Frank Herbert on his Boeing, Stephen King on his Wang, and Philip Roth worrying that writing would become too easy … Matthew Kirschenbaum’s account of literature in the digital ageIn a photograph taken in his high-tech home office at 29 Merrick Square, London, in 1968, thriller writer Len Deighton is hard at work on his next novel, Bomber. An electric typewriter is perched atop a desk, a huge telex machine extrudes paper coils on to the florid carpet, and a video camera on a tripod is pointed at the author’s face. In the foreground is another, bulkier, typewriter connected by a fat cable to a cabinet or console. The author of Billion Dollar Brain had lately taken delivery of a magnetic tape selectric typewriter (MT/ST) (marketed in Britain as the IBM 72 IV). It was first posited at IBM’s main offices in Poughkeepsie, New York, in 1957; the finished product weighed 200lb and cost $10,000. And with it Deighton was about to compose the first novel ever written on a word processor.In fact, as Matthew Kirschenbaum points out in his unexpectedly engaging history of word processing, it was Deighton’s sedulous assistant Ellenor Handley who did most of the typing (until 1968 she’d had to redraft each novel dozens of times). As she typed, her keystrokes were saved to tape, and corrections could be made before a final printout. It was a vexing process in which writing happened both on paper and in the typist’s harried imagination; IBM’s literature commanded the user to “visualise... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2016-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Here is a book review of Randall Munroe's What If? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Questions. Overall, a great book. I recommend it. The post Book Review: What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions appeared first on WIRED. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2014-12-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Last year marked our first round up of the numerous “books of the year” features across the media. It saw a total of 660 books being touted by various critics, writers and celebrities. This year, our spreadsheet collating the reviews boasts 910 titles that have been recommended across several... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A charming French novel about an old-school publisher trying to get to grips with the digital ageAt more than one point in this novel I found myself asking: could this be any more French? Early on we meet a character described thus: “She used to be incredibly good-looking and now at... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The lack of diversity in the book publishing industry is not new or surprising to veterans of the business. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-12-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In the course of the last console generation, Ubisoft has gone from "the French publisher behind the Tom Clancy games" to the world's leading creator of lucrative open-world sandbox franchises (by quantity, if not quality). This success hinges on a s... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2014-12-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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New titles include a look at how the experience of Holocaust survivors has influenced the faith of their descendants. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-12-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Everyone poops.It's not just the name of a children's book by Taro Gomi, it's a simple fact of life. But it's not something you'd pick up if you watched toilet-related advertising. Take toilet paper, for example. If you were an alien anthropologist who sat through three decades of toilet paper... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2014-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PW reviewers were impressed with these spirituality and religion books published in 2014. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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If you are looking for an entertaining book that explores the nature of science, I recommend Chad Orzel's Eureka! Discovering Your Inner Scientist. The post Book Review: Eureka! Discovering Your Inner Scientist appeared first on WIRED. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2014-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Squirl, a Houston-based start-up company, plans to roll out, this month, the beta version of a location-based app intended to provide a high-tech portal between imaginary landscapes and their real world inspirations. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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George Osborne is to pledge to overhaul business rates in a review in his Autumn Statement later today (3rd December). The Chancellor is expected to announce a review of business rates in the pre-budget statement in the House of Commons at 12.30pm, although it won’t be completed until early 2016. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Germany and France have put pressure on the European Commission to take a closer look at how big tech companies operate in the European Union, a move which could lead to tougher competition regulation for companies such as Google, Apple, Amazon.com and Facebook.French and German officials asked... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2014-11-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The History Press dramatically slashed its losses in 2013, helped by a trade boost in the US and the sale of its German business. The local and military history publisher reported an operating loss of £26,000 in the year to 31st December 2013, up from an operating loss of £892,000 in 2012. At... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The eagerly-awaited Sieghart Review on the public library service will argue for a dedicated task force involving "all key players working together" to deliver changes at "a fast pace", a panel member has revealed. Public policy consultant Sue Charteris, talking at the Speak Up for Libraries... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Three top US book editors and one translator share their top tips for working with and editing literary translations. The post 5 Tips for Editing Literary Works in Translation appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-11-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Oxford University Press has partnered with Emerge Education, an "accelerator" for education technology start-ups. The Emerge Education accelerator programme aims to improve educational outcomes worldwide by supporting innovative solutions and ideas from start-up companies. It offers ed-tech... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Oyster, the ebook subscription service, is launching the 'Oyster Review,' an online literary journal that will publish original material on books and writing. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-11-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Premium programmatic is a hot concept, and it's catching on. The ad industry's top brands are embracing more automation for digital campaigns—Cadillac, Tory Burch, CBS—and publishers are too. Instead of open exchanges where low-quality advertisers compete for low-quality Web inventory, a more... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2014-11-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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McGraw-Hill Education has restructured its domestic education operations under Peter Cohen, who had been president of its K-12 group. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-11-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The AAP and Authors Guild co-hosted a panel last week on Capitol Hill about authorial-editorial collaboration, in advance of Congress’s review of the U.S. Copyright Act. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-11-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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