, but you must register.eventbrite.comA Way With Words - An Evening with Martha BarnetteJoin us for an evening with the author of "Friends with Words: Adventures in Languageland" and co-host of "A Way with Words" radio program 143
Martha Barnette @marthabarnette.bsky.social · 05/05/2026“At least they nailed Odysseus’ Boston accent.” www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie... #languagehollywoodreporter.com‘The Odyssey’: Everybody Using American Accents Is Definitely a Choice"Let's go!" Fans thrown by American accents, modern speech in new trailer for ancient Greece epic: "It sounds like they're outside a Starbucks." 120
Martha Barnette @marthabarnette.bsky.social · 09/04/2026Pleased to learn a new-to-me phrase today! 032
Martha Barnette @marthabarnette.bsky.social · 08/04/2026Sheesh. Looking at my new passport photo and all I can think is “Girl, who licked the red off of YOUR candy??” 😐 130
Martha Barnette @marthabarnette.bsky.social · 21/03/2026Super-fun live show by @susiedentwords.bsky.social live show in Basingstoke today. Agreed that we need a word for that first wonderful whiff of autumn. Mind the lexical gap! 020
Reposted by Martha BarnetteI’m Dave Williams. You’re probably not @skirwingle.bsky.social · 21/03/2026Logophiles assemble! Just back from @susiedentwords.bsky.social at the Haymarket, where I found myself sitting next to @marthabarnette.bsky.social from 'A Way With Words' 📖media.tenor.coma man in a suit and tie says welcome to the nerd zoneAlt: Stephen Colbert saying "Welcome to the nerd zone, my friend." 291
Martha Barnette @marthabarnette.bsky.social · 10/03/2026Cat got your etymology?history.comThe Curious—and Creepy—Origins of 'Cat Got Your Tongue?' | HISTORYThree creepy theories attempt to explain the phrase’s origins. 051
Martha Barnette @marthabarnette.bsky.social · 16/02/2026Props to my dear friend Lillian Faderman for this splendid review of the new film based on her book SCOTCH VERDICT! www.theguardian.com/film/2026/fe...theguardian.comThe Education of Jane Cumming review – sexuality, race and a real school scandalSophie Heldman’s drama about two teachers accused of lesbianism by a pupil is exhilaratingly candid 030
Martha Barnette @marthabarnette.bsky.social · 10/02/2026“In other words, Spanish is not a foreign language. It's woven all through the history, culture, and communities of the United States, especially the Southwest, California, and Florida. You cannot name the most important parts of California without Spanish.” Thanks, @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social 030
Reposted by Martha BarnetteNancy Friedman @fritinancy.bsky.social · 29/01/2026January links! Credits: @mashedradish.bsky.social @marthabarnette.bsky.social @paperairplane.pub @stancarey.bsky.social @stronglang.bsky.social @grammargirl.bsky.social & more! fritinancy.substack.com/p/january-li...fritinancy.substack.comJanuary linkstackNew newsletters, a new print magazine (!), the AI naming crisis, and more. 187
Martha Barnette @marthabarnette.bsky.social · 22/12/2025“ . . made my first foray into audiobooks with my girl Martha Barnette’s impossibly delightful (and wonderfully narrated) Friends with Words.” Thanks, The Millions! themillions.com/2025/12/a-ye...themillions.comA Year in Reading: 2025The Millions has been on hiatus for the last year, so we’ve had to scale back our editorial output to just our seasonal Most Anticipated lists. But we couldn’t let 2025 go by without bringing out our ... 040
Martha Barnette @marthabarnette.bsky.social · 17/12/2025A chewy chat about aging, regrets, goals, and adjusting—and how words change as we do. Check out this @oldstermag.bsky.social questionnaire:oldster.substack.comThis is 67: Public Radio Host Martha Barnette Responds to The Oldster Magazine Questionnaire"I did kind of like going into a store where the salesperson needed ID, looked at my driver license, and said, 'Oh! You’re eligible for our wisdom discount!'” 020
Martha Barnette @marthabarnette.bsky.social · 11/12/2025When it comes to books, I guess you can judge a cover. Here’s a spectacular list from @literaryhub.bsky.social. I’m delighted it includes the gorgeous cover of FRIENDS WITH WORDS. Richly deserved! The whole list is a treat for the eyes.lithub.comThe 173 Best Book Covers of 2025Per Literary Hub tradition, I am pleased to present the best book covers of the year—as chosen by some of the industry’s best book cover designers. This year, I asked 52 designers to share their fa… 121
Martha Barnette @marthabarnette.bsky.social · 04/12/2025Listen in and nerd out! Lots of fun chatting about words and wonderful books 🙂📚 030
Martha Barnette @marthabarnette.bsky.social · 03/12/2025Great time sharing the joy of language with Arik and his listeners! 030
