Turning literature into a numbers game makes some sense for the book trade, but none for readersWe may be halfway through January already, but the spirit of new year is still in full swing over in San Francisco, where the 2014 Goodreads Reading Challenge goes from strength to strength to strength. More than 240,000 of Goodreads' 25 million members have already committed to reading more than 14m books this year, pledging to get through them at an average of more than a book a week. And many fans of books will say hurrah for that. I reckon I'm pretty much in favour of books and literature, too, but the Goodreads Reading Challenge just sets my teeth on edge.It starts right there in the name. Since when was reading any kind of challenge? Isn't it supposed to be fun? Maybe not for children still learning to differentiate their Perfect Peters from their Horrid Henrys, or for the one in six UK adults who still struggle with literacy, but Goodreads is a site for people who are already "readers" . I don't think they have schoolchildren in mind when they suggest you should "raise your reading ambitions" and it certainly doesn't look like a scheme designed to help adult learners "make it to the final chapter". All this talk of pledging, of targets, of tracking your progress, is just another step in the marketisation of the reading experience, another stage in the commodification of literary culture.We know that literacy correlates with better social outcomes, that literary fiction... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2014-01-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
The conversation about the Common Core standards will be a hot topic at this year’s ALA Midwinter Meeting, as many public librarians make efforts to reach their patrons and community members—as well as form partnerships with school librarians—to provide information on the standards. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-11-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#hot topic
#form partnerships
#provide information
While most online news outlets worry about their mobile-first strategy, Matter is trying to create a web-first reading experience. It doesn’t publish a print edition, present a bundled collection of news articles or host advertisements. It ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-11-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#reading experience
#news articles
Mobile devices are increasingly being used for social reading and recommendation sites, the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-11-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#social reading
#mobile devices
Today marks the debut of two features we've been waiting for since Amazon first announced its new Kindle Fire line lo so many weeks ago. Goodreads and Second Screen integration will be rolling out to Fire HD and HDX owners over-the-air in the next couple of weeks - or you can just go to Amazon's... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2013-11-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#ve bought
#source link
#today marks
#review books
Penelope Lively's recent short ebook for Penguin drew criticism for its brevity – but readers should not be put off the genre as a whole"Overpriced", "ridiculous", I feel cheated". Amazon reviewers haven't been wholly positive about a digital short Penelope Lively has written for Penguin... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2013-11-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Despite the growth of online bookselling and a 7X increase in the number of ebooks, Argentina's 2,256 bookstores are still responsible for 80% of annual book sales. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-11-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#online bookselling
An audiobook version of Morrissey's Autobiography will be read by actor David Morrissey.... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-11-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#audiobook version
Time Inc. CEO Joe Ripp began putting his stamp on the publishing company Wednesday, when employees were told that editors will begin reporting to the organization's business side, a reversal that sent a ripple of anxiety through its editorial offices. Editors of the company's magazines, which... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2013-11-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#business side
#include people
#previously reported
#effective immediately
The World Book Night project is to be run by The Reading Agency (TRA), with WBN chief executive... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-10-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#reading agency
Editors, designers, and publicists spend their days refining and supporting a writer’s art—his or her book. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-10-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Forty-five US states have adopted the Common Core, a set of standards that spell out what US public school students learn in each grade, from kindergarten to graduation. How would you match up? Test yourself on everything from Dickens to Dirda to see how familiar you are with the novels, poems,... Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#common core
#popular history
#science writing
#12th graders
It was just more than a year ago that Ev Williams and Biz Stone created the publishing platform Medium. The Internet officially met the site in August 2012, and since then, Medium’s popularity has grown enough for even the most ske ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-10-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Director of author marketing, Pat Brown, spoke about how the company remains, even after being acquired by Amazon, a place for authors and their fans. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-10-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#book lovers
#company remains
Is something rotten in the world of academic publishing? Yes, if you read a blockbuster piece in the latest issue of Science magazine showing how many open–access journals have little or no quality control, and apparently put hard cash (in the shape of author contributor fees) before... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2013-10-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#quality control
#high cost
In the wake of the government shutdown, Baltimore-based breathe bookstore café is offering a 10 percent discount to furloughed workers. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-10-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#government shutdown
#furloughed workers
In the wake of the government shutdown, Baltimore-based breathe bookstore café is offering a 10 percent discount to furloughed workers. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-10-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#government shutdown
#furloughed workers
The content on Scribd, the San–Francisco based startup that aims to create the digital library of the future, is available on a range of devices, from laptops to smartphones to tablets. But CEO Trip Adler tells Fast Company we won't be reading e–books in our hands in the future––they'll be... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2013-10-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#free reading
#digital library
#company launched
#book space
#barnes noble
#crazy idea
A new study finds that reading literary fiction “leads people to perform better on tests that measure empathy, social perception and emotional intelligence." Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-10-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#study finds
#social perception
#emotional intelligence
Chain bookstores, indie locations, schools and school libraries are participating all over the world. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-10-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#chain bookstores
#school libraries
A recent study done by New York's New School for Social Research found that, after reading literary fiction, participants displayed more social perception and empathy. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-10-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#good book
#recent study
#social perception