Ron Rosenbaum: “But it’s begun to seem like she’s now assumed the role of the designated highbrow writer for light readers. It’s not that she’s overrated. It’s that she’s in dire jeopardy of being overhyped – and dumbed down in the process.”
Category: publishing
‘A Brittle Little Dominatrix And Peerless Narcissist’: 2013 Hatchet Job Of The Year
“Camilla Long’s comprehensive shredding of Rachel Cusk’s memoir of her divorce, Aftermath, has won her the Hatchet Job of the Year award for the best worst review of the last 12 months.”
The English Language’s Great 20th-Century Love Poet Is The Man Who Wrote I, Claudius
“Of course, the competition among love poets was a bit sparse in the twentieth century … You could print the ‘Collected Love Lyrics of Marianne Moore’ on a sheet the size of your average parking ticket.” Yet Robert Graves left some extraordinary examples of the genre.
In The Age Of The Internet And Tablets, Why Do We Need Libraries?
Libraries “have been around too long” and are “no longer relevant”, according to Horrible Histories author Terry Deary, an apparently lone literary voice to believe that libraries have “had their day”.
British Library Digitizes Leonardo Notebooks (Check Them Out)
“The British Library in London has fully digitised its Leonardo manuscript, enabling everyone to freely explore this precious document on a computer screen – at home, in a cafe, wherever.”
Amazon’s Hold On Book Sales Grows
“Amazon’s share of all unit book sales rose to 27% at the end of September 2012 from 21% during the previous year, while the share of e-bookstores and digital audio sites jumped from 1% to 6%.”
Macmillan Is Last Publisher To Settle E-Book Price-Fixing Case
“The U.S. Department of Justice has reached a settlement with Macmillan in an antitrust case related to e-book pricing, leaving only Apple to battle the suit.”
NY Review Of Books – Good Writing, Even In Its Personal Ads
For example: “FANNIE MAE with troubled assets, bored with Freddie Mac, seeks well-regulated stimulus package from counterparty too big to fail. No cash for clunkers.”
If You’re A Print Publisher, You Might Want To Move To India
“Experts say the millennia-old tradition of written texts, conservative Indian mindsets, vigorous event-based promotions of the reading culture, the sudden spurt in national and state-level literature festivals and competitive pricing are keeping the industry on the move, drawing new segments of readers.”
Shakespeare – And Sendak
Are the Wild Things in the Forest of Arden – or perhaps on Prospero’s island?