We know that on a dark stormy night in 1816 Lord Byron read some ghost stories to his guests and then asked them to write their own version. Mary Shelley was one of those guests and that is when and where the gothic masterpiece Frankenstein was born. In her introduction to the Third Edition of the book Shelly says: When I placed my head upon the my pillow, I did not sleep, nor could I be said to think...I saw--with shut eyes, but acute mental vision--I saw the pale student of unhallowed arts kneeling beside the thing he had put...
Did I Write That?
Here is a good one.What do these people have in common :Dick Cheney's wifeBarbara WaltersDan 'Divinci Code ' BrownFormer NJ Governor Jim McGreeveyLewis Scooter Libbyand Bill O'ReillyHmm. How about they all have published a book earlier in their career that they would probably do anything to make disappear but "thanks to the Web, literary fiascos may never again slip softly into the safety of oblivion. "Out of print" no longer means not available".Claire Zulkey exposes these 'literary tragedies' in her amusing piece for Radar.com "Read in the Face: From Barbara Walters to Dan Brown, the embarrassing books they wish we'd...
Threats Close One Bookstore Customs Threaten Another
Prairie Lights Bookstore, located in Iowa City, needed to close it doors early on Tuesday night after the store received both threatening phone calls and letters in response to an event scheduled to take place that evening. The event was a reading by Krista Jacob, the editor of the recently released book Abortion Under Attack: Women on the Challenges Facing Choice. The book is a collection of essays by a number of feminist writers that explores the impact of race, economics and culture on women's reproduction rights and women's attitudes toward abortion."This bookseller doesn't understand the impact of this [decision]....
The Grolier Club: An Early American Book Club
The Grolier Club is arguably the most famous book club in our country.Founded in 1884 by book lovers for "the literary study and promotion of the arts pertaining to the production of the book." The club got its name from Jean Grolier de Servières, a bibliophile of the highest order who lived during the Renaissance.The Grolier Club's history is rich. It has always exhibited books from the finest collections and has published over 200 books and exhibition catalogs each produced by the finest bookmakers and typographers of the day. It's renowned library contains almost 100,000 books.The other major contribution from...
The Limit of Wikipedia
Make no mistake Wikipedia is a tremendous digital asset to our culture. It is a breath of open access in an increasingly restrictive society. Its born of the seeds of true democracy and freedom of expression. I have referenced information found there many times in my blog posts.Unfortunately, open access has an Achilles heel. The very openness that makes Wikipedia possible is also the thorn which will keep it from becoming the dictionary of the 21st Century.There is an article at Inside Higher Ed entitled "A Stand Against Wikipedia" which addresses the challenge facing academia. It talks about the history...