ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

WORDS

Researcher Says Conan Doyle Resented The Success Of Sherlock Holmes

"He would have hated the fact that today, 93 years after his death, his historical novels lie unread, while his ‘cheap’ – but beloved – detective lives forever on our screens.” - The Guardian

The Librarians Who Helped Win World War II

"These librarians adopted technology from other fields to photograph an array of documents, including rare and/or archival documents, and found means of sending them across continents. … Librarians gathered intelligence from technological manuals, land surveys, and economic reports available to the general public in both Axis and neutral countries." - JSTOR Daily

When You Want A Dragon, Sometimes You Have To Just Do The Job Yourself

Christopher Paolini really wanted to be a dragon-rider, but that wasn't a job opportunity. So the then-15-year-old wrote a book instead. - The New York Times

A New Literary Prize Won’t Be Judged By The Usual Suspects

For the Inside Literary Prize, inspired by a similar prize in France, "a jury of inmates in prisons across six states will be able to read and debate books, then vote on the winner." - The New York Times

Cookbooks Are On A Mission

Some of them are, anyway, trying to help their readers cook for the planet. - Wired

Hold On, Merriam Webster, Oxford Has Picked A Different Word Of The Year

And it's the slightly iffy-sounding, if not meaning, "rizz" (chaRIZZma, get it?). The word even beat out "situationship" and "Swiftie." Why? Because the Gen-Alphas have some rizz. - The New York Times

Booker Winner Paul Lynch On His Dystopian Novel

Lynch has been incessantly (after the prize) "asked for his views on far right movements in Western Europe and about the recent riots in Dublin that were sparked by right wing agitators — an event that he found both shocking and depressingly predictable." - The New York Times

How To Get The Best Black Friday, Cyber Monday, And Every Other Day Deals On E-Books

For that matter, the best deal on books, streaming, magazines, newspapers, and a lot more - yes, yes, you already know: A library card. (And for e-books and audiobooks, the app Libby.) "It’s all so easy that it feels like cheating." - Slate

Merriam-Webster Values Something In Short Supply In 2023

The word of a year in which AI, deep fakes, political chicanery, and war propaganda filled the airwaves and wireless chat is a bit unexpected. - Wired

To This The Book-Banners Have Come: Boycotting Froot Loops

The right-wing account Libs of TikTok claims "Kellogg's wants to indoctrinate your children with breakfast cereal." The Dank Night tweeted "Would you like a side of rainbow commie propaganda with your diabetes, honey?" All because Froot Loops boxes offer access to a free online library with DEI content. - New York Post

The 19th-Century Science Fiction Novel That Inspired A Communist Utopian Movement In America

"Étienne Cabet's fictional 1840 travelogue, Voyage en Icarie (Travels in Icaria), … was so popular and affecting that it led hundreds of French citizens to leave their homes and journey to the United States to realize the egalitarian paradise he had described." - Smithsonian Magazine

British Library Hacked, User Data Offered On The Dark Web

The attack, which took place on 31 October, is continuing to affect its website, online systems and some onsite services, a statement said. The Rhysida ransomware group claim to be behind the attack, have said they will auction off the stolen data. - BBC

How AI Is Deciphering Ancient Languages

Because the technology works on the basis of image analysis, it is in theory applicable to any writing whatsoever, from Egyptian hieroglyphs to copperplate. Ten years after its initial development, some truly exciting consequences of the development of handwritten text recognition (HTR) techniques are becoming clear. - Aeon

Can We Just Do Away With The Genre of Literary Fiction?

"Genre is a confining madness; it says nothing about how writers write or readers read, and everything about how publishers, retailers and commentators would like them to. … Consider the worst offender: not crime, horror, science fiction, espionage or romance, but 'literary fiction', ... ultimately meaningless except as a confused shorthand." - The Guardian

How The Borders Brothers Transformed The Bookstore Business

"By adding to the (original) store space piecemeal, the brothers drifted into the 'superstore' concept by accident. Mathematically, the formula they discovered was astounding (and oversimplified): as their bookstore became larger with better selection, it drew from a larger radius, became more exciting, and sales per square foot increased!" - Literary Hub

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