Book Reviews Alan Levenson Ever since early Islam, Jews have been dubbed the people of the book. The title stuck in European lands too, a deferential nod to the role of the Hebrew Bible in the Western canon, the breadth of Jewish literacy (never universal, often gender-specific), and the sheer productivity of Jewish authors—or today, Jewish and non-Jewish authors writing about the subject. I prefer this paean to bookishness, bestowed by outsiders, to Ecclesiastes’ musing, “of the making of books there is no end,” which sounds like unwarranted kvetching. Elisabeth Gallas’s A Mortuary of Books: The Rescue of Jewish Culture after the Holocaust (NYU Press, 2019) and Lisa Moses Leff’s The Archive Thief: The Man Who Salvaged French Jewish History in the Wake of the Holocaust (Oxford University Press, 2015) confirm the verdict of Jorge Luis Borges, who called the book the most astonishing human instrument. It seems the desire for preserving books is also lodged deep in the human soul. These two volumes stem from the desire to recount the efforts to rescue books and scrolls and ritual items from the fires of the Holocaust. Both volumes chronicle the life-affirming response to the Nazis’ nihilistic intent to destroy not only Jewish lives but any vestige of Jewish learning. Gallas and Neff confirm the verdict of Jorge Luis Borges, who called the book the most astonishing human instrument. It seems the desire for preserving books is also... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'
[ World Literature Today | 2019-07-02 20:46:30 UTC ]
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For more than a decade, the visually-impaired have been locked in an excruciatingly slow and circuitous battle against US copyright laws. The post E-Book Legal Restrictions Are Screwing Over Blind People appeared first on WIRED. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2014-12-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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On November 19, five children's and YA authors headed to Cipriani Wall Street for the 65th National Book Awards. Our photographer caught up with the authors (and their editors) who were nominated in the Young People's Literature category, and also captured the winner. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-11-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Eye Benders: The Science of Seeing and Believing by Clive Gifford (Ivy) has won the Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize 2014. The book, written with consultant Anil Seth and which was described by the judging panel as “both fascinating and fun”, explains how the science of optical illusions... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) has created four talking books for blind and partially sighted children thanks to a £13,000 donation from The Book People. The Book People donated the money to the RNIB Read campaign, which is aimed at making reading more accessible for blind... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Book People has said it will stay vigilant in “assessing the changing marketplace” going forward, after recording a £6.8m loss last year. Annual financial results for the year to December 2013 filed on Companies House have revealed the online and book delivery service’s losses nearly... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-10-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Works that were nominated include 'The Innovators' by Walter Isaacson and 'Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?' by Roz Chast for the nonfiction prize as well as 'All the Light We Cannot See' by Anthony Doerr and 'Station Eleven' by Emily St. John Mandel for the fiction award. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Seni Glaister has led a management buy-out of The Book People from co-founder Ted Smart. The... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-09-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sorry guys, I can't tweet this picture of a cat wearing a party hat right now, because I'm #amwriting. I'm in a coffee shop, you see, with my laptop and notebook proudly displayed so that anyone who walks past will know that I'm #amwriting a novel.... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2014-07-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Fourth Estate has signed a debut novel from the c.e.o. of The Book People, Seni Glaister. Clare... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Book People has taken on a loan of £2.5m from Gordon Brothers Europe, said to be to... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-05-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Digital publishing is rapidly becoming a haven for struggling writers—but it turns out the format might hold similar potential for struggling readers too. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2014-03-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Cooperative Children's Book Center of the University of Wisconsin – Madison found that of the new children's books they received at their center, less than 3 percent focused on black people and even fewer were by black authors (about 2 percent, according to the CCBC.) Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-03-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ellie Levenson, the author of The Noughtie Girl’s Guide to Feminism (Oneworld), has set up... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-11-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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There is no denying the growing influence the Hispanic population is having on the demographic, social, cultural, and political shifts taking place in the U.S. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-10-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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American Psycho author Bret Easton Ellis is what's known in online circles as a world–class troll. For the uninitiated, a troll is someone who expresses a controversial and often contrarian opinion in order to get a rise out of people and draw attention to himself. If someone is widely... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2013-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In the world of books, 10 October is Super Thursday - the day many publishing houses release what they hope will be their biggest sellers for the Christmas market. The BBC's Will Gompertz reports. Continue reading at BBC World
[ BBC World | 2013-10-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The National Book Awards launched its first long-list with the 10 books in the running for the 2013 award for Young People's Literature on Monday.The National Book Awards launched its first long-list with the 10 books in the running for the 2013 award for Young People's Literature on Monday. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-09-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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E-book accessibility for readers with sight loss has increased by nearly 40% in the last two... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-08-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mobile reading may revive entire genres of literature, such as mid-length novels and poems, which have fallen out of favor. Continue reading at The Atlantic
[ The Atlantic | 2012-11-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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British journalist Richard Lloyd Parry skillfully goes beyond the headlines in the 2000 disappearance of fellow Brit Lucie Blackman in Tokyo. It is a dark, unforgettable ride.People Who Eat Darkness Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-06-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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