Robert Darnton in the current New York Review of Books on the continuing importance of physical libraries and books:Information has never been stable. That may be a truism, but it bears pondering. It could serve as a corrective to the belief that the speedup in technological change has catapulted us into a new age, in which information has spun completely out of control. I would argue that the new information technology should force us to rethink the notion of information itself. It should not be understood as if it took the form of hard facts or nuggets of reality ready...
Book Thief on the Run
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/7417810.stm
10 Wacky How-To Books
The folks at Listanity have put together a list of the "The 10 Craziest How-To Books You Never Knew Existed." All are still in print and available.The list:How To Shit in the WoodsHow To Have Sex in the WoodsHow To Be PopeHow To Start your Own CountryHow to Be Happy Though MarriedHow to Rent a NegroHow To Lose Friends and Alienate PeopleHow To Become A SchizophrenicHow To Read a Book How to Speak with the DeadThere really is no limit to what you can learn though books.Thanks to Neatorama for the lead
The Future of Archives
I was recently asked to comment on the future of literary archives in an increasingly digital age. To which I noncommittally replied:I have trouble imagining an entirely electronic archive. I suspect that authors will continue to interact with the physical draft for some time. This will, however, increasingly and obviously be in conjunction with more and more electronic media (word processors, email, etc.), and this poses several problems. [...] My guess is that writers, dealers, and libraries will begin to work more closely with each other and at earlier points in authors’ careers to address these issues and ensure that...
A Bookcase-Sofa? Finally, a good reason to become a couch potato…
(the Oltre from Flexform)Pant. Drool. Swoon. Buy. [Via].