Posts by author
Lisa Dusenbery
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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 and Amazon, and the impact of new formats on readers/authors/publishers.…
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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 your brain’s way of stress-testing your attention span under a…
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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 imagination and engagement.” To hear a demo you can check…
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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 link that geologists observe between fracking—specifically the step where waste…
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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 focus has moved from the purely “funny, funky or silly,”…
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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 have existed.” Focusing on recent poetry by Susan Howe, Gertrude…
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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 a six-figure deal. The Wall Street Journal examines Morgenstern’s role…
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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 much to do with the story as a stale loaf…
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“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 even Ceasar’s decision to march on Rome. Decision fatigue can…
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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 Innovative Partnerships Program (IPP) Office will host a select group…
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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 phone, but less by email and IM. Factors that encourage…
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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 the 17th century children younger than 14 were deemed unreliable…