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 of the story can be catered to the amount of time you got to kill, from 1-5 minutes, and best of all it's all free!...
For the love of the library
Jason LaMotte was very fond of his neighborhood library in Houston, Texas. As LaMotte tells the Guardian: I have strong recollections of my neighborhood library in Houston, Texas in the US. I can recall the layout, where certain sections of books were, the smells, and the sounds. And it still carries a magical feeling for me, this special kind of sanctuary full of knowledge, full of stories, all covered in a sense of quiet respect and revery. After a successful Kickstarter campaign, LaMotte went to work and the result is beautiful homage to the power of the library. Here's a...
The Science Cafe & Library by Anna Wigandt
Here's a great way to attract people to the wonders of science - build a beautiful cafe and library designed to foster the study and exploration of the sciences. Unfortunately, the odds are most of us will never get a chance to experience this amazing interior designed by Anna Wigandt. You see, the Science Cafe & Library is located in Chişinău, Moldova! The intent was to appeal less to the chaotic and emotional experience of a typical cafe, and more to the rational and refined vibe of a library, while maintaining the accessibility and interactiveness of a public space One...
The latest from Google: An interactive art installation that turns your words into poetry
Talk about enhancing a construction project. Google has unveiled Poetrics, an interactive art installation at the future site of their new offices in the Kings Cross neighborhood of London. Poetrics is the result of a competition run in partnership with University of the Arts London’s Central Saint Martins to create an “interactive experience for the Kings Cross community”. The installation utilizes Google's voice search technology and the Google Speech platform and features 17 LED panels that display the words spoken into various microphones placed around the building site as randomly created poetry. “We saw Poetrics as an opportunity for people to have a collective and meaningful...
Tea Time! New Kickstarter campaign blends classic lit with quality tea
Under the moniker NovelTea Tins John Pujol and Matt Kraemer have launched a Kickstarter campaign to produce a line of organic teas emanating from classic literature. NovelTea Tins has partnered with world class tea aficionados to pair the classics with award winning, organic teas. They also have enlisted the services of Iuliia Glushchuk and Dietrich Kleffel to illustrate the tins. They have two tins ready for production, The Picture of Earl Grey and Don Quixotea, with Tolstoy's War and Peach in the bullpen almost ready to go. Here's how they work: First, we pick major themes from a novel. Next we lay out the...