News & Notes — 6/08/13

June 8, 2013 News & Notes 12

News & Notes is a weekly Saturday post featuring book- and publishing-related news, links to interesting articles and opinion pieces, giveaways on this and other blogs, and other cool stuff.

Books & Ebooks in the News:

Worth Reading:


For Writers & Bloggers:

 

Free & Bargain books:


    Really Cool:  

    • And while we’re listening to great literature, here’s A. A. Milne reading from Winnie the Pooh in 1929.  Specifically, Chapter 3, “In Which Pooh and Piglet Go Hunting and Nearly Catch a Woozle.”

      What do you call a carbonated beverage: soda, pop, coke, or a soft drink?
      • A PhD student has created “22 Maps That Show How Americans Speak English Totally Differently From Each Other.”  (Actually, he has created about 123 maps; the link to all the maps is available at the end of this sequence.)  It’s fascinating to go through them and see where you fall on the map.  I could see the influence of the places I lived in childhood in my pronunciation and word choices.  
      • Wrecked Writings, an Etsy shop, offers jewelry boxes made from used books.  I’m not normally a fan of cutting up books, but these are pretty cool.  Here’s a case made from the whole set of Harry Potter books:

          Awesome lists: 

          I’m always on the lookout for interesting articles, lists, and links for News & Notes, so please let me know if you see (or write!) anything that might be good for this feature.  You can leave me a comment or send me an email — my address is on the About/Review Policy/Contact page.

          12 Responses to “News & Notes — 6/08/13”

          1. Diana Leigh

            I moved from a Coke to a pop area, though I prefer to call it soda, lol. Thanks for all the great links. I’m checking our the sci-fi troubles now.

          2. Jess @ Literary, etc

            Ah I so want to ask some male authors at an upcoming Sci-Fi book convention in my city their thoughts on the whole SFWA fallout, but I’m afraid of being escorted out of the building. It’s a shame that it is happening in this day and age.

            The 22 maps was interesting! I disagree with a few ways to pronounce words and such, but still it was great to see.

            • Lark @ The Bookwyrm's Hoard

              Well, the reaction you get will depend on whom you ask. Some writers are bristling and defending what was published; others are very supportive of women’s objections. One of the latter who has been quite vocal in support of the women’s “side” in all this is Jim C. Hines, author of Libriomancer. He’s rather a champion of inclusion and an opponent of prejudice, oppression, and marginalization generally. But he’s certainly not the only male writer speaking up to say that was was written and published was not OK.

          3. Jan

            You have so much interesting news this week! I thought the jewelry box from old books is great and the map is so interesting.

            The SWFA controversy is pretty amazing to see happening in 2013.

            Thanks for the news!

            • Lark @ The Bookwyrm's Hoard

              You’re welcome! I love it that you and other readers enjoy this feature. I have fun finding the articles and links. Well, maybe not so much fun this week, given the SFWA controversy. Some of the opinion pieces made me spitting mad on behalf of the women who were dismissed, disdained, or otherwise subjected to less-than-respectful behavior from people who should know better.

          4. Bea's Book Nook

            I saw that American English map on facebook and it is interesting and lots of fun.

            I’ve been reading varuious blogs about the SF/F scandal and some of them, such as Ann Aguirre’s, are heartbreaking. It feels like we’ve made no progress at all.

            • Lark @ The Bookwyrm's Hoard

              Agreed. (And I’ve added a link to Ann Aguirre’s post, too.) It is very discouraging. As the mother of a young woman about to enter college, the fact that we’re still fighting these battles is just infuriating. I really wanted things to be different for her generation. In some ways they are, but clearly, in some ways there’s still a long, long way to go.

          5. kimbacaffeinate

            I love the news, there is always one or two things that are new to me. Amazing that indie books make up 12% of sales..how cool is that!

            • Lark @ The Bookwyrm's Hoard

              I’m glad you enjoy the News & Notes feature! It’s fun to put together. Yes, I was surprised that indie books make up such a high percentage of sales. I suspect it’s based on units sold rather than total sales (and because so many people — like us! — download freebies or buy books at bargain prices.) Tere’s nothing in the post that says one way or another.