Books carry knowledge, and knowledge is power, which makes books a threat to authorities – governments and self-appointed leaders alike – who want to have a monopoly on knowledge and to control what their citizens think. And the most efficient way to exert this power over books is to ban them. - BBC
It’s ironic. Texting was meant to make communication easier, but it can be much harder to discern someone’s tone over text, especially with inflections as subtle as sarcasm. - Prospect
"Ordering a coffee in a foreign country or translating lyrics can only do so much harm, but think about emergency situations involving firefighters, police, border patrol, or immigration. And without proper regulation and clear guidelines, it could get worse." - Slate
For instance, was there any connection between Gutenberg's first printing of the Bible in 1455 and the first known document ever printed, 77 years earlier in Korea? That's what a team of researchers assembled by UNESCO's International Center for Documentary Heritage is investigating. - Atlas Obscura
Remember, it's not only the right that sometimes wants to eliminate certain books from the curriculum. (Think of Huckleberry Finn, frequently condemned for its copious, period-accurate use of the n-word.) Deborah Appleman suggests approaches to keeping a text in the classroom while mitigating potential damage or controversy. - Literary Hub
"After spending the past few years teasing its literary ambitions and acquiring the audiobook platform Findaway for $119 million, Spotify has formally launched its audiobooks business as an à la carte model that will allow users to purchase and download individual audiobooks." - The Hollywood Reporter
“This is a concerted, organized, well-resourced push at censorship,” said Suzanne Nossel, the chief executive of PEN America. The effort, she said, “is ideologically motivated and politically expedient, and it needs to be understood as such in order to be confronted and addressed properly.” - The New York Times
So does every other country's belief in its war history, of course. "Versions told by autocrats and family men trample diary entries and letters. Stories, or rather silences, around the Siege have haunted Leningrad-native Barskova her entire life." - LitHub
Gayl Jones and Jamil Jan Kochai are the only established names on a list that includes two filmmakers and several books of short stories - and that leaves off some expected nominees like Yiyun Li, Lydia Millet, and Andrew Sean Greer. - Washington Post (AP)
"I’m sometimes asked about fiction I wrote 50 years ago and it’s cheering to know that for readers there is no time dimension. Books live in a form of the perpetual present." - The Guardian (UK)
"Once maligned as lowbrow, the genre has gained popularity over the past two decades" - perhaps because of social media and our hyper-aware lives. - The Atlantic
And so his English translator says now's the time for Perhat Turson's bleak novel finally to come out in English. "They deserve to have their voices and their work recognized," he says. - The New York Times
"Public libraries have been threatened by politicians and community members with a loss of funding for their refusal to remove books. Members of the Proud Boys, an extremist right-wing group, showed up at a school board meeting. ... Librarians have been accused of promoting pedophilia." - The New York Times
How do the people making up the Ilona Andrews brand do it? Gordon Andrews: "We have argued about the fate of certain characters. Who lives, who dies." (Ilona agrees.) - The New York Times
"I wrote a biography of the man that was largely glowing. Football heroics, overcoming obstacles, practical joker, etc. And, looking at it now, if I’m being brutally honest—I’d advise people not to read it. He’s a bad guy. He doesn’t deserve the icon treatment. He doesn’t deserve acclaim." - Poynter
