blog.rightreading.com

“Every separation is a link.” — Simone Weil

• Star musicians’ backstage food requests : What makes it cool are the photos in a Flemish Baroque style
• Niall Ferguson apologizes : Will people finally pick up on what a dope this guy is?
• The Buddha said, first drafts are suffering : No wait, it was John McFee
• Facebooks : No, really: face books
• Bad Land : Examing the American culture of violence
• Heracleion : Photographing the latest sunken city discovery
• 60 thoughts about turning 60 : There are even a few I agree with
• Landscape with Yellow Birds : A nice review

“Every separation is a link” — Simone Weil

• Blood and tragedy: The Caucasus in the literary imagination : Why Tolstoy is “the most revered Russian writer in Chechnya”
• Chechnya’s favorite Russian : More on Tolstoy and Chechnya
• The Chechen grievance: Tolstoy’s “Hadji Murad” after Boston : And still more
• L’origine médiévale de l’hyperlien, des pointeurs et des smileys : The medieval origins of emoticons (in French)
• “Anyone can create an e-book” : An interview with Michael Hart, said to have created the e-book in 1971
• Is Michael Pollan a sexist pig? : Emily Matchar of Salon.com wants to “smack Pollan … upside the head with a spatula”
• Most people won’t friend a boss on facebook : Let’s all unfriend our bosses!
• When Google lost its cool : Was it just this spring?

Duly Quoted

• “What happened when a ship carrying red paint collided with a ship carrying blue paint? Both crews were marooned.” — Chris Cobb
• “Letters do love one another. However, due to their anatomical differences, some letters have a hard time achieving intimacy.” — Ellen Lupton in The Designer Says
  

“Every separation is a link.” — Simone Weil

• The rise of paywalls : Information wants to be free. Unfortunately, free doesn’t pay the bills
• News Corp spinning off its publishing arm : That $2.56 billion bankroll should help
• The paradox that is Emil Orlik : From The Blue Lantern, one of my favorite art blogs
• An awesomely bad contract from a Random affiliate : No advance, cede all rights for term of copyright, receive a single copy — self-publishing never looked better
• Ten grammar myths “debunked“ : If simply saying they’re wrong is the same as debunking. Sorry, I still don’t like “The reason is because”
• Do we need more readers? : Madam Mayo weighs in
• New art magazine Mothproof : Edited by Ellen Christensen, issue one is now on press. Time to begin issue two!
• And don’t forget Catamaran : Issue 2, now out, features the usual mix of cool art and writing, including new work by Gary Snyder

February 22: After nine months, Friday Roundup returns.

“Every separation is a link.” — Simone Weil

• A dictionary of despicable words : Arguably a fine Flaubertian list of des mot injustes
• Bookstores as showrooms : Should there be a cover charge?
• Excising adverbs : How good an idea is this classic advice for writers?
• Bring back the illustrated book : Picture that
• Sadakichi Hartmann dancing : The King of Bohemia is my current research project
• Atlas Blaeu-Van der Hem : 17th-century cartographic prints suitable for the next edition of 1616
• The boredom of boozeless business : Does drinking at work make you more creative?
• Ulysses in pie chart form : From those cut-ups at Publishers Weekly
• Giclee prints : They’re art if I say so
• Shooting range : Add this to places not to store your your ammo

“Write in recollection and amazement for yourself.” — Jack Kerouac
(resurrecting a few old posts, because it’s been so long)

• A glossary of book publishing terms : What your publisher is really saying
• Some helpful books about writing : Any we missed?
• How to get a book published : The Old School method
• The plight of independent book publishing : About the toughest business there is
• Gutenburg and the Koreans : Did Europeans reverse engineer Asian printing technology?
• Motoring Amalfi : Such fun

“Every separation is a link.” — Simone Weil

Lots of questions today:

• Can bookstores compete by combining traditional strengths with innovations? : Is the answer really as easy as Espresso Book Machines?
• Does reading fiction make you more empathetic? : An Ohio State study finds readers can be more sympathetic to others who are different from themselves
• Is most human discourse plagiarism? : Let’s ask Mark Twain
• What would happen if Maurice Sendakcollaborated with Tony Kushner? : Might some prints remain to be published?
• What did Jorge Luis Borges sound like when he lectured? : This fellow had a lot to say
• What is the future of book publishing? : “The bottom line is it’s a mess and everybody’s worried.”

Duly quoted (Mother’s Day weekend edition):

• “Whatever else is unsure in this stinking dunghill of a world a mother’s love is not.”  – James Joyce
• “Mothers are all slightly insane.” — J.D. Salinger
• “I believe that always, or almost always, in all childhoods and in all the lives that follow them, the mother represents madness. Our mothers always remain the strangest, craziest people we’ve ever met.” – Marguerite Duras
• “David Stern should get with the mothers of the NBA and let the moms decide what the dress code should be. I asked my mother if I could wear a chain, and she told me yeah.” – Shaquille O’Neal

“Every separation is a link.” — Simone Weil

• Top five regrets of the dying : “Wish I’d spent more time at the office” not on the list
• Supermoon tomorrow : it’s a big ‘un
• Have book publishers lost the war? : Let’s ask Eoin Purcell
• Launching a successful blog tour : One author’s experience
• Should you check your e-mail now? : Probably not.

