Sometimes, the book blogs seem resigned to the idea that we’re entering some terrible dystopia, shaking their heads sadly as the businesspeople in charge douse the future in gasoline and dance around with a matchbook in their mouths. No longer. Today, the book blogs are accepting the future and figuring out what to do about it. Below the fold, Maud fights for NYC libraries, Catherynne M. Valente handles the future, the blogs talk up the Scribd, and the New Yorker tells grad students to learn to blog.
Maud Newton urges New Yorkers to contact their city council members to urge them to save the city’s libraries.
MOBYLIVES wonders if the Scribd might just save publishers and writers from the evils of Amazon and its Kindle (via Bookninja).
Helen DeWitt, whose novel The Last Samurai sold nearly 100,000 copies, uses her blog and web site for art and self-publication when no publishers will pick up her second book, which is cowritten by Ilya Gridnef. The London Review of Books stills covers it, partially because of its nonstandard format. (via Bookslut)
Catherynne M. Valente talks about the future of short fiction at Bookslut: “The question is only who will make money from the new model, who will protect authors, how will readers sift through a nearly infinite supply of text? How will it actually work?”
The Book Bench discusses the future of blogging in academia, including the idea that blogging might even be considered in the endless quest for tenure.
In other news, The Millions writes an open letter to Kanye, Akashic has a new Portland noir book, and Jacket Copy wonders how many books is too many.
