Will social media and aggregated preferences sweep away book reviewing and literary culture? There’s nothing new about the death of literatureThe writer Caleb Crain is unhappy about “the intrusion of counting into the life of literature”. He believes that big data and predictive-taste algorithms are cutting humans “out of the loop”, and that social media are undermining our faith in “the mental states of other people” when those inner states aren’t acknowledged in tweets and likes. It seems we are mired in “a new kind of disenchantment”, he says, which is devolving our sense of literary merit. As big data blurs personal opinion into preference aggregates, and as Twitter-propelled article-surfing destroys reviewing communities and the authority of critics alike, Crain contends, we have no choice but to “declare war on counting”. So that, you know, “literature will survive”. Related: Computer says no: Amazon uses AI to combat fake reviews Bad criticism in public is a nuisance. Does it spell the end of days? Hardly [S]uddenly the cosmos seems like one vast plan after all, patterned in such a way that the novel you’re reading at bedtime connects to your astronomy lecture, connects to what you heard on NPR, connects to what your friend discusses in the cafeteria at lunch – and then briefly it’s as if the lid has come off the world, as if the world were a dollhouse, and you can glimpse what it would be like to see it whole, from above – a vertiginous magnificence. Continue... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2015-08-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In the “brutally honest” memoir “Pageboy,” the actor recounts the fears and obstacles to gender transition, and the hard-won happiness that’s followed. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-06-06 09:00:19 UTC ]
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Decades after “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret,” an anthology and a novel let readers see periods through the eyes of diverse protagonists. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-06-02 09:00:39 UTC ]
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Raymond Carver, one of the most beloved and influential short story writers in the history of American fiction, was born eighty-five years ago today. Below is a New York Times review of Carver’s final story collection, Where I’m Calling From, written by future Pulitzer Prize (and Orange Prize,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-05-25 17:31:12 UTC ]
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Switzerland’s executive branch says it favors changes to copyright law to require large online service providers — including social media platforms and search engines — to pay media companies for use of journalistic content, even small excerpts Continue reading at ABC News
[ ABC News | 2023-05-24 12:46:59 UTC ]
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From the 19th century to the present, the photos collected in Todd Brewster’s latest book offer glimpses into the lives of our nation’s youngest members. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-05-19 09:00:43 UTC ]
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Henry Threadgill’s memoir unfolds from his maddening wartime experience to his boundary-pushing musical career. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-05-19 02:17:52 UTC ]
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In “Yellowface,” R.F. Kuang satirizes the publishing industry with a tale of a struggling writer who passes off her recently deceased friend’s book as her own. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-05-16 09:00:23 UTC ]
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Henry Threadgill’s memoir unfolds from his maddening wartime experience to his boundary-pushing musical career. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-05-15 09:00:20 UTC ]
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In new novels by the National Book Award finalists Gary D. Schmidt and Brandon Hobson, adolescent boys navigating parental loss find strength in ancient mythology. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-05-12 09:00:15 UTC ]
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In “How Not to Kill Yourself,” a memoir on suicide, the author returns to the obsessions and self-obliterations that have recurred in his fiction and essays. Continue reading at New Yorker
[ New Yorker | 2023-05-10 19:01:05 UTC ]
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“Our Migrant Souls,” the author’s first nonfiction book in nearly a decade, is a deeply personal meditation on Latino American experience. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-05-09 09:00:12 UTC ]
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A large-format photo book reveals the toll of industrialization on the landscapes of sub-Saharan Africa. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-05-05 09:00:51 UTC ]
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As Lambda’s Writer’s Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices returns to an in-person format this summer, previous retreat participants look back on the experiences as a crucial moment in their development as queer authors. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-05-05 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Now a co-founder of Semafor, formerly of Politico, BuzzFeed and the New York Times, the author expertly pulls readers inBen Smith is a willing passenger on the rollercoaster also known as the internet. He reported for Politico, was founding editor-in-chief at BuzzFeed News and did a stint as a... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-04-29 06:00:28 UTC ]
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Stirring speeches by Michael Connelly and Crime Writers of Color cofounder Kellye Garrett were a highlight of this year's Edgar Awards, where 'Notes on an Execution' by Danya Kukafka was named best novel. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-04-28 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon's cost-cutting efforts led to higher earnings in the first quarter, but its online revenue was flat compared to the first quarter of 2022. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-04-28 04:00:00 UTC ]
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I have loved reading science fiction since age ten, when my school librarian handed me a copy of Jill Patton Walsh’s The Green Book. I fell in love with romance after reading Jane Eyre, which my uncle gave me. When I became a writer, my focus was on the former, but my stories often include […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-26 08:52:31 UTC ]
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In this excerpt from ‘Gunflight,’ Ryan Busse, a former firearms exec turned gun-safety activist, explores the industry’s response to America’s first high-profile school shooting, and the shift to today’s radicalized gun landscape. Ryan Busse is a former firearms executive who spent 25 years at... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2023-04-26 05:00:00 UTC ]
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In “Affinities,” his latest book of essays, the critic Brian Dillon meditates on images by photographers, filmmakers, dancers and other artists, exploring their attractions and affiliations. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-04-25 09:00:20 UTC ]
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Ava Chin’s memoir is an expansive family history encompassing perilous journeys, sensational crimes and social change. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-04-24 12:37:54 UTC ]
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