[contextly_auto_sidebar id="TUHr64z55mkmhkosqXugONtslgtzjq1a"] IT'S hard to know what an author or publisher should do when faced with Amazon's dominance of the market: It's hard to withdraw from a distributor who handles so large a portion of book (especially e-book) sales. But just as several small record labels have pulled their music from Spotify and other streaming services, the … [Read more...]
What Are Humans Good For?
[contextly_auto_sidebar id="NUIeoMZoQbFSCCvhJftok1FkbupHfdXm"] WELL, folks, it's gotten to the point where we've gotta ask this question. With various kinds of automation and AI replacing human labels even at the most cerebral and professional level -- it's not just bank tellers any more -- we've got to ask, What can humans do that a computer or algorithm can't? A new Slate story notes that … [Read more...]
The Misread City Goes to Mexico
NEXT week I will visit Mexico for the Guadalajara International Book Fair -- the biggest event of its kind in the Americas, second in size only to Frankfurt, and this year dedicated to the writing of Los Angeles. I was invited to moderate two panels partly because I co-edited a book on literary LA, and am in the process of renaming this blog for the book: The Misread City. (You can now get to the … [Read more...]