Category: words

Everyone’s concentration is shot right now, and for some, it’s just too hard to focus long enough, either physically or mentally, to read a novel. But “there’s something about reading a short form – a capsule of place, time or character – that appeals to me. I know that I can get through it in one sitting. It doesn’t ask too much.” – The Guardian (UK)

That is the question. The Booker delayed its prize not because it couldn’t have a virtual ceremony, but because book distribution is in a bit of a crisis right now. “According to a statement, the award will be delayed until later in the northern summer to ensure that readers are able to get hold of copies of the shortlisted books.” Uh, yes please. – Sydney Morning Herald

Logical, right? (Maybe? Who actually knows?) The New York Public Library’s CEO says that “libraries once they reopen may impose a quarantine period on books that lasts as long as scientists determine the coronavirus can survive on the materials.” That is, of course, one of the big questions. – Yahoo Finance

In 1769, amateur historian James Granger published the Biographical History of England, from Egbert the Great to the Revolution. It was an interactive book, aimed at collectors of printed images—a popular new hobby at the time. The Biographical History featured portraits of historical figures and blank leaves to let readers take notes referring to their own collections. Soon, collectors went beyond the book’s intended use, instead adding their own portrait collections directly inside. – JSTOR

The fundraiser got the anonymous donation, organized to help out struggling book sellers, after raising £100,000. Book shop owners are feeling a bit conflicted. – The Guardian

“Today, as the pandemic reshapes the ways we understand our work life and its meaning, Terkel’s supermarket workers would be classified ‘essential’ to the smooth continuity of society. Yet they would also receive modest wages (at best) and come to work knowing that they will be exposed daily to COVID-19. It’s doubtful being ‘essential’ would leave them feeling any more valued. Or as Working described it nearly a half century ago, many of the workers who keep this country humming are the same people we regard as social wallpaper and take for granted.” – Chicago Tribune

Dwight Garner: “With so many hours to obliterate, I’ve found myself turning to the experts. I’ve pushed away the Tootsie Roll wrappers and empty root beer cans and gathered around my bed what I will call my library of indolence,” featuring such heroic figures as Bartleby the Scrivener and Oblomov. – The New York Times

“Attempts to remove books from libraries across the US rose almost a fifth last year, with children’s books featuring LGBTQ characters making up 80% of the most challenged books,” according to the annual report from the American Library Association. – The Guardian

Jason Boog recounts how his experience as a (non-)working writer during the Great Recession moved him to rediscover the story of the publishing industry’s first strike. – Literary Hub