Martha Barnette @marthabarnette.bsky.social · 28/11/2025Fun chat about memoir and hypnagogic inspiration with @saribotton.bsky.social (“Hypnagogic”? Hint: It’s a great excuse for a nap! 😁) #memoir #writersofbluesky #amwriting #readinglist #bookchatopen.substack.comThe Memoir Land Author Questionnaire #156: Martha Barnette"If you have deep knowledge of a subject and want to share it widely, consider framing it within stories from your life." 031
Martha Barnette @marthabarnette.bsky.social · 11/11/2025Well, THAT’s a nice little bit of good news amid all the other mishegoss! Friends with Words made USA TODAY’s Best-Selling Booklist last week. Huzzah! 2132
Martha Barnette @marthabarnette.bsky.social · 30/10/2025Taking my own damn escalator ride! See y’all tonight in Lexington! 060
Martha Barnette @marthabarnette.bsky.social · 28/10/2025Word Nerdery alert: Come peep us at the South Burlington Library in VT tonight! 020
Martha Barnette @marthabarnette.bsky.social · 17/10/2025What a light, what a life. 💔nytimes.comSusan Stamberg, a Longtime Voice of NPR, Is Dead at 87 0102
Martha Barnette @marthabarnette.bsky.social · 13/10/2025Hey, book lovers in the South! I’ll be there this weekend, in conversation with @stefanfatsis.bsky.social to talk about his new book and mine. Join us! #friendswithwords 📚 051
Martha Barnette @marthabarnette.bsky.social · 25/09/2025I somehow missed “groksucker” until just now. 1114
Martha Barnette @marthabarnette.bsky.social · 23/09/2025theguardian.comDo you speak Sylheti? Tamajaght? Klingon? Inside the Festival for Endangered LanguagesEvery two weeks, a language is lost – and by the end of the century, half of the world’s 7,000 tongues could have vanished. We meet the artist using eyeliner and chokeberries to rescue everything from... 011
Martha Barnette @marthabarnette.bsky.social · 22/09/2025Looking forward to chatting with Spain’s largest English speaking talk radio station shortly! 010
Martha Barnette @marthabarnette.bsky.social · 19/09/2025My book makes this Arkansas library’s “Most Requested” list. Yay #libraries and #books! 📚👓hotsr.comAt the library | Hot Springs Sentinel RecordTop 5 requests 021
Martha Barnette @marthabarnette.bsky.social · 16/09/2025Super-fun interview on WORT-FM about my mom, playing the Pink Panther theme, how Ritalin was named, and my upcoming appearance in Madison, Wisconsin, on Oct. 26! www.wortfm.org/martha-barne...wortfm.orgMartha Barnette on Words, Teaching, and Her New Book - WORT-FM 89.9Martha Barnette joins the 8 O’Clock Buzz to discuss her new book Friends with Words, her radio show A Way with Words, and why language matters. 030
Martha Barnette @marthabarnette.bsky.social · 13/09/2025So much fun to chew the fat with y’all! 🙏🏼 020
Martha Barnette @marthabarnette.bsky.social · 04/09/2025I’m so looking forward to signing #FriendswithWords and meeting other book lovers at this festival next month! 030
Martha Barnette @marthabarnette.bsky.social · 04/09/2025Thanks, @npr, for choosing #FriendswithWords as your Book of the Day!npr.org‘Friends with Words’ is a book about language, from word origins to regional dialects : NPR's Book of the DayFor Martha Barnette, griping about grammatical pet peeves is one of the least interesting ways to talk about language. Instead, the co-host of the radio show “A Way with Words” says she’d rather think... 0111
Martha Barnette @marthabarnette.bsky.social · 26/08/2025Word of the Day: struthonian, or “Tending to ‘hide one’s head in the sand.”worldwidewords.orgStruthonianAn invention of the late Arthur Koestler, <em>Struthonian</em> is extremely rare but not quite defunct. 021
Martha Barnette @marthabarnette.bsky.social · 23/08/2025Come hang out with @grantbarrett.com and me tomorrow, 11:30 a.m, Main Stage. I’ll sign my new book afterwards! 📘 030
Martha Barnette @marthabarnette.bsky.social · 16/08/2025What a fun, uplifting night with the hosts of @dailybeanspod.com! @benitezzzz.bsky.social and I are still laughing … 0151
Reposted by Martha BarnetteMichael Erard @michaelerard.bsky.social · 11/08/2025How to find public radio stations in the US that need funding, now that public broadcasting funding has been stopped. adoptastation.orgadoptastation.orgAdopt A Station - Rescue Public MediaHelp preserve independent journalism and community programming across America by adopting a public media station. Congress has voted to rescind public media's funding. 01311
Martha Barnette @marthabarnette.bsky.social · 12/08/2025Where do you get yr audiobooks? Asking for a FRIENDS WITH WORDS, which drops today!😁(Didja know you can support indie bookstores by getting ‘em from Libro.fm?) 181
Martha Barnette @marthabarnette.bsky.social · 11/08/2025Oh, Michael. To have this kind of praise from a linguist and writer I admire so much—who wrote the book on polyglots, no less—leaves me . . . well, wordless. Seriously. Thank you so much! I’m bowled over. 063