By reusing and repurposing existing writing into viral fragments on Twitter, the account functioned like today’s chatbots. The Guardian spoke to Jacob Bakkila, the human behind the accountMore than a decade before an AI-powered chatbot could do your homework, help you make dinner or pass the bar exam, there was @Horse_ebooks. The primitive predecessor to today’s chatbot renaissance began as a Twitter account in 2010, tweeting automated excerpts from ebooks that, decontextualized, took on unexpected and strangely poetic meanings.Purportedly a spambot, the account surfaced quotes from ebooks that went viral for their absurdist fragments – phrases like “Hello saxophone,” “COULD THIS BE THE”, and “Today we are lucky to be talking”. It amassed more than 200,000 followers at its peak and now, despite being inactive for a decade, the account still holds 131,000 followers. Its most memorable quip – “everything happens so much” – still resonates today. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2024-01-03 15:00:04 UTC ]
There is already a decent amount of free books for kids available online, and now there has been a recent expansion of available resources. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-04-01 10:38:43 UTC ]
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The ‘National Emergency Library’ has made 1.4m ebooks freely available, many by current bestsellers, and sparked outrage from writers’ organisationsThe Internet Archive has launched a “National Emergency Library”, making 1.4m books available free online – but has been accused of “hitting authors... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-03-30 17:13:20 UTC ]
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These feel-good ebooks don't have long waits -- if any wait at all -- from your library. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-03-27 10:32:33 UTC ]
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You can now download ten free ebooks on social and economic justice from Haymarket Books to read while social distancing. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-03-19 15:10:47 UTC ]
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With each passing day, it becomes harder to downplay the impact of the coronavirus. Yesterday, the World Health Organization formally declared the outbreak a pandemic, having previously held off on doing so. Even Donald Trump—who, to this point, has cast the virus as actually not that big a deal... Continue reading at Columbia Journalism Review
[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2020-03-12 12:00:45 UTC ]
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Rishi Sunak confirmed ebooks and online newspapers will no longer be subjected to sales tax The government will abolish the 20% “reading tax” on ebooks and online newspapers from December, although it is unclear whether publishers will pass the full saving on to customers.Printed books and... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-03-11 19:46:19 UTC ]
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Amid Europe's largest COVID-19 outbreak, Italian citizens in lockdown have been able to read free Mondadori ebooks in a program facilitated by Kobo. The post Coronavirus: Canada’s Kobo Joins Mondadori in Providing Free Ebooks to Italians in Lockdown appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-03-11 12:22:51 UTC ]
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Rakuten OverDrive, a platform for digital books (used by more than 43,000 libraries and schools worldwide), has released a list of its most-borrowed ebooks and audiobooks in 2019. There are no real surprises on the list, besides maybe the fact that so many people want to listen to a woman tell... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-01-08 19:19:19 UTC ]
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JPay made ebooks from Project Gutenberg free to incarcerated people who have their tablets last month. But...where did the money they collected for all of those Project Gutenberg books go? Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-12-05 11:39:33 UTC ]
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Macmillan's embargo on new ebooks impacts public libraries, now scrambling to make materials available to patrons. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-11-01 10:32:08 UTC ]
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TV star joins delegation to the chancellor of the exchequer demanding an end to VAT on digital books, which traditional publications escapeChildren’s laureate Cressida Cowell and former Blue Peter presenter Konnie Huq have joined 90 MPs calling on the government to scrap the “reading tax” on... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2019-10-31 15:01:27 UTC ]
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We examine why interactive ebooks have struggled to catch on among readers, considering the work that goes into them, the distraction of them, and more. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-09-05 10:36:04 UTC ]
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Author’s son explains that wish for accessibility has persuaded trustees to look past his father’s dislike of digital mediaAfter years of refusing to allow publishers to digitise his works, the estate of JD Salinger has announced that the author’s famously small body of work will be published as... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2019-08-12 15:49:19 UTC ]
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Sponsored by Ruby Lang’s Playing House. Available now wherever eBooks are sold. These deals were active as of this writing, but ... Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-08-07 15:35:07 UTC ]
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You don't need Kindle Unlimited to get free ebooks on Amazon — all you need is a Prime subscription. Here are the best Amazon Prime books on Prime Reading. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-07-18 10:35:34 UTC ]
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Union-busting retail behemoth Walmart has come under fire this week for prominently featuring Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf in a sponsored Facebook post. According to Business Insider, the since-deleted post featured an oil painting of history’s greatest monster underneath a message urging customers... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2019-07-02 19:41:09 UTC ]
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It's a little while since Microsoft announced that is dropping the Books category from the Microsoft Store, but a serious deadline is now looming. If you have bought books or downloaded free books from the Store, you only have a few more days to read them -- so if there are any you haven't... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2019-06-28 15:41:08 UTC ]
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Sweden’s Bonnier has announced a sweeping expansion in Europe of its BookBeat digital service, multiplying by seven times its former reach in terms of markets for audiobooks and ebooks. By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson Service Has More Than 50,000 Audiobooks and Ebooks he... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2019-06-24 12:55:40 UTC ]
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The growing popularity of ebooks in Russia is prompting some publishers to look at online serialization as an option for distribution and sales, both as an offer to consumers and to writers of works in progress. The post Russian Book Market Players Explore Digital Serialization appeared first on... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2019-06-20 05:30:42 UTC ]
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We can argue about the merits and flaws of Chromebooks all day long, but one thing is clear: They've found a strong foothold in the education market. Indeed, today Google is announcing that more than 30 million Chromebooks are in use by students arou... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2019-06-19 13:30:00 UTC ]
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