The rhetorical trope of irony is well-trod territory, with books and essays devoted to its use by a wide range of medieval and Renaissance writers, from the Beowulf-poet and Chaucer to Boccaccio and Shakespeare; however, the use of sarcasm, the "flesh tearing" form of irony, in the same literature has seldom been studied at length or in depth. Sarcasm is notoriously difficult to pick out in a written text, since it relies so much on tone of voice and context. This is the first book-length study of medieval and Renaissance sarcasm. Its fourteen essays treat instances in a range of genres, both sacred and secular, and of cultures from Anglo-Saxon to Arabic, where the combination of circumstance and word choice makes it absolutely clear that the speaker, whether a character or a narrator, is being sarcastic. Essays address, among other things, the clues writers give that sarcasm is at work, how it conforms to or deviates from contemporary rhetorical theories, what role it plays in building character or theme, and how sarcasm conforms to the Christian milieu of medieval Europe, and beyond to medieval Arabic literature. The collection thus illuminates a half-hidden but surprisingly common early literary technique for modern readers.

Social media was made to bring us together. But few things have driven us further apart. Sadly, many Christians are fueling online incivility. Others, exhausted by perpetual outrage and shame-filled from constant comparison, are leaving social media altogether. So, how should Christians behave in this digital age? Is there a better way? Daniel Darling believes we need an approach that applies biblical wisdom to our engagement with social media, an approach that neither retreats from modern technology nor ignores the harmful ways in which Christians often engage publicly. In short, he believes that we can and should use our online conversations for good.

Following on from his first book 'Painted Words' comes another collection of poetry and prose from Thomas Simunsen. This time including a few poems personally written for others and gratefully included here. Again the topics vary greatly.

Are You a Word Nerd? Did you know... Only a human (not an animal or thing) is "able" to do something The five on dice is called cinque "K" for strike-out in baseball comes from the last letter of "struck" To skice is to frisk about like squirrels in spring For word lovers everywhere, Word Nerd is a rich—and fun—compendium of more than 17,000 fascinating facts about words. Bestselling author Barbara Anne Kipfer has spent years compiling little known tidbits about common—and not so common—words in the English language. Filled with interesting information about words, sure to amaze and spark conversation, this incredible collection is perfect for the word nerd in each of us.