Books to The Future
This Guardian piece challenges the notion that books are doomed, breaking down the “actual state of book publishing in Britain.” Separating anecdote from data, the piece is all about E-books…
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Lisa Dusenbery
888 posts
Lisa Dusenbery is the former managing editor of The Rumpus.
Obscure Sorrows
Do you have this? “Ecidivism: n. the habit of closing a browser tab to go do something else, only to absentmindedly return to the website you just left, which is…
Soundtracks for Books
Booktrack, a New York start-up, is weaving noises and music into e-books. According to their website, the idea behind synchronizing soundtracks to existing e-books, is to “dramatically boost the reader’s…
On Fracking and Earthquakes
“The occurrence of yet another freak earthquake in an unusual location is leading many anti-fracking activists…to wonder whether ‘fracking’ in nearby West Virginia may be responsible.” This article discusses the…
Invention-Cartooning
This Atlantic article explores the “alternate realities” imagined by one Steven M. Johnson. The “inventor-cartoonist” has had many transformations since his design-beginnings back in the 1970s. Over the years his…
Women and Elegy
“In earlier times, when a woman’s response to the death of a beloved may have been limited to suicide, euphemism or enforced silence, these shaped works of art would not…
From NaNoWriMo To 6-Figure Advance
Erin Morgenstern’s novel, The Night Circus, will debut in September. Beginning as manuscript for National Novel Writing Month in 2005, and subsequently rejected by 30 agents, the novel has won…
Golden Gate Covers
“Pick up a random copy of a novel set in San Francisco, and there’s a good chance the book’s cover will feature the bridge – even if it has as…
“Decision Fatigue”
The exhaustion of decision-making is now scientifically validated. This essay looks at how decision fatigue, or “ego depletion,” manifests, in examining settings such as the courtroom, the grocery store, and…
Novelists and NASA
The publisher Tor/Forge and NASA will collaborate on the creation of “science-based science fiction.” The budding relationship will allow writers to consult scientists about the facts behind their stories. “GSFC’s…
Talking, Lying Heads
Certain technological mediums seem to encourage lying, and—according to this article— “may make it easier for talking heads to lie.” Researchers have found that—compared to in-person interactions—people lie more by…
Child Witnesses
“Today children of any age can be called to give evidence as their competence depends upon their understanding not their age.” But that has not always been the case; before…