Friday October 23, 2009 at 7:48
augmented books
I tweeted a while back my sense that I should post something about this conversation about e-books and the future of reading, but all I have time for right now is a quote from David Gelernter’s…
Thursday October 22, 2009 at 15:14
the way it was
Last Tuesday evening I attended a lecture by Walter Hooper, the long-time prime custodian of C. S. Lewis’s literary estate. He was narrating the history of his involvement with Lewis’s writings,…
Thursday October 22, 2009 at 8:52
Ulysses Seen
James Joyce’s Ulysses is a great, great book — not a simple book, not a flawless book, not a book without pathologies, but a truly great book. It is one of my real privileges to be able to teach it…
Wednesday October 21, 2009 at 12:04
don't confuse me with the facts
Tyler Cowen in the Wilson Quarterly:
Many critics charge that multitasking makes us less efficient. Researchers say that periodically checking your e-mail lowers your cognitive performance level…
Wednesday October 21, 2009 at 12:04
forgotten, remembered
The notion of a “forgotten literary treasure” is a complicated one. No such book is forgotten by everyone, so when we say that a forgotten book shold be remembered, what we really mean is that,…
Wednesday October 21, 2009 at 8:39
three definitions of "reader"
From a working library:
The first definition is the most familiar: one who reads, or one who is fond of reading. A young girl tucked under a tree with a book in hand; an old man waiting for the…
Tuesday October 20, 2009 at 8:10
Monday October 19, 2009 at 15:42
post-modern Lego stew
In the world of Legos, what I did discover is that my kids were taking these beautiful, gorgeous, incredibly restrictive predetermined Legos Star Wars play sets — and yeah,…
Monday October 19, 2009 at 9:21
Monday October 19, 2009 at 7:33
"a journey through my own library"
From Susan Hill’s new book Howards End Is On the Landing:
It began like this. I went to the shelves on the landing to look for a book I knew was there. It was not. But plenty of others were and…
Friday October 16, 2009 at 15:50
minding the myth-kitty
In response to my recent post on the decline and fall of myth, I got a fascinating email from Matt Sterenberg, a historian currently teaching at Northwestern University. With his permission I’m…
Friday October 16, 2009 at 10:47
Friday October 16, 2009 at 7:22
snippets and excerpts
I stick by my last word on the Google Books Settlement, but I just want to acknowledge this really smart point by Erick Schonfeld:
But Google is not digitizing these books so it can sell…
Thursday October 15, 2009 at 9:05
asynchrony, how I love you
Okay, so, long post here. Stop tweeting and pay attention. Jessica Vascellaro has an essay in the WSJ in which she says,
Email has had a good run as king of communications. But its reign is…
Wednesday October 14, 2009 at 17:14
Pedantic Park
My review of Anthony Grafton’s book on the Republic of Letters, Worlds Made of Words: Scholarship and Community in the Modern West, is up at the First Things website. Excerpt:
Grafton…
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