The author of Silicon Valley satire I Hate the Internet on the evils of social media, and how novelists have failed to tackle itWhen the novel I Hate the Internet came out in the US earlier this year, it had every likelihood of sinking without trace. It was self-published, it was by a young unknown – Jarett Kobek – and its main selling point was naked, gleeful contempt for the devices and technology platforms that are an essential part of all our daily lives. “Nothing says individuality like 500 million consumer electronics built by slaves,” he says at one point. “Welcome to hell.” Hell, for Kobek, a 38-year-old American of Turkish heritage, became daily life in San Francisco, where the novel is set. Along with many of the city’s artists and writers, he found himself driven out by the forces of gentrification, moved to Los Angeles, where he’s now based, set up his own small press, and wrote this book – a scorching satire of how a few hypercapitalist companies in Silicon Valley have come to dominate everything. I Hate the Internet didn’t sink without trace. It found a readership thirsty for its funny, acerbic edge, got a rave review in the New York Times, went to the top of the bestseller charts in Germany and has now been published here by Serpent’s Tail.So, do you actually hate the internet, Jarett?Not particularly. There’s part of it that I find really contemptible. The title is offered like the sneer of a 15-year-old into Twitter, after they’ve just seen a meme of... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2016-11-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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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... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2016-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Assistant editor Drucilla Shultz recommends 'The Friday Society' by Adrienne Kress, a new adult novel Charlie’s Angels set in steampunk Victorian London. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-02-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Retail Industry Leaders Association opposes legislation in which the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act inserted and says that it would "rob" Main Street retailers of the chance to level the sales tax playing field. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-12-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BAFTA and MOBO Award-winning hip-hop artist, writer/poet and historian Akala speaks to Philip Jones ahead of his keynote address at this year’s FutureBook Conference. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-11-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Folio Society is launching a new series of books called Folio Collectables. The series will feature soft-bound covers and bold new designs of best-loved classics. The range is intended to be highly collectable - and giftable - available in time for Christmas 2015, selling for an r.r.p of... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-10-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Starting next March, Playboy will stop publishing photographs of naked women. The cheesecake will be dialed back to a “PG-13” rating, the New York Times’ Ravi Somaiya reported Monday night. Playmate photos will look “more like the racier sections of Instagram” than the adult section of the... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2015-10-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Remember those customized children's books that the rich kids in school used to get, featuring a story with their name and face pasted onto the pages? It turns out that these things are still going, but now the companies that make them are harnessi... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2015-10-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Medium, the publishing platform hatched by Twitter co-founder Ev Williams, has raised $57 million in a round led by Andreessen Horowitz. It’s the three-year-old company’s second funding round, and people familiar with Medi ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2015-09-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook, Google and SpaceX aren't the only big names envisioning a world blanketed with satellite-based internet access. Samsung has published research proposing Earth-wide internet through a cloud of roughly 4,600 micro satellites. The vehicles w... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2015-08-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Kate Pool of the UK Society of Authors warns authors to look at contracts from digital publishers carefully to compare terms with self-publishing options. The post UK Society of Authors Advises “Always Compare Contracts” appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-07-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Folio Society has confirmed it will not renew its title sponsorship of The Folio Prize after completing its initial two-year agreement with the award. The prize, known as the Literature Prize before The Folio Society agreed to sponsor it, is now on the hunt for a new sponsor, and hopes to... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-05-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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After two U.S. women were charged this week with conspiring to build bombs in support of terrorist groups, a U.S. senator wants two publications that include bomb-making instructions deleted from the Internet.Senator Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat, called for the 44-year-old Anarchist... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2015-04-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Book Marketing Society (BMS) has appointed Miranda McKearney as its new chair. McKearney, founder and former c.e.o. of charity The Reading Agency, takes on the role from previous chair Martin Neild, who has stepped down after five years. McKearney stepped down from her role at The Reading... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-03-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Twelve members of staff left The Folio Society in January, the publishing house has confirmed. A spokesperson said the job losses came as a result of a "fundamental restructure" of the company, with The Folio Society now employing a total of 58 people. The job losses came from marketing,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-03-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Campaigns promoting humorous safety tips for children, a book by astronaut Chris Hadfield and a guide to getting the style and attitude of Parisian women won big at the Book Marketing Society’s Best Campaign meeting for the Christmas season. The meeting was held at Simon & Schuster’s... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-02-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The panel, “The Bookternet: Building Communities Online,” examined the ways that online book culture has transformed the book industry, offering both opportunities and pitfalls for publishers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-02-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The internet was meant to liberate and empower its users. But the real effect has been to create vast monopolies and turn us into victims, argues web sceptic Andrew Keen in his controversial new book The Internet is Not the AnswerDuring every minute of every day of 2014, according to Andrew... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-02-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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While January can suffer from a post-holiday publication lull, it's a great time room for cooler, less conventional reads. The post New Fantasy Writers and Internet-Haters Dominate Our Favorite Books This Month appeared first on WIRED. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2015-01-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Tencent and Baidu are only non-US digital media companies in top 10 by revenue, but country has four of top 10 fastest-growing firms, report saysChina is eroding Silicon Valley’s pre-eminent position as the home of the world’s largest internet businesses, with two companies making the top 10 by... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-12-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Blake Society is asking people to donate funds via text to help buy the cottage William Blake lived in, as it races to meet a deadline later this week. Blake’s cottage in Felpham, on the Sussex coast, is the location where he wrote the words for the hymn "Jerusalem". The charity has been... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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