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Are Classic Books Obsolete?
 Are Classic Books Obsolete? 
OPINION
May 31, 2012 2:52 PM CDT

Are Classic Books Obsolete?

Dartmouth researchers think so, but Laura Miller begs to differ

(Newser) - Take a gander at all the one-star Amazon reviews for classic works of literature, and you might think the canon is going out of style—and a new Dartmouth study thinks you're right. Researchers examined the language in a host of public domain digital texts published between 1550 and...

Today&#39;s Books Are Too Long
 Today's Books Are Too Long 
OPINION
May 22, 2012 1:38 PM CDT

Today's Books Are Too Long

Marc Wortman thinks Google is partly to blame

(Newser) - Marc Wortman has several books he keeps meaning to get to, including the recent biographies of Steve Jobs (630 pages), LBJ (736), George F. Kennan (800), and Malcolm X (608). The problem is, he has a life, too, and unless he devotes hours every day to the task, he'll...

First Line of The Stranger Is Still Translated Wrong

'Mother died today' should be 'Today, Maman died': Ryan Bloom

(Newser) - Albert Camus' The Stranger opens with the famous—and relatively easy to translate—"Aujourd’hui, maman est morte." It's so easy, in fact, that not a single English translation has gotten it right, writes Ryan Bloom in the New Yorker . He argues that the precise wording of...

America's Most (Surprisingly) Well-Read Cities

No. 1 is Alexandria, Virginia

(Newser) - If you think America's bookworms live in New York or San Francisco, think again. Amazon has released its list of the country's 20 most well-read cities, and they hail from such states as Michigan and Florida, reports Reuters . Top honors goes to Virginia's Alexandria, and though Berkeley...

Judge: Freed Defendant Must Write Book Reports

He is required to read for an hour a day

(Newser) - A northern California man has been released on bond—provided he's willing to keep up his reading. Otis Mobley, 23, was indicted after allegedly offering to sell a grenade launcher to an undercover official; authorities say Mobley and two others planned to rob the agent. The judge says the...

Books We Pretend to Read—But Never Do

The Corrections, Infinite Jest make the New York Times list

(Newser) - So, you've read The Corrections? And Infinite Jest? Yes, me too. And the entire Newser staff also likes them. Because there are certain books we simply lie about, as the New York Times learned during a survey of its own staff. Posted anonymously, the Times list includes:
  • A Confederacy
...

How One Small Bookstore Outwitted Amazon

The Harvard Book Store installed its own printer

(Newser) - The Amazon steamroller is crushing one neighborhood bookstore after another—which is why Phil Johnson felt sympathy for the man who took over the Harvard Book Store. "I respected his mission, even if I didn’t quite believe in its future," Johnson writes in Forbes . But over a...

Florida County's Libraries Ban 50 Shades of Grey

Cite concern over 'pornographic' EL James books

(Newser) - A Florida county's library system has banned the erotic-fiction 50 Shades of Grey trilogy in light of its "perceived pornographic nature," a spokesman tells NBC Miami . Brevard County's 17 libraries had ordered 19 copies of the three EL James books, and there was a waiting list...

Stephen King: Raise My F***ing Taxes Already

The rich aren't going to pay up just to be nice

(Newser) - Stephen King is following Warren Buffett's lead with an op-ed begging to be taxed more—though King drops in a few more F-bombs in his very salty appeal. In "Tax Me, for F***'s Sake," the wealthy author offers his views on his fellow one-percenters: "The...

Get Ready for Walden Pond: The Video Game
Get Ready for Walden Pond: The Video Game
and don't forget jay-z
Apr 26, 2012 5:05 PM CDT

Get Ready for Walden Pond: The Video Game

Henry David Thoreau's masterpiece goes digital; Jay-Z has game, too

(Newser) - Henry David Thoreau lived at Walden Pond to escape the comforts of modern life; soon, you'll be able to share his experience right on your flat-screen TV. Thanks to a $40,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, the University of Southern California is developing a video...

