Short stories for the masses! French city introduces short story vending machine October 26, 2015 – Posted in: Books and Technology

The French city of Grenoble has recently unleashed eight short story dispensers across the city to help people with a little time on their hands stay away from their smartphone and have a little print experience. The dispensers are the brainchild of the the publisher Short Édition and the mayor of Grenoble, Eric Piolle and offer what Short Édition co-founder Christophe Sibieude says is “good quality popular literature to occupy these little unproductive moments.” The length…

Digital Treat: Thanks to Cambridge University we can now see inside the world’s first multicolored printed book August 10, 2015 – Posted in: book arts, Books and Technology, Illustration, Painting

The book is called Shi zhu zhai shu hua pu, ‘Manual of Calligraphy and Painting’ and was first published in 1633 in Nanjing. The book is comprised of eight categories – birds, plums, orchids, bamboos, fruit, stones, ink drawings (round fans) and miscellany – and is illustrated by 50 different artists and calligraphers. It is the earliest known example of multicolor printing in the world: printed by the technique of polychrome xylography known asdouban invented and perfected…

A university in the UK unveils what just might be the oldest known fragments of the Qur’an July 23, 2015 – Posted in: Books and Technology, Content, Libraries, Special Collections

Last November we reported that a German University had discovered what was then one of the earliest known copies of the Qur’an. The folks at the Coranica Project, part of the University of Tübingen, had placed a manuscript of the Qu’ran to between 649-675 AD. Now researchers at the University of Birmingham have unearthed a copy that according to radiocarbon testing was written on parchment that originated between 568-645 AD, making it easily one of the oldest known fragments. It is quite possible…

Teens vs. The Encyclopedia July 15, 2015 – Posted in: books, Books and Technology, Video

[youtube]https://youtu.be/X7aJ3xaDMuM[/youtube] Q: Are there any benefits to a physical encyclopedia compared to the internet or wikipedia? A: I’m pretty sure there is but no. Fine Brothers Entertainment produces a video series called REACT where they present participants with a topic and then discuss. The latest episode features a group of teens reacting to an encyclopedia. OMG, it’s both hysterical and terrifying at the same time.

For your viewing pleasure: Booklandia.TV, a new literary-focused Web channel from the University of Oregon July 10, 2015 – Posted in: Books and Technology, Content, Video

We noted there are food channels, sports channels and animal channels. However, we could not identify a book channel of any significance. Given the role of books in our culture, the idea made sense…Even people who don’t consider themselves avid readers recognize the influence of literature in their lives, from texts required in school to popular written works that make their way into film and television – faculty adviser Ed Madison Tough to argue with…

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