Thanks to the internet, it has never been easier to steal other people's work. There's also a high risk you'll be found out. So why do it? Rhodri Marsden goes in search of a little originalityIt's not that hard to think of something totally original. If you don't worry about it being any good, it's easy. "Colorless green ideas sleep furiously," was Noam Chomsky's spirited attempt in his ground-breaking 1957 book on linguistics, Syntactic Structures. "Hold the newsreader's nose squarely, waiter, or friendly milk will countermand my trousers," was Stephen Fry's during an episode of A Bit Of Fry And Laurie. But when novelist John Gardner used the phrase "opening the throttle at the last moment" in his 1983 book Icebreaker, it's unlikely that he sat back and congratulated himself on being the first to have written it. Innovation wasn't what he was aiming for, after all; he was just trying to describe someone driving a scooter. But Google Books, that vast indexing project, informs us that Gardner's was the only book to contain this phrase until another, Vestige Of Evil by Len Vorster, appeared on Amazon in 2011. A section of the novel, one of two books self-published online under that name, featured other phrases that were no longer unique to Icebreaker, such as "the ice and snow were not as raw and killing as this" and "the slope angling gently downwards to flatten". The many coincidences were startling, though if it wasn't for the internet, nobody need ever have known.In... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2014-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
Drew Gilpin Faust, former Harvard University president, discusses her memoir “Necessary Trouble,” about her rebellion against sexist and racist strictures of 1950s Virginia. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2023-08-22 16:11:00 UTC ]
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Amazon Prime Day came and went in July, but Amazon’s not done with its membership-only sales events for 2023. The company just announced that it will hold another Prime Day of sorts in October, potentially mirroring what it did at the same time last year. This year’s event is dubbed “Prime Big... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2023-08-08 19:00:44 UTC ]
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No romance story is complete without a best friend side character, and sometimes that best friend has four legs and a tail. Something goes hand-in-hand about seeing people fall in love and having a beloved pet along for the journey. Perhaps it’s the human-animal connection transcending the page,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-08-03 09:30:07 UTC ]
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In 2009, two bookshops a week were closing in the UK and the days of physical books seemed numbered. Now, indie stores are booming. What explains the turnaround – and can it be sustained?When Sarah Mullen was asked to set up a children’s book festival in a leafy suburb of Birmingham in 2012, she... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-07-27 09:00:32 UTC ]
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They interrupt narrative and disrupt plot – no wonder novelists have been slow to warm to mobile phones. But a new generation is putting technology at the heart of their workWhat do you call a phone when it rings in a fictional world? “Mobile” and “cell” are old, “smartphone” is almost a... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-07-22 10:00:09 UTC ]
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We talk to Samuel Ross about the new Beats Studio Pro. It’s the first update to the Beats Studio line since 2017. I’m holding the box for Beats Studio3 headphones. They were released in 2017—in other words, a lifetime ago. The box is nothing short of peak packaging, with a hefty fiberboard... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2023-07-19 10:00:00 UTC ]
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The tech industry is reeling from the combination of a rough economy, the COVID-19 pandemic and some obvious business missteps. And while that led to job cuts in 2022, the headcount reductions have unfortunately ramped up in 2023. It can be tough to keep track of these moves, so we’ve compiled... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2023-06-29 15:28:56 UTC ]
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Richard Snyder, a visionary and imperious executive at Simon & Schuster who presided over the publisher’s exponential rise during the second half of the 20th century and helped define an era of growing corporate power, has died Continue reading at ABC News
[ ABC News | 2023-06-08 01:26:39 UTC ]
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Patricia J. Murphy, author of the picture book ‘Mama, Look!’ and dozens of other titles, explores how spirituality can help with difficult emotions in a new children’s book, ‘God is Everywhere: Wise Words for Little Ones.’ Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-06-06 04:00:00 UTC ]
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When the Next Big Idea Club launched in 2018, the centerpiece of its offerings was a box subscription. It still offers that service, but has company has shifted gears, now operating as an “audio-first company.” Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-06-02 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Over the past three years, the Dutton/Plume imprint, founded by actor and stand-up comedian Phoebe Robinson, has become a home for “strong voices, unique points of view, and undeniable talent." Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-06-02 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Toronto Star books editor Deborah Dundas says that even though class divisions exist in Canada, we don't talk about them openly. Continue reading at CBC
[ CBC | 2023-05-27 08:00:00 UTC ]
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Meet the authors behind some of the adult, children’s, and graphic titles on PW’s radar. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-05-12 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The Internet is abuzz over a forthcoming nonfiction book, a 544-page memoir (including 40 full-color photographs) slated to be published by Flatiron on July 9th. Why? Because The Internet thinks it was probably written by Taylor Swift. It all started when the owner of indie bookshop Good... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-05-08 16:47:07 UTC ]
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A stage adaptation and the work of a strong translator were behind some of the standout books on China's bestseller charts in March. The post China Bestsellers in March: Adaptations on the Rise appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2023-05-04 22:03:42 UTC ]
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Revamped Sarah Ferguson documentary to air on Four Corners after initial version sparked complaints. Plus: the Australian’s own goalFollow our Australia news live blog for the latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastHours before Lachlan Murdoch... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-04-21 04:27:06 UTC ]
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Over the past three years, entry-level wages at the Big Five publishers and Scholastic have risen 23%, on average, in response to calls for a living wage, union actions, and inflation. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-04-21 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Alison L. Strayer is an award-winning writer and translator. Her work has been shortlisted twice for the Governor’s General Award for Literature and for Translation. Her translation of Annie Ernaux’s The Years was shortlisted for the Man Booker International Prize in 2019 and won the... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-19 08:59:35 UTC ]
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The Halo Rise is also a small but significant piece of Amazon’s ongoing foray into health and wellness. For $140 (on sale now for $100), the Rise uses motion sensing to predict and track your breathing rate and calculate how long you’ve slept.Like Google’s Nest Hub, which also uses motion... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2023-04-06 11:15:05 UTC ]
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Stocks that traded heavily or had substantial price changes Friday: Oxford Industries, Scholastic fall, Activision rises Continue reading at ABC News
[ ABC News | 2023-03-24 20:31:47 UTC ]
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