This week on the bookish internet

• James Geary writes in praise of puns, with a review of great puns of the past. (The Paris Review)
• Samantha Harvey explores something I love in literature: writing a story backwards. (LitHub) 
  • Time’s Arrow really is a great read, even though it’s incredibly unsettling. 
• Librarians have sorting competitions because of course we do. (Electric Literature)
• If you buy a Russian book now, there’s a chance any queer or LGBT+ themes have been scrubbed out. (Moby Lives)
• All about the fascinating practice of letter locking. (Open Culture)
• Struggling with reader’s block? Emily Petsko has some ideas for you. (mental_floss)
• Nara Monteiro has some serious thoughts about how J.K. Rowling’s wizarding world is incorporating the history of the Holocaust into the Fantastic Beasts series. (The Walrus)