People have started to think and write in 140 characters, and we begin to see great and exclusive sentences, good words and thoughts spread by writers, politicians and personalities on Twitter.

FORBES: Why Twitter Should Be the New Wikipedia

In the mold of Rushdie, Ghosh (The Circle of Reason), Sealy (The Trotter-Nama) and Tharoor (The Great Indian Novel) tried to write capacious first novels, overbrimming with characters, conceits, puns and magical happenings.

CNN: The New Masters

Hamer, who also helped write the script, brings a dozen characters to boisterous life, including a sax player with wandering eyes (Sydney Tafler), his super-slick brother (John Slater), who owns an amusement arcade and fixes local fights, an unholy trio of small-time thieves, an infuriatingly self-important fence, an intrepid police inspector, and an irrepressible reporter.

NEWYORKER: It Always Rains on Sunday

Now it was time to write a critique of the film Space Jam, starring Michael Jordan and a cast of cartoon characters.

BBC: Bringing on the brightest

Ask your hotel concierge to write down addresses for taxi drivers, and remember to take a hotel card with the address in Chinese characters for the return trip.

ECONOMIST: Business travel