America’s Public Libraries Reflect the Systematic Failures and Social Inequality of Our Country

Growing up, the library was not just Amanda Oliver’s favorite place but also her “first beloved destination, first embodied center… it was absolutely sacred.” However, soon after Oliver began her career as a librarian at a Title I school and then in the D.C. public library system, she witnessed how systemic racism, income inequality, the […] The post America’s Public Libraries Reflect the Systematic Failures and Social Inequality of Our Country appeared first on Electric Literature. Continue reading at 'Electric Literature'

[ Electric Literature | 2023-01-05 12:00:00 UTC ]

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How to Write About Kink Without Going Full “Fifty Shades”

It is hard to talk about sex and literature without making some sort of Fifty Shades of Grey reference. But where Fifty Shades shows a caricature of S&M, the new anthology Kink is a celebration of the range of human desires. From the power of control and the titillation of voyeurism, this... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-02-12 12:00:00 UTC ]
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ACE makes £152,000 grant for library e-books and audio

Arts Council England (ACE) is awarding £152,000 to help public libraries buy e-books and digital audio products after demand soared during the pandemic. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-21 11:35:36 UTC ]
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Virtual library 'a wake up call' for sector over promised national website

The free provision of e-books for children by Oak National Academy has been branded a "wake up call" for a sector still awaiting its long-discussed shared website for all public libraries. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-21 04:54:52 UTC ]
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A New Graphic Novel Shows the History of the Black Panther Party

David F. Walker and Marcus Kwame Anderson’s graphic novel The Black Panther Party may be the first introduction to the revolutionary party for some. For others, it will provide additional context to the history. The graphic novel spans from the founding of the party by Huey P. Newton and Bobby... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-01-19 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Let Us Be Negative Role Models for Each Other

For me, reading Torrey Peters’ debut novel Detransition, Baby is akin to listening to your favorite hometown band headlining their first stadium concert. You end up marveling over how experiences you thought you knew well are rendered in utterly unexpected ways, and realize how patterns from... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-01-15 12:00:00 UTC ]
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BiblioBoard, PW’s BookLife Launch New Library E-book Program for Self-Published Authors

BookLife Elite will offer public libraries access to a curated collection of unlimited, simultaneous-use indie e-books, meaning library readers can access the books instantly—no holds lists. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-01-13 05:00:00 UTC ]
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There Are as Many Americas as There Are Pedros

“The world will come between you,” writes Marcos Gonsalez in the prologue of his memoir Pedro’s Theory: Reimagining the Promised Land. The you here refers to both the author and his father, an immigrant from Mexico, captured in a photograph from the author’s childhood. “Hundreds of years of... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-01-12 12:00:00 UTC ]
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My Life Is a Result of the Legacy of Colonialism

I first read Nadia Owusu’s debut memoir Aftershocks in June, as the United States—led by the white nationalist backed Republican administration—was several months into a still ongoing unchecked global pandemic which was disproportionately killing Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous Americans.... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-01-11 12:00:00 UTC ]
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The Unexpected Joys of Little Free Libraries

You can still borrow books for free even when public libraries are closed, though each personal collection has its own character. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-01-08 17:38:20 UTC ]
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7 Contemporary Novels About the Victorian Era

It’s a truism that historical fiction reveals more about its own age it than the one it portrays. We can’t escape or even perceive our own biases, the reasoning goes, so we end up helplessly projecting them onto a past where they don’t belong. But the past is not a museum, and contemporary... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-01-08 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Abeer Hoque Is Going to Be Nice to You and You’re Going to Like It

In our series “Can Writing Be Taught?” we partner with Catapult to ask their course instructors all our burning questions about the process of teaching writing. This time we’re talking to Abeer Hoque, author of the memoir Olive Witch, who’s teaching a two-week seminar on one of the most... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-01-08 12:00:00 UTC ]
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2020 was a great year for at least one thing: digital book loans from public libraries.

If you, like me, could really use some nice library-oriented news right about now, you’re in luck. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the impossibility of going to physical libraries for much of the year, readers borrowed record numbers of ebooks, audiobooks, and digital magazines from public... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-01-07 15:34:02 UTC ]
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A Black Salesman Tries to Bring Down Corporate Racism from the Inside

It’s no secret that the tech world has a troubling track record with diversity in the workplace, especially with the dearth of Black and Latinx employees in key roles. Author Mateo Askaripour confronts the lack of diversity within the workplace with satire in his debut novel Black Buck. Some... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-01-07 12:00:00 UTC ]
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7 (More) Literary Translators You Should Know

Translating novels, short stories, and poetry into English in a way that remains true to their original form can take years, even decades of dedication. And then there is the job of persuading the Anglophone publishing world to take chances. Translators’ labor is ultimately rewarding for readers... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2020-12-31 12:00:00 UTC ]
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7 Books That Prove You’re Not the Only Weirdo

Apologies, but I have to begin my introduction to this list of books by briefly mentioning my own book; shout your aggrievance about this to the heavens if you must. Writing my book, which is a hybrid of memoir and reporting about my dog, was difficult for me at times, because I’m not used to... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2020-12-11 12:00:43 UTC ]
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The Skillset Podcast #9: Ilona Kisch on Public Library 2030

It’s largely accepted as a truism that libraries connect and work together—interlibrary loan, consortia, union catalogs. However, working together and connecting is not a simple task. Add in different histories, cultures, languages, political systems and you begin to get a sense of what... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-12-11 05:00:00 UTC ]
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The Most Popular Under-The-Radar Books in U.S. Libraries: July–September 2020

Take a peek at the most popular under-the-radar books in public libraries across the United States for the 2020 third quarter. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-12-09 11:33:00 UTC ]
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Announcing the Winner of Electric Lit’s Book Cover of the Year Tournament

This week, readers on Electric Literature’s Twitter and Instagram voted to narrow a field of 32 beautiful book covers down to their favorite of the year. Some of the margins were razor-thin—in particular, both Sin Eater vs. The Exhibition of Persephone Q in round one and Animal Wife vs. Follow... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2020-12-07 12:00:36 UTC ]
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Amazon Publishing in Talks to Offer E-books to Public Libraries

The potential deal would be a breakthrough moment in the library e-book market as Amazon currently does not make its digital content available to libraries. It would also be a major coup for the Digital Public Library of America's upstart e-book platform and its SimplyE library reading app. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-12-04 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Boys Will Be Boys, Girls Have to Cover Up

In Fariha Róisín’s debut novel Like a Bird, protagonist Taylia Chatterjee lives a privileged life on Manhattan’s Upper West Side with her sister Alyssa. Alyssa often receives preferential treatment from their liberal, overbearing parents—a white Jewish mom, a Hindu Bengali dad. Taylia is... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2020-12-01 12:00:00 UTC ]
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