“Lovers of print are simply confusing the plate for the food.”
― Douglas Adams
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
A recent survey of nearly 35,000 eight to 16-year-olds by the U.K.’s National Literacy Trust found that for the first time, more kids are reading via electronic devices than traditional books. A full 52 percent preferred reading books on a tablet or other electronic device, while in comparison, only 32 percent preferred traditional books. The remaining 16 percent had no preference or said they don’t like to read.
Sexiest Agatha Christie Tattoo I have ever seen. ~ eP
…And Then There Were Shaaawiiiing!
…A Murder Most How You Doin’?
…Ten Little Is It Hot In Here Or Is It Just Me?
Don't make fun of renowned Dan Brown - Telegraph
“The satire was angry that day my friend. Like an old man trying to return soup…”
For Scientists, an Exploding World of Pseudo-Academia
A parallel world of pseudo-academia, with prestigiously titled conferences and journals that will print seemingly anything for a fee, has the scientific community alarmed.Hmm. If only there were a cadre of professionals out there who kept track of such things, who had a vested interest in keeping an eye on which OA journals were high quality (such as PLoS) and which ones were not. If only there were people researchers could partner with, along with their professional colleagues, to discuss and evaluation publication venues. If only there were people who spend a great deal of their time teaching other people how to critically evaluate what they see and read.
It’ll come to me in a minute, I’m sure.
Photo: Kirsty Mitchell
(Source: kirstymitchellphotography.com)
Old and New. One thing I like about this picture is how it highlights the real and significant impact of digital on publishing. The book section seen in the background of this photo is know as the Bargain Section. It is filled with overstock inventory remaindered at bargain closeout prices. These are books that would be otherwise pulped and destroyed. All of them could be contained in the little glowing device in the foreground and not an ounce of paper wasted. Not a digital word declared out of print because sales volume didn’t justify a reprinting.
The problem is that there is a huge percentage of the business of traditional publishing centered on the waste of getting content through the distribution pipeline. Remainders to secondary markets, used bookstores, foreign rights sales, are all branches that break the fall of bad decisions. As digital publishing develops and matures these branches one by one are cut off and with each misstep the fall becomes faster and faster. ~ eP
Old and new. #Bookstore #eReader #Nook #Books #vscocam
I am so starting a ‘walk’ for Book Pain Syndrome. (Instead of a ribbon our symbol will be the tassel from a $0.99 bookmark) ~ eP
statisticalprobabilityofanything:
They need to invent a comfortable reading position
the joy!
(Source: aurielleomega)
What Is the Business of Literature? by Richard Nash
This is an excellent essay on books, content reproduction, literature, and the sometimes violent nature of transformation.
A business born out of the invention of mechanical reproduction transforms and transcends the very circumstances of its inception, and again has the potential to continue to transform and transcend itself—to disrupt industries like education, to drive the movie industry, to empower the gaming industry. Book culture is in far less peril than many choose to assume, for the notion of an imperiled book culture assumes that book culture is a beast far more refined, rarified, and fragile than it actually is. By defining books as against technology, we deny our true selves, we deny the power of the book. Let’s restore to publishing its true reputation—not as a hedge against the future, not as a bulwark against radical change, not as a citadel amidst the barbarians, but rather as the future at hand, as the radical agent of change, as the barbarian. The business of literature is blowing shit up.
