WORDS

Should We Care Whether A Book Is Soft- Or Hard-Cover?

Recently Barnes & Noble has tried to convince more publishers to publish paperback originals, particularly for YA and middle grade books. But choosing a format to please one vendor, no matter the size of that vendor, is limiting, especially when smaller indie bookstores run on such tight margins in the first place. - LitHub

Is Using AI Really Just Plagiarism?

A chatbot is not (or not yet) an individual, and therefore bears no moral responsibility, but to lay hold of what it delivers, and to pass it off as one’s own work, could be construed as handling stolen goods. - The New Yorker

A New Way To Consume What’s Euphemistically Known As ‘Kissing’ Books

"Quinn finds the guys (mostly guys) in television shows whose characters people fantasize about. It pays those guys to read original scripts that have explicit sex in them—often, as with Ember & Ice, stories that vaguely echo the original source material that the actor became famous for.” - Slate

A Tennessee Library Director Refuses To Move LGBTQ Books, Citing The First Amendment

"The Rutherford County Library Board voted ... to relocate more than 190 books, many involving LGBTQ+ themes, from children’s and teen sections to adult areas following a review of ‘age-appropriate’ materials” - and the library director refused.- The Advocate

The HarperCollins Union Has Finally Ratified Its New Contract

Not like it’s making any worker rich (check the numbers), but at least they didn’t have to strike this time. “HarperCollins employees have had a union for over 80 years, and are currently the only major publisher in the US with a union.” - LitHub

We Miss You, Mass Market Paperbacks, But We Live In Reality

Now: Which is better for authors and (or) for readers, hardcover books or trade paperbacks? - LitHub

Brooklyn Library Hosts A Booklover’s Dream Slumber Party

Is this real or a dream? “This year’s festival was stuffed like a generalist’s backpack. Events ran from 7 in the evening and wound down deliberately at 3:14 am, in honor of Pi Day. The program was anchored by German filmmaker Werner Herzog.” - LitHub

Could AI Help Decipher The Indus Valley Civilization’s Writing?

There’s nothing like a Rosetta Stone for the Harappan script (as it’s sometimes called), which developed in and around the ancient cities of Mohenjo-daro and Harappa in present-day Pakistan. Scholars have wide differences about whether the script might ever be deciphered, with or without artificial intelligence. - Live Science

The Space Between Criticism And Literary Evaluation

That’s the thing about bad works: they demand talking back to, and unlike the moments of profound inward reflection good works often inspire, we feel better off shouting out loud at the bad ones.  - 3 Quarks Daily

Report: Adding Up The Financial Worth Of Public Libraries

A new report has put a figure on the value of public libraries to the community, estimating that they are worth $86.60 in community value per adult per year. - ABC Australia

Publishers Are Unprepared For Books That Have Been Written With AI

In response to questions from The New York Times about the A.I. allegations against “Shy Girl,” Hachette told The Times that its imprint Orbit has canceled plans to release the novel in the United States and that Hachette will discontinue its U.K. edition. - The New York Times

A History Of Famous Typos

James Joyce’s editors compiled a massive list of the book’s errors to be fixed in new editions. Joyce rejected some of the corrections, saying, “These are not misprints but beauties of my style hitherto undreamt of.” - Smithsonian

A Big Increase In The Number Of Books Published Last Year

The total number of books published in the U.S. in 2025 with ISBN numbers jumped 32.5% over 2024, to more than four million books, according to statistics compiled by Bowker. - Publishers Weekly

Adelaide Festival Writers’ Week Fell Apart After State Premier Intervened, Documents Show

“Minutes from six crucial Adelaide Festival board meetings in December and January, obtained by Crikey, give an unvarnished view of how disinviting (Palestinian-Australian author Randa) Abdel-Fattah from the Adelaide Writers' Week in the wake of the antisemitic Bondi Beach terror attack snowballed into a public relations disaster.” - Crikey (Australia)

There’s Now An Official BookTok Chart

“(The) chart is set to launch later this year in the UK, offering a monthly rundown of the most popular titles on (the) social media platform. The ranking will combine verified retail sales data with social media engagement. … The charts were first trialled in Germany and are being expanded to the UK.” - The Guardian

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