Duly Quoted

• “I think many men are much more familiar with the failed policies than a lot of other people, as well as the general public.”
  – Herman Cain, explaining the political gender gap

“Every separation is a link.” — Simone Weil

• Marilyn Monroe : As refuge from the storm
• The Shakespeare Shakedown : Simon Schama on Roland Emmerich’s “inadvertently comic” film
• Hollywood disses the bard : James Shapiro: “Why anyone is drawn to de Vere’s cause is the real mystery”
• How We Know That Shakespeare Wrote Shakespeare : The evidence is overwhelming

“Every separation is a link.” — Simone Weil

• A look at the truthiness of presidential candidates : Whose pants are on fire? The answer won’t surprise anyone.
• A Bill of Rights for writers : Let’s rethink that e-book split

“Every separation is a link.” — Simone Weil

• Finding time : Anne Lamott argues it’s precious
• No Publisher Needed? : Author raises $16K advance for himself in one week
• Vladimir Putin : Man of action
• Star Trek character or erectile dysfunction pill? : I scored 70 percent (despite not knowing a single one)
• Disappearing ink : Transforming the book industry

“Every separation is a link.” — Simone Weil

• Is President Obama a Lost Cause Environmentally? : It’s looking that way.
• Rocking the classics : On tee shirts

Every separation is a link. — Simone Weil

• What killed American lit.? : Was it “non-heteronormativity”?
• Novelist has whole shitty world plotted out : Is this nice?
• Most-wanted out-of-print books, fall 2011 : Most people are looking for used Sex
• France discovers blurbs : Mais sur les bandeaux non plus,  bien sur
• Rethinking the Modern : Because sometimes you have to shake up the galleries
  
• The Art of Rejection : “What if I had given up at 15? Or 40? Or even 60?”

“Every separation is a link” — Simone Weil

• Google+ and SEO : “one step further to understanding the Internet not as centered around content, but around relationships”
• Google+ fervor may be making Facebook nervous : G+ could have as much as 1 percent of FB’s users
• Test Your Vocabulary : For science!
• What’s a good password? : This is interesting
• Quick guide to typography : not bad

“Every separation is a link.” — Simone Weil

Duly Quoted

• “All profound distraction opens certain doors. You have to allow yourself to be distracted when you are unable to concentrate.” — Julio Cortázar, Around the Day in Eighty Worlds

On this date, 27 August …

“Every separation is a link.” — Simone Weil

• How to survive as a small publisher : The case of Dedalus Books
• Has Amazon reached a tipping point? : Good post on Amazon, e-readers, and the future of books
• A polaroid a day : For eighteen years
• Authors’ favorite indie bookstores : in NYC
• My new publisher’s website : Counterpoint Press

Duly quoted

• “His ceiling is through the roof.” — NBA player Keyon Dooling on top draft pick John Wall

“Honour commercio’s energy yet aid the linkless proud, the plurable with everybody.” — Finnegans Wake

• Stanford ushers in the age of bookless libraries : Studentless universities soon to follow
• Ten of the best caves in literature : In case you were wondering
• E-books causing publishers to play it safe : Fewer opportunities for new writers
• Author blurbs mostly crap : Breaking news?

Duly quoted

• “It’s not about sharing. You know, it’s about everybody having they own spotlight.” — LeBron James

Incoming

• It’s links that make the web the web : Thanks for linking in

“Every separation is a link.” — Simone Weil

“Every separation is a link.” — Simone Weil

• Writing a best-selling book : With advice like “Remember it is best selling book, not best written,” how can you lose, right?
• Hate for the Kindle : Don’t let these guys near your e-reader
• Are links dead? : Follow this link
• Mardi Gras Designs : From 1873 and 1910
• Chinese writer Mian Mian sues Google : For scanning and posting her book
• A guide to non-Western writing systems : Just some highlights, but still nicely done
• Louise Bourgeois dies : But since I’ve been researching the early 17th century for a new book I can’t help thinking not of the sculptor but of the famous French midwife of the same name
• Gates of Hell are now open for business : In Guatemala, where else?

“Every separation is a link.” — Simone Weil

• Why does Michiko Kakutani hate fiction? : Almost as much as Edward Champion?
• Waiting for a Ride : Gary brought down the house with this on Thursday
• Which illegal drug is best for the environment? : Hint: it’s not petroleum based
• Shakespeare’s “stylometrics” : Who was this guy anyway?
• 100 most often misspelled words : They’re just differently alphabeticized
• Career transitioning : Tips from Dan Blank
• Steve Jobs Email Reply Generator : The answer is no
• Double vision : From the NYer’s Book Bench
• Are artists losing ground with the rise of curators? : I don’t think we need to worry

“Every separation is a link.” — Simone Weil

• Wildlife Incursions into Modern Cover Design : A pesky assignment
• On Rejection : It happens
• 2009 book sales figures are in : Growth in the e-book and Dan Brown sectors, most others down
• 200 Rabbit Holes : A big Alice collection
• Beatniks in film : A selection of videos, from Farfalla Press
• Another 2012 crisis : Predicting a crash in book publishing