Editors at the Raleigh News & Observer have revamped their books section, and so far, the paper’s editors report, the response from readers has been positive. There are “plans to broaden the books pages to appeal to a larger range of readers by reviewing more kinds of books. To that end, [editor Marcy Smith] has lined up a dozen writers to do regular columns on ‘niche’ genres: among others, children’s and young adult books, food, poetry, race, women’s issues, science fiction and mysteries. Previously, Smith said, the books pages were more of a ‘books-based approach. This is more of a reader-based approach. It will be the big important books, but a wider range, all of the books people are reading’.”
Tag: 07.15.07
Italian Art Restorer Authenticates A Caravaggio
“But the announcement this week by Roberta Lapucci — who studied the painting for six months aided by new techniques — has left some Caravaggio experts skeptical. It’s also rekindled a debate in the art world about whether Caravaggio sometimes painted the same work twice.”
Are We Losing Our Culture?
“Our prolonged crises over multi-culturalism, inspired by the rise of Islamism – threatens us with the loss of our culture. The western world could become a civilisation devoid of culture: exactly what, in 1922, Oswald Spengler forecast in his book The Decline of the West. For Spengler, we were about to find ourselves in the depraved, cultureless condition of the late Roman empire.”
Challenges For San Diego’s New Dance Center
San Diego has a new home for dance. “Dance Place San Diego opened in December at NTC Promenade. Moving into the 23,000-square-foot, 11-studio building were three resident dance troupes – Malashock Dance, Jean Isaacs’ San Diego Dance Theater and San Diego Ballet – as well as San Diego Actors’ Alliance and a wellness practice.” But financial challenges abound…
Play With Your Kids? Uh-uh!
“American-style parent-child play is a distinct feature of wealthy developed countries — a recent byproduct of the pressure to get kids ready for the information-age economy.” But maybe that’s a bad idea: “Some of those children are being raised to be spoiled, demanding, requiring constant adult attention, and inclined to argue with their parents.”
How Does “Harry” Rank As Literature?
“No one questions the popularity of J.K. Rowling’s ‘Harry Potter’ series — 350 million copies now in print worldwide, with the seventh and final book in the series, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” going on sale Saturday with the largest first press run, 12 million, in the history of American publishing. But that enormous popularity has overshadowed consideration of the series’ literary merits.”
Publisher Ponders A Post-Harry World
“Can a company revered in the industry for its fleet, efficient distribution (Raincoast does fulfilment for more than 45 U.S., British and Canadian imprints), and that is known to the public, if it’s known at all, as the publisher of JK Rowling, celebrity foodie Anthony Bourdain and Griffin & Sabine creator Nick Bantock, find new sources of magic in a post-Hogwarts universe? It’s a question with a lot at stake.”
Latest Museum Unveiling: Akron
“The museum’s $35 million, 63,300-square-foot expansion, designed by the edgy contemporary firm of Coop Himmelb(l)au of Vienna, Austria, opens to the public Tuesday after three years of construction. With jagged, thrusting shapes in glass and steel, the expansion declares that Akron, part of a Midwest industrial region struggling for economic rebirth, is ready to zoom into the future at warp speed.”
Harry Potter Generation Isn’t Taking Reading Habit On
“We seem to be doing a better job than ever at teaching younger kids to read, but when kids enter adolescence, their reading — and reading ability — falls off. The power of the electronic, commercial entertainment media seems to be taking teenagers away from reading.”
In Second Year, DC Fringe Festival Takes Hold
“If an initial concern after the birth last summer of Capital Fringe — brainchild of Brienza and executive director Damian Sinclair — was that it could become a way station for out-of-town shows moving on the circuit from one Fringe Festival to the next, this year’s could put such fears to rest. The event appears to be taking on a distinctly Washington flavor.”