Bookslut was born in an era of internet freedom. Today's web has killed it

The books community that my site joined was driven by enthusiasm not clicks, goodwill and not money – and that culture has goneI miss the internet. I know that, technically, the internet still exists. It’s the Facebook-, Twitter-filtered series of algorithms designed to put cat videos, think pieces, and advertisements in front of you. But I get nostalgic for the days before money invaded the internet – the early 2000s, in particular, when I created the literary blog and webzine Bookslut.com.Back then, nothing you did mattered. And that gave you freedom. Back then, the online book culture was run mostly by enthusiasts and amateurs, people who were creating blogs and webzines simply for the pleasure of it, rather than to build a career or a brand. I know that nostalgia is a stupid emotion, but still I regret the day money found the internet. Once advertisers showed up, offering to pay us to do the thing we were doing just for fun, it was very hard to say no. Or understand exactly what the trade-offs would be.The most disappointing revelation about the books world: even an intellectual is susceptible to clickbaitYou click on it, you own it. Related: Jessa Crispin: 'We're not allowed to say the Paris Review is boring' Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2016-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #books world #jessa crispin #paris review

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Biting Into the Post-Cookie Era

My former colleague and long-time min editor Steve Cohn was fond of characterizing the magazine industry as a “people business.” I believe he meant a number of things. On the most basic, transactional level, much of the trade was centered around a small patch of Manhattan real estate where... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2020-01-23 15:41:48 UTC ]
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Finally, a novel that captures the inanity of the Trump era. It isn’t pretty.

Stephen Wright’s “Processed Cheese” is crazy, crude and completely of the moment. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-01-21 17:04:44 UTC ]
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Lee Child wanted to kill Jack Reacher—but instead he’s giving him to his little brother.

According to The Guardian, Lee Child, whose popular Jack Reacher books (and by popular, I mean over 100 million books sold in 49 languages across 101 territories) are soon to become an Amazon series, is quitting his most famous character. “I love my readers and know they want many, many more... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-01-21 15:51:39 UTC ]
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What Google's focus on web frameworks means for front-end development [Q&A]

If the recent Chrome Dev Summit was evidence of what Google thinks is hot in web development, then frameworks were one of the clear winners. More specifically, client-side frameworks and libraries like Angular, Vue and React, and larger web frameworks like Next.js. We spoke to Tim Neutkens, lead... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2019-12-13 14:35:38 UTC ]
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World Literature Today’s 75 Notable Translations of 2019, by Michelle Johnson

News and Events Michelle Johnson In 2019 WLT continued publishing fiction, poems, interviews, and essays in translation—publishing more than 50 pieces from languages ranging from Albanian to Zoque—along with pieces by translators about their work. In... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2019-12-10 14:32:34 UTC ]
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The Famous Baldwin-Buckley Debate Still Matters Today

In 1965, two American titans faced off on the subject of the country’s racial divides. Nearly 55 years later, the event has lost none of its relevance, as a recent book attests. Continue reading at The Atlantic

[ The Atlantic | 2019-12-02 13:00:00 UTC ]
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AFP to highlight 'less intrusive' approach in new press freedom submission

Australian federal police to tell inquiry it will heed ministerial direction to consider value of a free and open pressThe Australian federal police will make a second submission to federal parliament’s press freedom inquiry as part of efforts to draw a line over controversy triggered by raids... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2019-11-29 07:15:29 UTC ]
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Podium Publishing Enters New Era

The audio publisher, which found fame with its 2015 release of The Martian, has moved from Toronto to Los Angeles and has a new CEO who sees rapid growth ahead. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-11-29 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Daunt tells booksellers 'don't be boring' to survive Amazon era

Bookshops need to avoid being “boring” and apply a “bookseller's mind” to data if they want to survive in an era dominated by Amazon, Waterstones m.d. and Barnes & Noble c.e.o. James Daunt has said. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-24 17:39:21 UTC ]
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He burned Frank Lloyd Wright’s house and killed his mistress — but why?

Paul Hendrickson searches for answers in a crime that, 100 years later, remains a mystery. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2019-11-22 01:48:04 UTC ]
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Today in not everything is terrible: HarperCollins is launching a Native-centric imprint.

In Publishers Weekly, Sally Lodge reports that HarperCollins Children’s Books will be launching a new imprint “devoted to publishing books by Native creators that introduce young Native protagonists and showcase the present and future of Indian Country.” Heartdrum is currently scheduled to... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2019-11-20 14:30:41 UTC ]
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Charlotte's Web tops children's book sales in China

The bestselling children's book in China this year is still Charlotte's Web, as consumers continue to buy old favourites and the number of new titles is expected to fall. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-14 20:36:16 UTC ]
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USA Today is repackaging video to create streaming series

The legacy news publisher is closing in on 10 billion video views this year. And thanks to a focus on its owned and operated properties, plus a stable of OTT partnerships, less than half of those views will come from Facebook. The post USA Today is repackaging video to create streaming series... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2019-11-04 05:01:40 UTC ]
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Sorkin's To Kill a Mockingbird heading to West End

Aaron Sorkin’s stage adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird is coming to London’s West End in May 2020, after opening on Broadway last December to rave reviews. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-03 21:08:41 UTC ]
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The achievements, and compromises, of two Reconstruction-era amendments

While they advanced African American rights, they had serious flaws, Eric Foner writes. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2019-10-31 21:37:07 UTC ]
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Apocalyptic Childhood: On Cixin Liu’s “Supernova Era”

CIXIN LIU IS having a moment. The recent publication in English of his Three-Body Problem trilogy has been rightly hailed as a sea change for Chinese science fiction in translation, garnering myriad awards and receiving wide acclaim — including an endorsement from Barack Obama. The Wandering... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books

[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2019-10-29 17:00:45 UTC ]
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FutureBook Live to explore publishing freedom and free speech

Issues around publishing freedom and free speech are to be debated at FutureBook Live, with a panel of industry insiders, including publishers, agents and authors to discuss how today's political climate and the rise of social media has changed what is permissible and possible to publish today.   Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-22 22:49:03 UTC ]
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Relatives of Canadians killed in Ethiopian Airlines crash arrive home with remains after 7-month wait

Members of several Canadian families who lost loved ones in the Ethiopian Airlines crash last March landed at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport Tuesday morning along with seven caskets carrying the remains of their relatives. Continue reading at CBC

[ CBC | 2019-10-22 17:42:52 UTC ]
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Australian online retailers drop Catch and Kill following legal threats

Two Australian online book retailers have suspended sales of Ronan Farrow’s investigation into #MeToo, following legal threats from one of the book’s subjects.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-18 08:21:31 UTC ]
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Is USA Today’s Print Edition Headed for the Sunset as GateHouse and Gannett Merge? Signs Point to Yes.

After a nearly 40-year run, USA Today and its digital sites are about to undergo a major restructuring that will Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2019-10-17 17:15:40 UTC ]
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