Pulitzer Board Just Sucked Life Out of Book Industry
Pulitzer Board Just Sucked Life Out of Book Industry
Ann Patchett
Apr 18, 2012 9:50 AM CDT

Pulitzer Board Just Sucked Life Out of Book Industry

Prize injects needed excitement into world of literature: Ann Patchett

(Newser) - Sure, there's a possibility that when the Pulitzer Prize board failed to announce a fiction winner, the reason could have been a simple deadlock. But most who heard the news probably didn't assume that, and instead figured "it was a bum year for fiction," writes author...

And the Oddest Book Title of the Year Is ...

Other contenders included books about chicken sexing, office chairs

(Newser) - There were plenty of odd book titles last year, such as Estonian Sock Patterns All Over the World and A Taxonomy of Office Chairs. But the winner of the Diagram prize for strangest book title of the year is Cooking with Poo, reports the Guardian . Actually, Cooking with Poo is...

Literary Squabble Lands Guy in Hospital

Yep, alcohol was involved

(Newser) - An Ann Arbor man ended up in the hospital over the weekend after a heated argument about … books. The 34-year-old was at a party discussing books and authors on the porch with a group of people around 9pm on Saturday, AnnArbor.com reports. Another guest joined the conversation and...

8 Famous Books Still Only on Paper

Including 'To Kill a Mockingbird' and 'Catcher in the Rye'

(Newser) - The e-book market has spiked from 0.6% in 2008 to 6.4% in 2010, or $878 million in sales, yet you still won't be able to find certain hugely popular books in the new format. The Street rounded up a list of eight classics that can be found...

Boring Lorax Does Green Message No Favors

Another Dr. Seuss film disaster

(Newser) - The Lorax may have a sound environmental message, but it's lost in a subpar movie that warps Dr. Seuss' original sentiment. One critic found the movie so vile he was inspired to write a Seuss-esque poem of his own:
  • "There’s no fun in The Lorax, no joy
...

JK Rowling Lands Deal for New Adult Book

It will be 'very different' than Harry Potter

(Newser) - JK Rowling is back, but if you're hoping for more adventures starring a certain boy wizard—or anything along the lines of those books—you're out of luck. Little, Brown and Company announced today that it had acquired the rights to publish a new book by Rowling, but...

Gabby Giffords' Hubby Pens Kids' Book

Mark Kelly spins tale of mouse in space

(Newser) - Mark Kelly retired as an astronaut just last fall—but he's already back to work. Gabrielle Giffords' husband is writing a children's book about a mouse who travels to space, the AP reports. It's called Mousetronaut: A Partially True Story, and it's inspired by some of...

Amazon Kindle Users Borrow 300K eBooks Monthly

 Kindle Users 
 Borrow 300K 
 eBooks Monthly 
says amazon
Jan 12, 2012 2:52 PM CST

Kindle Users Borrow 300K eBooks Monthly

Ebook publishing program expands lending library

(Newser) - Amazon is seeing big results from a new ebook-lending program. Its new KDP Select program, which allows independent writers and publishers to cash in on borrowed books, saw 300,000 borrowed titles last month. The program, allotted $500,000 last month, provided authors with $1.70 per borrow, with the...

Final Hitchens Book to Hit Shelves Next Year

Morality is based on cancer struggle

(Newser) - For fans of Christopher Hitchens , one final book. A memoir entitled Mortality will be released in early 2012; it's based on a series of articles the journalist wrote for Vanity Fair describing his battle with esophageal cancer, reports the Guardian . A spokesman noted that the book had been in...

2011&#39;s Top 10 Books


 2011's Top 10 Books 
new york times LIST
Dec 3, 2011 9:10 AM CST

2011's Top 10 Books

Stephen King, Christopher Hitchens make the cut

(Newser) - If you need a book recommendation for holiday reading, look no further than the New York Times ' list of the 10 best books of the year. Five are fiction and five non-fiction:
  • 11/22/63 by Stephen King: A time portal sends an English teacher back to 1958 to try and
...

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