As with the printing press and the dotcom boom, initial frenzy and speculation obscures the lasting legacy of new technologies“Innovation,” wrote the economist William Janeway in his seminal book Doing Capitalism in the Innovation Economy, “begins with discovery and culminates in speculation.” That just about sums up 2023. The discovery was AI (as represented by ChatGPT), and the speculative bubble is what we have now, in which huge public corporations launch products that are known to “hallucinate” (yes, that’s now a technical term relating to large language models), and spend money like it’s going out of fashion on the kit needed to make even bigger ones. As I write, I see a report that next year Microsoft plans to buy 150,000 Nvidia chips – at $30,000 (£24,000) a pop. It’s a kind of madness. But when looked at it through the Janeway lens, ’twas ever thus.“The innovations that have repeatedly transformed the architecture of the market economy,” he writes, “from canals to the internet, have required massive investments to construct networks whose value in use could not be imagined at the outset of deployment.” Or, to put it more crudely, what we retrospectively regard as examples of technological progress have mostly come about through outbreaks of irrational exuberance that involved colossal waste, bankrupted investors and caused social turmoil. Bubbles, in other words. In recent times, think of the dotcom boom of the late 1990s. Or in earlier times, of the US railway... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2023-12-30 16:00:37 UTC ]
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Another year, another crop of newly-minted literary honorees. From the Pulitzer to the Booker, the Nebula to the Edgar, here are the winners of the biggest book prizes of 2023. Congratulations to all! * PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION Awarded for distinguished fiction published in book form during... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-12-14 09:52:44 UTC ]
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To the members of the literary community we lost this year, we say a last thank you, and goodbye. You will be missed. * “Belated literary star” Edith Pearlman, who broke out with Binocular Vision at the age of 74, died on January 1. She was 86. Suzy McKee Charnas, award-winning author of... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-12-14 09:51:11 UTC ]
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In 2023, as we do each year, we published thousands of reviews of thousands of new books. But of all the reviews we published, these are the 10 you read the most. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-12-14 05:00:00 UTC ]
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While we already picked our favorite books of 2023, our reviews editors thought it would be a shame to let the year end without one final salvo of suggestions. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-12-14 05:00:00 UTC ]
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From a look at how bestselling novelist Colleen Hoover is fueling interest in contemporary Christian fiction to interviews with evangelical superstars David Platt and Beth Moore, here are PW’s most-read religion stories of 2023. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-12-13 05:00:00 UTC ]
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“Each of these portraits is, as advertised and expected, profoundly ‘humane.’” Gideon Lewis-Kraus recommends Nathan Thrall’s A Day in the Life of Abed Salama. | Lit Hub Criticism The 138 best book covers of 2023, as chosen by some of the industry’s best book cover designers. | Lit Hub Design... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-12-12 11:30:34 UTC ]
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For what is now the eighth time in a row, I am pleased to present the best book covers of the year—as chosen by some of the industry’s best book cover designers. This year, I asked 46 designers to share their favorite covers of the year, and they came back with a grand total of 138 covers […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-12-12 09:55:10 UTC ]
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Publishing stayed roughly flat in the first nine months of 2023, inching up 0.8% at the 1,225 publishers that report to the Association of American Publishers' monthly StatShot program over the comparable period in 2022. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-12-12 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Francine Rivers, author of the 1991 bestselling ‘Redeeming Love’ and a slew of other titles, is bringing a new novel to Tyndale; ‘Reading Black Books’ author Claude Atcho brings a new title to WaterBrook, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-12-12 05:00:00 UTC ]
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As you probably know, Literary Hub is produced by a small staff; most of us are writers, and/or moonlight as editors on other projects. This year, four of our number—that would be 36% percent of full time Literary Hub staffers, not too shabby—published books, which is certainly worthy of... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-12-11 17:52:31 UTC ]
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The best science fiction and fantasy book deals of the day, curated by Book Riot. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-12-11 16:27:41 UTC ]
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Good book criticism is booming right now. I have at least some degree of confidence in saying this because for the past six years, I’ve been keeping track of my favorite reviews to prepare for these annual roundups, and my 2023 longlist was by far the biggest and most difficult to narrow down.... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-12-11 12:47:20 UTC ]
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Jenna Bush Hager selects Lauren Grodstein's 'We Must Not Think of Ourselves,' Reese Witherspoon spotlights Ella Berman's 'Before We Were Innocent,' and more of this month's picks by the nation's biggest book clubs. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-12-11 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Monty Python, blasphemers: When the culture wars came for a little film called Life of Brian. | Lit Hub Film & TV “Moderation did not win the public’s favor.” How hot beverages became all the rage in 18th-century Britain. | Lit Hub History Debbie Urbanski urges novelists to think about AI... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-12-08 11:30:19 UTC ]
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PW looks back at the library stories that captivated the publishing world this year, and what they portend for 2024. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-12-08 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Dav Pilkey's fifth Cat Kid Comic Club volume, 'Influencers,' is the #1 book in the country. Plus Nicole "the Holistic Psychologist" LePera returns with 'How to Be the Love You Seek,' and Lynn Painter, who writes rom-coms for teens and adults, has her best first week yet with 'Betting on You.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-12-08 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Among the week's headlines: Montana strikes the MLIS requirement for library directors; Florida's revealing argument about the freedom to read in public schools; and a new report from ALA explores the "digital public library ecosystem." Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-12-08 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Jeffery Deaver and Isabella Maldonado sell the first in a new series to Thomas & Mercer, Europa takes on International Booker finalist Robert Seethaler, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-12-08 05:00:00 UTC ]
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The Authors Guild and other artists’ groups say that it's unfair to train AI algorithms on their work without permission. Tech companies generally argue that it counts as “fair use.” Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2023-12-07 12:00:00 UTC ]
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