News began circulating last week that the Atlanta Journal-Constitution was eliminating the position of book editor and quite possibly its entire book review section. Coming close on the heels of the recent revamping of the LA Times book section is especially troubling. That's 2 of our country's top newspapers, which serve 2 of our most literate cities, reducing (or potentially eliminating) their book coverage significantly. Not a good sign.To combat this trend The National Book Critics Circle began circulating a petition to "Help Protect Atlanta's Book Review."In a show of solidarity Scott McLemee over at the blog Quick Study published...
The E-Book Takes Another Hit. Time For a Name Change?
The e-book has lost another round in it's epic battle to overtake its archenemy, the printed book.Computerworld has included the e-book on its list of "The 21 Biggest Technology Flops" of all time.This is their take:"The idea is attractive because, theoretically, e-book technology allows you to load many books and periodicals on a reasonably small handheld device, making it easier to travel with lots of reading matter. Also, e-books are easily searchable, another huge advantage over paper books.However, e-books are much in need of standardization. Specifically, the number of potential formats for e-books remains huge." Over 20 exist today.Much like...
Visuals
face of the hero, 1950. Harcourt Brace & Company.Jacket designed by S.K.A."First war novel to picture air combat from the enlisted men's point of view". There were accusations of plagiarism made regarding Joseph Heller's Catch-22. They were "both Air Force veterans from Russian-Jewish families in Brooklyn who served in Italy during the war. Both novels are set at the Mediterranean base of an American bomber squadron in World War II, the Times said. Each writer used the powerful and evocative image of a wounded soldier whose body is encased in a white cast."
An Award For the Green Books
The Santa Monica Public Library has broken the ice. In September 2007 they will award the first annual Green Prize for Sustainable Literature.The award will "commend authors, illustrators, and publishers who produce quality books for adults and young people that make significant contributions to, support the ideas of, and broaden public awareness of sustainability”.All books published in the United States during the 2006 calendar year are eligible.The deadline is April 30.Kudos to the City of Santa Monica and their library. The award deserves to be as prestigious and coveted as any existing literary award.To get warmed up for the award...
Becoming Part of the Book
Ko-Sin Printing of Tokyo has created a process for authors to "add a more personal touch to their printed works by using ink that includes their DNA"They hope the "process will appeal to autobiographers who want to add value to their work by including their DNA, or to people who wish to insert the DNA of beloved pets into printed materials".They have successfully printed some "self-published autobiographies whose title pages are printed with ink that includes the author’s DNA". Talk about a new high in vanity publishing.The DNA can also be extracted from the printed page. Try that with an...