Category: words

Report: We’re Reading More In Lockdown (And Our Taste Is Changing)

According to the nationally representative sample of 1,000 adults, surveyed from 29 April to 1 May, the nation has also increased the amount of time it spends reading books from around 3.5 hours per week, to six. Just 10% of adults said they were reading less. Readers also revealed their tastes have changed since the outbreak of Covid-19. – The Guardian

A Book Festival For The Epidemic Era, Live From Africa

“Afrolit Sans Frontières, a series of hourlong readings and question-and-answer sessions held entirely on Facebook and Instagram, kicked off on March 23 and [is recurring monthly]. In the face of the pandemic, with countless numbers of book fairs, tours and other literary events canceled or postponed, Afrolit stands out as a gathering where readers — for some sessions, hundreds have logged in — can hear from authors and talk to them about sometimes difficult or taboo subjects.” – The New York Times

Francophone African Authors Are Finally Getting Their Work Published Within Africa

For decades, most authors writing in French in Africa have had to publish their books in France, partly because of a lack of publishing infrastructure at home and partly because French companies have insisted on worldwide rights. So if these writers’ books appear in their own countries at all, the prices are something like a week’s pay for an ordinary person. Now the authors are pushing back, insisting on retaining rights for Africa and even starting their own publishing houses to produce affordable editions. – The Guardian

Book Sales Were Down 35 Percent In April

Categories of books that sold best last month were fiction, cookbooks, and children’s books, but compared with April 2019, sales were largely down at the indies contacted. Most saw declines of more than 35% compared to the same period in the prior year. For many, online sales continue to be a lifeline, especially direct-to-home orders fulfilled by Ingram. – Publishers Weekly

This 222-Year-Old Poem Really Captures The Spirit Of 2020 (And Not Just Because Of COVID)

“Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,’ first published in 1798, is … the dream-poem of right now.” It’s currently appearing on YouTube in short daily installments read by a nebula of quirky stars (Jeremy Irons, Marianne Faithfull, Willem Dafoe, Hilary Mantel, Tilda Swinton, Iggy Pop, etc.), and James Parker explains why the project reflects our zeitgeist so well. – The Atlantic

The Case Of The Revered Scholar, The Chain-Store Mogul, And The Stolen Papyri

Dirk Obbink was perhaps the world’s most admired expert in Greek-language papyrus fragments from the early centuries of the Christian era — which is why he was recruited by Hobby Lobby president Steve Green around a decade ago to work on acquiring material for his major project, the Museum of the Bible. Now, almost ten years later, Obbink stands accused of stealing and reselling papyrus fragments under his care at Oxford and trafficking in other pieces that were looted. – The Atlantic

Philanthropists Are Trying To Take The Baltimore Sun Non-Profit

“The Baltimore Sun is owned by Tribune Publishing. Alden Global Capital, a New York-based hedge fund infamous for purchasing, then gutting, newspapers across the US, owns a 32% stake in Tribune Publishing.” The campaign, called “Save Our Sun” and led by the Goldseker and Abell Foundations, “mirrors that of The Salt Lake Tribune, which transitioned to non-profit status in 2019.” – The Guardian