This week on the bookish internet

• Arika Okrent explains why spelling is such a nightmare in English. (Aeon)
• Dan Sheehan looks back to a time when Olympic medals were awarded for literature and the arts. (LitHub)
• Clare Barnett takes a closer look at those groan-inducing, sometimes-chuckle-worthy cozy mystery book titles. (Book Riot)
• Hannah Gerson reminisces about summer days spent reading. (The Millions)
• Adults in France are shocked—shocked!—to learn that teenagers are spending their Culture Pass euros on books, movies, music, and games that they, the adults, don’t approve of. (New York Times)
• Molly Templeton gets delightfully philosophical about the dreaded question: “What’s your favorite book?” (Tor)