Do Publishers Have the Upper Hand?
“With the impending arrival of digital books on the Apple iPad and feverish negotiations with Amazon.com over e-book prices, publishers have managed to take some control — at least temporarily…
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Rumpus Articles
The Takeo Takei Lab of Ornithology
Works by one of my favorite artists, Takeo Takei (1894-1982). These prints come from one of the jewels of my collection — a handmade artist book that a friend found…
Morning Coffee
Stephen Hawking: galactic tagger. The long-list for the weirdest titled books of 2009 award (has been announced). NYRB essay on the history of Facebook. The Scentisizer! Prophetic pictures from 1905…
Starting the New Year Off with a Bang
An Oral History of January 1, 1989: Circle Jerks Vs. Skinheads Greg Hetson (guitar, Circle Jerks/Bad Religion): Recently my daughter asked me if any skinheads ever came to Circle Jerks…
Rick’s Kindle
“Why is the Kindle my enemy, you ask? Because I mostly write books, and when the list price of my book is $27.95, I make 15% of list price if…
Notable San Francisco, This Week: 2/8-2/14
This week: Party with The Rumpus, learn about the future of newspapers according to the good people of McSweeney’s, celebrate the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s 20th birthday, and rock the Shabbat…
Kailyn McCord: The Last Book I Loved, The Ticking Is the Bomb
An old professor from college writes me and asks for my snail mail address. It isn’t such a strange request – we have developed a kind of friendship since I…
California Dreaming
Eric Puchner’s first novel exposes the faultlines and frustrations beneath the shining American dream.
The February Monthly Rumpus
The February Monthly Rumpus will be at The Make-Out Room tonight! Featuring authors Tony Dushane, Robin Ekiss, Ethan Watters, Kevin Sampsell, and Daniel Handler! Along with the hilarious DJ Real…
Lobbying for Loans
Desperate to save their businesses, the private companies who sell loans to college students have been heavily lobbying the government to keep subsidizing their loan programs. A bill that will…
Ted Wilson Reviews the World #22
JOHNNY TREMAIN’S HAND ★★★★★ (1 out of 5) Hello, and welcome to my week-by-week review of everything in the world. Today I am reviewing Johnny Tremain’s hand.