Why This One?Jump Into the Chatbox
Open 24/7 · No registration required
Our readers are the heart of Why This One? — and this is where we gather. Open to everyone, wherever you're reading from.
Back to Why This One?Now Reading
Let's Talk: The Professor and the Madman
Comments, questions, whatever comes to mind as you read. Drop in anytime, day or night.
Ask a Question, Prompt a Discussion, Add a Thought or Comment
lexicographer (lek-suh-KOG-ruh-fer) noun
A person who compiles dictionaries.
“A writer of dictionaries; a harmless drudge.” — Samuel Johnson, 1755
retronym (RET-ruh-nim) noun
A new name for an old thing, needed because something newer came along.
Landline phone. Acoustic guitar. Snail mail. Paper book.
What retronym have you lived through?
Or name a word you'd put in the dictionary today — how would you define it, and why does it belong?
Or simply reply as you wish — a thought, a question, wherever the reading takes you. There's no wrong way in.
The Book Club
Why This One: The Book Club for the Way We Live
A place to talk about the book club itself — how you found us, what brought you to the table, or simply to say hello.
Planning an informal meetup? Post it here — “Join me at ___ on ___” — and fellow readers can find you, whether it's a coffee shop, a park bench or a corner of the library.