"The venue had the clandestine air of a speakeasy. Notice of its existence was passed along by word of mouth. Guests stuffed cash into a cardboard box marked 'donations' to receive canned Modelo from a fridge. There were readings, screenings and music shows." - The New York Times
If and when machines can “write essays” that are more deftly organized, more thoroughly researched, and more persuasive than our student’s efforts, then writing’s purpose will cease to reside solely in the finished text. It has never solely resided there, of course, but we too often act and teach as if it does. - The Millions
"Three days after voting to cease publication and lay off its journalists, the nonprofit publisher of the Texas Observer said on Wednesday that it would change course and keep the 68-year-old liberal magazine going, following an emergency appeal that crowdsourced more than $300,000." - The Texas Tribune
Reading has always been a very personal thing. Now, however, I have a little percentage tracker on my home page, Goodreads friends applaud my progress each time I finish a book, and it feels … strangely comforting. - The Guardian
After a brutal decline following the Great Recession, print-book sales are up 33 percent in the past 10 years. If the high costs and complexity of the ebook market for libraries pushes more readers to purchase print books (or ebooks), that is a feature, not a bug, for the publishers. - The Atlantic
"Newsletter company Substack, which reportedly struggled to fundraise last year amid a broader downturn in the tech market, wants its next round of financing to come directly from its pool of writers." - Quartz
The question of where a story should begin and end is one that recurs throughout “White Cat, Black Dog,” and is part of what gives the stories a melancholy air of flux and fragility. - The New Yorker
Poirot and Miss Marple mysteries written between 1920 and 1976 have had passages reworked or removed in new editions published by HarperCollins to strip them of language and descriptions that modern audiences find offensive. - The Guardian
Learning how to catalogue properly is an essential part of bookselling, though exactly what constitutes “properly” will change depending on who you ask. - LitHub
"The last decade has seen a flurry of illustrated Korean cookbooks, one-panel satirical comics about South Asian chai, and graphic novels about Japanese-American culinary history. No matter the focus, each cartoon offers vivid depictions of the artists' beloved foods." - Atlas Obscura
“The bad handwriting specifically comes from I’m thinking too fast for my hand. I feel like being able to type as quickly as I’m thinking I have this like great advantage where I don’t have to worry about legibility.” - The New York Times
The culture editors at El País had been considering starting a reading group for several years, but they only went ahead and launched the project in late 2022. In five months, the club had grown to over 1,100 members in Spain and Latin America. - Nieman Lab
"The decision marks an end to 68 years of publication, starting with its founding in 1954 by Ronnie Dugger and including a six-year period under the helm of the legendary Molly Ivins from 1970 to 1976." - The Texas Tribune
For all the opportunities ChatGPT might bring, its greatest threat right now is to the teaching of writing. There are other ways to assess students’ knowledge: oral exams, multiple-choice tests, handwritten answers. So what is the university paper for? - The Walrus
"The four publishing houses — Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, John Wiley & Sons and Penguin Random House — accused the Internet Archive of 'mass copyright infringement' for loaning out digital copies of books without the publishers' permission." - NPR
