Funds Raised for Global Literacy:
$10,184,799.20
Books Re-Used or Recycled:
63,271,794

On the Book Industry and its Byproducts (cont’d)

Posted by Jack on 12.08.2008 at 4:22 pm

My coworker Eddie just saw this and thought it relevant to my recent prognostications…

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The Pulitzer Prize, the prestigious award for excellence in print journalism, is being expanded to include online-only publications.

Since 2006 the award committee has accepted submissions from stories appearing on the websites of newspapers, like say – The New York Times – but the new guidelines would seemingly open up the prize to online-only outlets like, you know, Mashable (lol).

According to a statement issued today, the basic criteria for qualifying organizations are that they “publish at least weekly … are primarily dedicated to original news reporting and coverage of ongoing stories … and adhere to the highest journalistic principles.” Video, however, is still off-limits.

Somewhat ironically, the news comes on the same day that The Tribune Company, one of America’s biggest newspaper companies, filed for bankruptcy. Way to go, Internet.

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On the Book Industry and its Byproducts

Posted by Jack on 12.08.2008 at 3:05 pm

Across the pond, Two Ravens Press weighs in on the book industry these days:

The further demise of the book review is predicted by Robert McCrum in The Observer today.  “The book world is in full-blown transition,’ he says. ‘Blogs are rampant; Google is digitising every text going; e-readers are transforming the experience of reading. Books (and book reviewing) have been pushed to the margin. It doesn’t help that in a global recession publishing is also feeling the pinch.”

It’s an interesting question, whether blogs really are supplanting professional critical reviewing. I’m a big fan of really good serious literary blogs, which take the level of discussion about books to a place that a typical review, no matter how well done, can’t. A blog enables you to have a debate about books: what worked for you as a reader and what didn’t, and that’s a very valuable thing.

I agree with the value of book blogs (natch!) but would contest that there will always be a place for good writers.  I would go so far as to suggest that this is could become the Age of the Great Writer, Read more…

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Better World Books Volunteers at 826 Valencia

Posted by Jack on 09.29.2008 at 3:54 pm

The SF office of Better World Books is the newest collection of volunteers at Dave Eggers‘ group, 826 Valencia.  Starting next month we’ll be helping at a local SF school with college essays by high school seniors.  After that we’ll be spending 3 hours each week at the center, tutoring kids from 6-18 in various subjects.  Besides that, some of us will be doing more work on our own time in workshops, in-school tutoring and editing of the publications of the students’ work from the center (guess who’s doing that).

From the site:

826 National is a family of seven nonprofit organizations dedicated to helping students, ages 6-18, with expository and creative writing at seven locations across the country.

Our mission is based on the understanding that great leaps in learning can happen with one-on-one attention, and that strong writing skills are fundamental to future success.

Each chapter offers drop-in tutoring, field trips, workshops, and in-schools programs — all free of charge — for children, classes, and schools with particular interests or particular needs.

826 is especially committed to supporting teachers, offering services and resources for English language learners, and publishing student work. Several locations offer unique retail experiences as well.

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Poll Wednesday: Shakespeare

Posted by admin on 09.24.2008 at 11:24 am

Today’s poll is about Shakespeare.  Either you’re very interested having read that or you’re rolling your eyes to the point of sea-sickness.  In any event, how do you feel about the Bard’s work?  Awesome (Yes reader, “What a piece of work is a man”)?  Tiresome (“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio”)?  Loathesome (Oh reader, “How poor are they that have not patience!”)?  This is setting up another post, but for now, the issue at hand:

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Lux Perpetuam: David Foster Wallace

Posted by Jack on 09.15.2008 at 2:40 pm

Surprise is not a prerequisite for sadness.

David Foster Wallace, wordsmith notable for having written numerous great essays and the wonderful–if complex–Infinite Jest, was found dead yesterday.  Wallace’s wife found him after he had passed by hanging himself.

