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Join NOW!The fight against Google’s digital library continues, and this time the effort has support from big-name authors like Margaret Atwood, Ursula K. Le Guin, Malcolm Gladwell, Peter Carey, and J. M. Coetzee. The case against Google making millions of books—many of them still under copyright protection—searchable online without paying for any licenses to do so goes […]
...moreOf course books don’t digitize themselves. Human hands have to individually scan the books, to open the covers and flip the pages. But when Google promotes its project—a database of “millions of books from libraries and publishers worldwide”—they put the technology, the search function and the expansive virtual library in the forefront. The laborers are […]
...moreThe Guardian pointed out Wednesday that every Life Magazine is now available at Google Books, and now, thanks to them, my week has been ruined. And now I’ve ruined yours! There is so much to find. The Guardian discovered this lovely diagram explaining the difference between high brow and low brow. Apparently, supporting Planned Parenthood […]
...moreAmericans think the most annoying expression ever is “whatever,” especially midwestern, Latino, non-college graduates under the age of 45 who make less than a hundred thousand a year. Yes, they really poll this stuff. (via) “Maybe one day we could make a bestseller without ever selling a book in a store. I think that’s our […]
...moreWelcome, my friends. I am Brian Spears, your host. Welcome to the Saturday Rumpus. (Look, you try coming up with something witty to start the day with every week, okay?) Here’s the latest on the Google Books deal. Short version: it’s being renegotiated. I don’t know what’s worse about this story: that Tennessee Vols basketball […]
...moreAfter reviewing the book blogs this week, I’ve decided that if I see the words “Dan Brown” ever again I’m going to punch myself in the eyes with a Da Vinci Code decoder ring. To save you some time, here’s what they have to say about him: He makes a lot of money. And he’s not […]
...moreCharles Bernstein tells us that the University of Alabama Press is having a recession sale on many of the titles in their Modern and Contemporary Poetics series. (Via Culture Industry) Peerscribe describes itself as a social network by writers, for writers. I haven’t had a chance to look at it in any depth yet, so […]
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