News & Notes is a weekly Saturday post featuring book- and publishing-related news, links to interesting articles and opinion pieces, and other cool stuff
Bookish News
- Stakes Are High as Judge Hears Motion to Block Texas Book Rating Law (Publishers Weekly)
- New PEN America Report Documents Surge in ‘Educational Intimidation’ Bills (Publishers Weekly)
- Zadie Smith, Stephen King and Rachel Cusk’s pirated works used to train AI (The Guardian) Other authors whose works appear to have been used include Margaret Atwood, Elena Ferrante, George Saunders, and Haruki Murakami. (See below for more articles on books and AI.)
Worth Reading/Viewing
- We are all invested in the freedom to read (Summer Lopez, Concord Monitor) Lopez argues that the freedom to read, especially for students, is essential to a healthy democracy. She also points out, “Authoritarians silence the most vulnerable voices first so that you might get used to it, but it’s highly unlikely to stop there. And authoritarians go after books and writers because words and stories are powerful. They allow people to imagine a different, better world.”
- The plot thickens: The battle over books comes at a cost (NPR)
- The Book Banners and I Have One Thing in Common. (Garret Keizer, New York Times)** TL;DR: they both believe in the power of books.
- #BookTok Helped Book Sales Soar. How Long Will That Last? (Publishers Weekly)
- ‘We’re gripped by graphomania’: why writing became an online contagion and how we can contain it (Adam Thirlwell, The Guardian)
- Checking Email? You’re Probably Not Breathing. Here’s how to get “screen apnea” in check. (New York Times)**
- Moving books is a big pain. Here’s how to make it easier. (Washington Post)**
- On the Difficulty of Getting Rid of Books (Lewis Buzbee, Literary Hub) “I don’t get rid of them, per se; rather, I set them afloat, in search of new homes.”
- How Much Does It Cost To Open A Bookstore? (Arvyn Cerézo, Book Riot)
** May be behind a paywall, if you have used up your free articles for the month.
Thoughts on Books and Authors
- Dragons Are People Too: Ursula Le Guin’s Acts of Recognition (John Plotz, Literary Hub)
AI (“artificial intelligence”)
- “AI Will Never Be Good Enough To Replace Real Authors” Is the Wrong Conversation (Jamie Canaves, Book Riot)
- The end of work: which jobs will survive the AI revolution? (David Runciman, The Guardian)
Bookish Quote
Nicole @ BookWyrmKnits
“Reading is an act of resistance.” I’ve seen similar quotes before, but I love them all.
Nicole @ BookWyrmKnits recently posted…Would I Rather… book tag (Fantasy Edition)