Few who were familiar with Wallace and his work will be totally shocked; suicide and depression were oft mentioned material for the author.  But the mere proliferation doesn’t ease the pain of losing this kind of talent.

His own prescience about knowing oneself (to use the cliche but correct Polonius phrase) and ability to take perspective, most notable (at least in the free-use realm) in his Commencement at Kenyon was one of his finest gifts.  At the same time this deftness with converting experience into words was one of his most difficult challenges to transcend.  As Wordsworth said of himself, “The world is too much with us; late and soon,” and one gets the feeling the world, and its dusty corners that Wallace shed light on, were indeed “too much with [him]“.  Thus, it is with the same sense which we took on the suicide of Elliott Smith, David Foster Wallace will be missed not with shock, but with a kind of resigned tragedy.  It’s like the rain on a parade after a dour forecast; you packed your umbrella, but hope still that the storm will pass.  He was 46 years old.

Check out his excellent fansite for more information and resources about his writing.

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J.K. Rowling and More Advice

Posted by Jack on 08.19.2008 at 11:04 am

I knew there should be a way to tie the last post into books and here it is: J.K. Rowling.  The author of the Harry Potter series was the most recent speaker at Harvard graduation and I was sent a copy of her speech (best parts below).

Personally I don’t care much for her writing but I do love those type of books (I can’t imagine how many times I’ve read Lord of the Rings and I read literally just about every piece of literature related to Star Wars in my youth).  It’s just her unimaginative prose that leaves me cold.  Her deft story crafting is undeniable and I won’t say I haven’t seen the movies (and read the first two books when I was baby-sitting) but I can’t embrace the books (don’t throw anything at me, please, Harry Potter lovers).

In any event, in the face of her success, she was invited to give this address and managed to be fairly average for the most part but at least saw through through the (literal) pomp and circumstance to what was important:

The first thing I would like to say is ‘thank you.’ Not only has Harvard given me an extraordinary honour, but the weeks of fear and nausea I’ve experienced at the thought of giving this commencement address have made me lose weight. A win-win situation! Now all I have to do is take deep breaths, squint at the red banners and fool myself into believing I am at the world’s best-educated Harry Potter convention.

Delivering a commencement address is a great responsibility; or so I thought until I cast my mind back to my own graduation. The commencement speaker that day was the distinguished British philosopher Baroness Mary Warnock. Reflecting on her speech has helped me enormously in writing this one, because it turns out that I can’t remember a single word she said. This liberating discovery enables me to proceed without any fear that I might inadvertently influence you to abandon promising careers in business, law or politics for the giddy delights of becoming a gay wizard.

You see? If all you remember in years to come is the ‘gay wizard’ joke, I’ve still come out ahead of Baroness Mary Warnock. Achievable goals: the first step towards personal improvement.

The rest of it dodders along through thoughts on “failure” and “success” and is interesting to read, check out the full text here.  I recall Bob Wright, CEO of NBC and a Holy Cross grad, talking at my graduation and honestly I can’t remember a single word he said (no offense Bob, I just wasn’t there for you) but Rowling’s effort isn’t too bad… maybe I would’ve listened harder in light of mere bemusement about the true nature of “success” that she was the speaker at Harvard’s graduation.

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Writers Fight Illiteracy

Posted by admin on 12.14.2007 at 10:54 am

Authors in Britain are putting pressure on the Prime Minister to nip illiteracy in the bud. 545 authors signed a letter to Prime Minister Gordon Brown expressing their concern over poor reading skills among British youth. An official statistic released showed that one in five 11 year old British school children are not able to read to the minimum standard.

They could be scared of a plummeting book sales, but my bet is that they and many others are scared of a world where kids aren’t well educated enough to read and savor Roald Dahl. Seriously, childhood without Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or The Witches can barely be called childhood.

And before anyone even suggests it, the movies do the books no justice. Grab a cup of cocoa, snuggle up with your favorite Dahl book, and relive your childhood this weekend. I know how to recognize a witch, do you??

Original article

(looking for some Dahl for Christmas?)

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