While women played key roles in the development of crosswords in the US, by the late 20th-century, puzzle-constructing was dominated by college-educated white guys, and clues reflected that. Today the puzzling world, gradually becoming more diverse, can help create a common cultural vocabulary in a diverse society. - The Atlantic (MSN)
The novel was published this week, unleashing a backlash from scholars, writers and fans who’ve taken exception not with the novel itself, but rather with what they see as an act of betrayal that endangers García Márquez’s legacy. - The New York Times
"Patriotic blogger Wu Wanzheng, who goes by 'Truth-Telling Mao Xinghuo' online, sued under a law that carries civil penalties and (occasionally) criminal punishments for perceived offenses against China’s heroes and martyrs. Wu claimed Mo’s books have smeared the Chinese Communist Party’s reputation ... and insulted former revolutionary leader Mao Zedong." - AP
"While one hardcover copy of (Robin) Cook’s latest novel costs (a) library $18, it costs $55 to lease a digital copy — a price that can’t be haggled with publishers. And for that, the e-book expires after a limited time, usually one or two years, or after 26 checkouts." - AP
The 13-book longlist "signals a 'second ‘boom’ in Latin American fiction', said judges, with a quarter of the nominated authors being South American." - The Guardian (UK)
Kathryn Scanlon, winner of the Gordon Burn prize, says, "I love that you could come to this book and not really know what it is you’re reading.” - The Guardian (UK)
Luca screenwriter Simon Stephenson wrote that "the evidence The Holdovers screenplay has been plagiarised line-by-line from Frisco is genuinely overwhelming – anybody who looks at even the briefest sample pretty much invariably uses the word ‘brazen.’” - Variety
What kind of camera doesn’t matter, but thinking about everything from framing devices to length of exposure surely can kick the writing gears back into motion. - LitHub
“Children have told us that they think that reading choices are judged by the adults around them,” said Cassie Chadderton, CEO of World Book Day. “It discourages them, it puts them off reading for pleasure and by choice”. - The Guardian
Sometimes we ignore a book’s material presence: absorbed, ‘good’ reading is often figured as a forgetting of the material conditions of book, body, room and time, even though these conditions affect how we read. With certain other books it makes no sense to separate text from object. - London Review of Books
"Counterfeiting occurs when a party poses as a book’s real publisher to sell fake versions of books. … Sometimes these versions are obviously fake — bad scans of a book are not uncommon. Sometimes the fakes are actual EPUBs that the counterfeiter duplicated." There's a new way to help block these forgeries. - Publishers Weekly
Allstora claims to offer 10 million titles, among which are Mein Kampf and books by such anti-LGBTQ campaigners as former actor Kirk Cameron. Lady Bunny calls Allstora "rainbow capitalism," and the owner of one lesbian bookstore says it's "a dropshipping operation with a kind of veneer of progressivity over it." - Vulture
What does it mean to credit the written word with such capacious potencies, to charge it with such real-world responsibilities? And how is literature, poetry, language to operate as a force for good and still maintain its duties to itself, to its self-delighting, essentially purposeless imperative to live as lively language? - Public Books
During the '00s, Gabo went through several drafts of Until August and planned to publish it. But by 2012, afflicted with dementia and unable to finalize the book, he asked that it be destroyed. A decade later, his sons decided it could be salvaged. Were they right to try? - The New York Times
According to circulation data from the Houston Independent school district, the number of books checked out per student at NES schools dwindled to nearly zero compared to over five books to more than 12 books a student at non-NES schools in the district from August 2023 to January 2024. - The Guardian
