LA Review of Books: An Appreciation for James Hillman (1926-2011).
“The soul sees by means of affliction … the wound and the eye are one and the same.” I have to admit, shamefacedly, that I missed the announcement of James Hillman’s demise on October of last year. A great man. The NY Times did him a disservice by prominently linking him to the Bly/Men’s movement. Hillman was so much more than that. His books got me through some rough patches with grace and style, linking today’s modernity to Greek myth (myth being a continuing thread in my life). I had the opportunity to meet and thank him in person here in Santa Fe. I will cherish that memory. Rest in peace, James.
Salon: Can bells and whistles save the book?
“What matters is not the story on the page — or the screen — but the story in your head. Interactive baubles pull a reader’s attention back to the screen, serving as a reminder of the thing you want to go on forgetting: the fact that all of this is just made up, words on a page. Some enhanced e-book publishers have cottoned onto this problem and as a result they’ve moved away from inserting video or clickable illustrations into their books, and in new directions.” And yet ... the newer generations absorb information and ‘story’ in fundamentally different ways, don’t they? They live with multitasking and distraction and construct coherent narratives. I like this article, but can’t completely buy into it.
Flavorwire: The 20 Most Beautiful Bookstores in the World.
Salon: Stories don’t need morals or messages.
“The weakness of this approach to fiction should be obvious: If what you really want is a set of fortifying maxims, why bother with stories about feckless romances or foolish kings? Why not just go straight to the self-help section — the secular equivalent of the sermon — as so many American readers already do?” As a character in John Fowles The Magus expresses (and I paraphrase), why sit through a couple of hundred pages of dreck for one threadbare moral? Why not read autobiographies instead and find out how real people accomplished great things?
It’s a question I ask myself over and over and over again.
Jan Avendano: Phantom Tollbooth Infographics.
Interesting use of infographics.
Discover: Ebooks - More Boon to Literacy Than Threat to Democracy.
Another opinion countering Franzen’s interview of a day or so ago.
Guardian.UK: Carol Ann Duffy is ‘wrong’ about poetry, says Geoffrey Hill.
“What Professor Duffy desires to do I believe – and if so it is a most laudable ambition – is to humanise the linguistic semantic detritus of our particular phase of oligarchical consumerism. And for the common good she is willing to have quoted by the Guardian interviewer several lines from a poem by herself that could easily be mistaken for a first effort by one of the young people she wishes to encourage.” Ouch. One has to admire an eloquent takedown.
The Millions: Seven Reasons to Read A Dance to the Music of Time.
technology review: One eBook Platform to Rule Them All.
Signed up ages ago, I think I’ve received two emails. Perhaps they’re more prepared now.
Pew Research: Tablet and Ebook sales over the holidays.
Tablet and E-Book users almost double.
ArtDaily: Edgar Allan Poe fans call an end to ‘Toaster’ tradition.
Alas. Then again, the mystery made it beautiful. I hope it remains a mystery.
Macworld: Ebook library borrowing hits record pace.
“… some publishers still won’t provide borrowing licenses to libraries for new ebook titles.” This is a huge problem at smaller libraries. They get access to *one* copy of a new ebook title, whereas they can get a dozen or more print versions. Getting on an ebook waiting list is a joke, oftentimes.
Macworld: Holding out for an ePub hero.
Interesting overview. Never heard of Sigil before.
RWW: Why Apple, Why Does it Have to Be Like This? The Cold Cynicism of the iBook EULA.
“What a terrible thing to do to a book; to brand it forever constrained for sale by a single vendor only.” Well, that puts a distinct damper on my excitement over the announcement.
WSJ: A Midnight Dreary for Those Who Seek Tell-Tale Signs of Poe’s Elusive ‘Toaster’.
“It’s like saying, ‘There’s no Santa Claus,’ and suddenly seeing the sled go across the sky” ...
Why I Really Like This Book.
Site of interest for fellow readers.
The Guardian.UK: Ian Rankin wants tax incentives to help new authors.
Given Britain’s economic woes, I suspect it will fall flat.
The Atlantic: Average Kindle Book 6 Times More Expensive Than Self-Published Titles.
“In 2010 there were zero self-published titles among Amazon’s top 100 bestselling books. In 2011 there were 18. What is drawing customers to these books in such large numbers, many of which are from new authors? Price, says a new report ...” I suspect a section of the market just wants a lot o’ good-lookin’ covers in their book reading app.
Speaking of which. Nosing around on someone else’s tablet or smartphone currently has the cachet of snooping in a medicine cabinet while visiting a friend. Noone admits doing it, but everyone does it. I hand mine over to a client or friend to show a particular item, that interest lasts for 15-30 seconds and then the snooping starts. Seems to be as natural as breathing for just about everyone. I’m going to squirrel away some real doozies on mine, just to scare the hell out of snoopers.
The Bookseller: The lovely hardback.
Everything old is new again? Reminds me. How about this:
Nieman Journalism Lab: Simplifying publishing could mean a flood of new content.
I’ve discussed the idea of a Hypercard for book publishing, but I doubt we’ll see a program with HC’s sheer Swiss-Army-Knife practicality. As with web design and development, there are forces that want the publishing process to be complex. All the new ebook formats are circling around HTML5 and CSS3. This will bring print software closer to web development IDEs. How simple is HTML5 and CSS3? *cough* Sure, there may be a half-dozen ‘simple’ e-book apps ... but their features will be limited, and the path to more complex authoring will be well-trodden. So, want a *decent* ebook published? Expect to pull out your wallet.
GigaOm: Why e-books will be much bigger than you can imagine.
“Here’s a secret: Most authors can tell you all you need to know about a subject in 50 pages. The reason that many instructional books in bookstores are 300+ pages is so they look impressive and thick.” And another point, social marketing is more effective than print advertising. I’d say that observation is terribly contextual. Certain products will thrive on the social interwebs, others are just not suited for that kind of ‘talking up.’
Guardian.UK: YA novel readers clash with publishing establishment .
Big Think: This is Your Brain on Shakespeare.
“You can often tell what someone is going to say before they finish their sentence. [snip] This represents a gradual deadening of the brain.” Powerpoint users, take particular note.
Vimeo: A climbing harness to reach your books?
Meh. I would make thicker shelves and screw climbing handholds on them. Might as well get a workout on the way. Faster, too.
Salon: Resolved - Kick the Amazon habit in 2012.
Somehow, I don’t necessarily see the benefit of switching from Amazon to Google.
