News & Notes – 11/02/13

November 2, 2013 Uncategorized 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:

      Book & Movie Announcements: 

      • Peek Inside J. J. Abrams’ [and Doug Dorst’s] Absurdly Beautiful New Project . It’s two books in one: a novel called Ship of Theseus, purportedly by S. V. Straka, and the story of two students trying to figure out the mystery behind the enigmatic author, told in handwritten margin notes and ephemera such as postcards and letters, stuck between the pages.  The project is called S. and is now available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and local bookstores.  (On Thursday, B&N was cheaper by about $5.)  A word of caution: judging by the video trailer on Amazon, this is a more than a bit creepy. (Buzzfeed)

       

      Free & Bargain books:

      Awesome lists: 

      Really cool:

      • This Map Will Delight Book Lovers Everywhereit features over 600 titles in a map of a make-believe city.  (Buzzfeed)
      • Go Book Yourself bills itself as “Book recommendations by humans, because algorithms are so 1984.”  Check out this Tumblr for great recommendations in the “if you like this, try this” format. 

       

      Just for fun:  

      • Googly Eye Books puts — you guessed it — googly eyes on book covers.  A quirky, irreverent, and oddly amusing Tumblr blog.

       

        Bookish Quotes:

        That’s it for this week!

        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 – 11/02/13”

        1. Bea

          That new X-men movie has great potential; it should be fun.

          I am sometimes late returning books but never have I been THAT late. Only in Texas.

          • Lark @ The Bookwyrm's Hoard

            I agree on the X-Men flick!

            As for overdue books, I’ve had them on occasion, but never that late. We did check a book out for over a year once — my husband was reading it whenever his mom was in the hospital, which was a fair bit that year. No one put the book on hold, so the library happily renewed it each time we asked. See why I love my library so much?!

          • Lark @ The Bookwyrm's Hoard

            It’s a little extreme, but it would certainly get the point across! I’m trying to picture the scene in the jail, though… sort of like that scene in the song “Alice’s Restaurant” where he’s been arrested for dumping trash. “What’re you in for, kid?” “Um… my library book was 3 years overdue?…”

        2. nessili

          I love Allie Brosh/Hyperbole and a Half. All of her posts are hilarious, and oh-so-true, and all the more so when she’s discussing her daily life with depression. I’ve never been able to write for myself, nor found elsewhere in books or blogs, a more accurate description of what that kind of life is like (“My fish are dead.”). I gave more than a few people links to her posts, so they could maybe finally grasp it. I’m glad to see her getting the credit she deserves for her work.

          • Lark @ The Bookwyrm's Hoard

            She really is good, and I applaud her for ‘laying it out there’ and showing people what depression is really like. (I’ve not had to deal with serious depression, fortunately, but anxiety is another matter.) It’s good to see people like Allie Brosh going public, both because it may help others understand, and because it reduces some of the stigma associated with depression and other mental illnesses.

        3. readerholicnotes

          Great News and Notes this week. I hope the X-Men movie will be good and I had a flashback to Alice’s Restaurant, too! Thanks for the info about the book bloggers survey. I read part I, but not the other parts!

          • Lark @ The Bookwyrm's Hoard

            Thanks, Jan! I found the book blogger survey responses interesting, though I don’t think they’ll change what I’m doing. I was surprised how few bloggers are earning any money from their blog — not that I think everyone should (and I know I’m not), but it seems to me that some of the blogs I frequent are either affiliates with Amazon or someplace, or have book-related ads. As one blogger I follow says, she uses the money to support giveaways and so on. I shouldn’t think it’s much, but I can see it helping with that.

        4. Berls

          Awesome post as always! I think that arresting people for overdue books is a little extreme, but at the same time imposing some repercussions for not returning books makes a lot of sense. I mean, not returning a book is technically stealing, right?

          oh and xmen! yay – I hope it will be good!

          • Lark @ The Bookwyrm's Hoard

            I suppose it is stealing, but arresting people seems a little extreme. Seems like a ticket and fine (as for driving misdemeanors) would be a more in keeping with the infraction. After all, usually when people don’t return library books, its because they lost it or forgot all about it, not with malice aforethought.

            And I’m definitely looking forward to the Xmen movie!