“Translators like to say, we discover our authors,” writes translator and novelist Anton Hur. “But maybe we’re wrong. Maybe the books choose us.” - American Scholar
These 1,800 papyrus scrolls from Herculaneum, the only such library collection from ancient Rome to survive, were carbonized by the Vesuvius eruption; the scrolls would crumble if physically unrolled, so scientists are using X-ray and AI technology to decipher them. The first scroll to be completely readable is a text about Stoicism. - Smithsonian Magazine
Reading comprehension was significantly lower when the students read on screens. The researchers also found that the number of “transitions,” where students would go back and re-read the text before submitting their answers, more than doubled—and in some cases tripled—when kids read on screens. - Time
Navigating today’s digital information landscape requires strong critical evaluation skills. Reading plays a central role in this process by serving not only as a means of acquiring information but also of distinguishing credible claims from misinformation. But only a specific kind of reading builds that capacity. The difference is between passive and active reading. - The Conversation
I don’t necessarily believe that reading books is going to automatically fix everything in your life or anything. I do think, however, it is kind of a panacea for a lot of the ills and a lot of the struggles that we’ve brought into our life through these tech platforms. - The Atlantic
Over the months, as the learning language model is trained on bits of the language — such as an old-age French nursery rhyme — it brings centuries-old dialect closer into the digital age. - The New York Times
“My reading journey began with a story that stretched more than 5,000 miles away, from Denmark to Alabama. While my siblings searched for new books, I always checked out the same one: The Marsh Crone’s Brew.” - LitHub
First, Tina Fey wrote Liz Lemon, whose character was “heteropessimistic.” But in Four Seasons, she writes (and plays) a member of "an emotionally grounded romance that captures both the rewards of a successful, decades-long marriage and the challenges of maintaining one.” - The New Yorker
“What can a novel about contemporary domestic life possibly add to our knowledge? If familiarity breeds contempt, what could be more familiar than the home, with its sisyphean routines and demands?” Just ask Ducks, Newburyport. - The Guardian (UK)
A bookstore owner writes, "Queer literature has become one of the growth engines of the publishing industry. L.G.B.T.Q. fiction has never been more visible, more varied or better promoted.” Happy Pride! - The New York Times
“You’re one of one. … You’re unprecedented in the entire line of human history. Only you have your brain. Only you can think of what you can think of. Only you can tell a story in a particular way. Why would you cede that to a machine?” - The Guardian (UK)
“Reading a good book, I feel like a really hysterical chihuahua barking and trembling, and then someone picks me up, and then I just go limp. You know? Like I’m just calm. … And when I’m there, and when I can actually feel stillness.” - The Atlantic
Ingram Library Services and Penguin Random House have announced a print-on-demand program designed to supply libraries with popular backlist titles. - Publishers Weekly
“The Commonwealth Foundation asked writers to provide drafts, story outlines, manuscripts and other evidence of their creative process when investigating allegations of AI use surrounding this year’s Commonwealth Short Story Prize, director-general Razmi Farook has (said).” - The Bookseller (UK)
“The Commonwealth Foundation dismissed accusations that the short stories which won its literary prize this year were generated with artificial intelligence, saying a month-long review had found ‘AI wasn’t used’ to write them.’” - The Independent (UK)
