Around the Word

Freelancer family fun: Just because you don't work in a cubicle doesn't mean your work life isn't still full of zany Dilbert-esque moments. Freelancing has its own set of head-to-desk frustrations, and Mashable directed us to a quirky cartoon game that captures the trials and tribulations of being your own boss. Styled like the Game of Life, the cartoon freelancer goes to work in his PJs, does his own taxes, pulls an all-nighter and eventually retires early after a successful career.

Logical commas: Just when you thought you had figured out your 10th grade English teacher's grammar lessons, Slate's Ben Yagoda makes the case for changing a particularly thorny punctuation rule. "Logical punctuation," that is, putting commas and periods outside of quotation marks, is standard practice in the U.K. and is gaining popularity on the Internet. Though professional editors aren't likely to change their ways anytime soon, Yagoda predicts that the fickle grammarians of the Internet are bound to make "logical punctuation" the digital norm.

Free to be you and "e": There may not be such a thing as a free lunch, but if you look hard enough, you can find free lit all over the Internet. Mediabistro has made things a bit easier by compiling a list of websites that offer free legal e-book downloads. Check it out and let us know if you find any free e-books that are worth reading.