Introduction to the Literary Works of Jack Matthews, Ohio fiction writer, book collector and essayist. By Robert Nagle...

Alberto Manguel, (in an interview with PBS ArtBeat) speaks about  reading and technology. ALBERTO MANGUEL: I don't think that the definition of library has changed. Libraries have never been repositories solely of books. In Alexandria for instance, the model of the ideal library perhaps, there was a will to collect every book in the world, but at the same time they had maps and objects and there was a sense that this was a world of study and communication. The technology changes, and so electronic media should enter the library as long as we...

Two months ago I wrote in an article I wrote about  how to build a better vocabulary,  I recommended buying a good dictionary – only to realize that I no longer possessed one! I have always been a dictionary fiend, but especially become one while teaching in Eastern Europe, where a good English dictionary was still a rare and valuable object. I remember the joy in my supervisor’s voice when I arranged for him to receive a brand new version of American Heritage Dictionary (AHD). I have  fond memories of reaching underneath my bed for the dictionary, looking up a common-but-unclear...

A few weeks ago Paul Biba blogged about a hilarious Charlie Brooker video about how to report the news. Charlie Brooker is a kind of British Steven Colbert/Bill Moyers who analyzes current media obsessions with a cynical eye. (See his piece about mass killings  and his pilot Newswipe episode and his take on American news media).  Surprise! Brooker also writes regular columns at the Guardian too. Here’s his take on ebooks: The lack of a cover immediately alters your purchasing habits. As soon as I got the ebook, I went on a virtual shopping spree,...

I have one question for Netflix. I need an answer. If you click on the movie metadata, you can see other films by the same director or cast member. Why on earth would Netflix not also let you browse by the name of the script writer? They don’t even list it in the metadata. I remember reading somewhere that in Shakespeare’s time his plays were very famous, and people associated them mainly with the   actors who played the leads – but nobody had  never heard of Shakespeare’s name. Shakespeare wasn’t exactly hiding his identity; in fact he published...

Some brief links I stumbled upon that grabbed me. Semi-related to publishing. 2 good articles about Web typography from Smashing Magazine: Best Practices and some usability tips. See also Richard Rudder’s elements of typographical style applied to the web.  Here’s also an article about font-stacks and embedded fonts. Joanna MacNeil on why teenagers read better than you and the new self-publishing: If I could enter Max Frisch’s “I’m Not Stiller” in a search engine and receive several recommendations of similar books, you bet I wouldn’t care if they’re self-published or not. Virginia Woolf: “Books ought to be so cheap that we can throw...

I realize this is off-topic, but I have been working on a series of articles about Jamendo, a free and legal French music site that distributes over 29,000 creative commons albums. Over the last 3 years I have listened to 2200+ of the Jamendo’s 29,000 free music albums and chosen the best of the best for my article 11 Incredible Music Albums you can download for free. The Jamendo concept is very interesting (I wrote about it for Teleread a few years ago). In many ways Jamendo has been doing a lot of things right from an audience point of view...

I’m busy figuring out cool things to get children for Christmas. (Alas, David, I should have written this post two weeks ago!) Feel free to share  your own ideas and recommendations. Book of Totally Irresponsible Science: 64 Daring Experiments for Young Scientists : fun book with lots of attitude. Burning ice! How to make a backyard volcano! I’ve thumbed through the book. It looks great! Phantom Tollbooth, a childhood favorite of mine, with nutty illustrations. Sita Sings the Blues, feature-length creative commons cartoon based on Hindi...

Here’s an amazing TV commercial for Levi’s Jeans starring…. Walt Whitman! Click on image for larger view. Yes, that’s his actual voice reading the 1888 poem America in this video poem/commercial.  Here’s another video poem for Whitman’s Pioneers from Leaves of Grass..this time read by actor Will Greer. (These pieces are directed by M. Blash of the ad agency Wieden & Kennedy). Aja Gabel comments: When I watch the commercials, I am convinced that I am the mistress of my own fate. I’m just not sure if I’m okay with that fate...

I recently wrote a 2 part series about green hosting companies and the environmental impact of data centers. Part 1  examines the challenges of trying to estimate the carbon footprint of a webhosting service or a data center. (In addition to discussing some known green hosting companies, I also talk about my unsuccessful attempts to figure out the carbon footprint of TeleRead).  Part 2 takes a look at how various data centers are attempting to improve their data efficiency and how the EPA plans to release a new Energy Star rating system for data centers in April 2010. Near the...

Sustainability expert Don Carli on ebooks: When subjected to “cradle-to-cradle ” Lifecycle Analysis eReading is not nearly as green as many naively assume it is. There is no question that print media could do a better job of managing the sustainability of its supply chains and waste streams, but it’s a misguided notion to assume that digital media is categorically greener. Computers, eReaders and cell phones don’t grow on trees and their spiraling requirement for energy is unsustainable. Making a computer typically requires the mining and refining of...

Last week TeleRead editor David Rothman and I were strolling together around Old Town of Alexandria. We spent most of the time shooting the literary breeze and suddenly found ourselves in front of a chain bookstore (where a giant display of  Glen Beck awaited us). We walked through the aisles (making the usual snide remarks) and I mentioned  Daniel Stolar’s hilarious article about his unsuccessful attempt to persuade his local bookstore to carry his book. I also regaled David with stories about working at a chain bookstore in summer of  1997.  I found that job after working as a Peace...