He argues that LLMs demonstrate a wide range of powerful language abilities and disprove foundational assumptions underpinning Noam Chomsky’s theories and, as a consequence, negate parts of modern Linguistics. - Slator
At 75, César Aira has written more than 100 books, has been translated into 37 languages, and has lately been tipped for a Nobel Prize. He accepts no money for his books within Argentina, won't talk to local media, and rarely leaves his Buenos Aires neighborhood, let alone the country. - The Guardian
Though the OED is published by Oxford University Press, it is, in many respects, the spiritual and intellectual opposite of an elite university. For one thing, its admissions policy is quite forgiving. - Commonweal
"Several years ago, a Chinese author spent hundreds of thousands of yuan bribing the Chinese publishing industry (to) criticize and ban his works," so that US publishers would be interested in them. "Authors should be very clear that being banned is not synonymous with artistic success." - Literary Hub
If we look at the longer history of the study of literature... it’s only at the very end of the 20th century that we got something that is professional, that can be called criticism, that has to do specifically with the judgment of literary works. - Public Books
Night Watch took honors for fiction, Nathan Thrall's A Day in the Life of Abed Salama for general nonfiction, Cristina Rivera Garza's Liliana’s Invincible Summer for memoir, Brandon Som's Tripas for poetry. Eig's King: A Life shared biography honors with Ilyon Woo's Master Slave Husband Wife. - The Washington Post (MSN)
OK, blame screens a little, but also the loss of peer hangout time during the pandemic; the right-wing campaign against school libraries and librarians - and the un-delightful experience of being a kid, just trying to read, and having to take quizzes all of the time about "excerpts." - Slate
In short: A human is better, but live translation programs are already pretty great (if the world you want is machine learning, “universal” translations without enough subtlety, and great works of literature altered in AI-specific ways). - Wired
In the spirit of the Joanna Coles profile in New York Magazine, some ideas:“• 7,000 typos that somehow made it into the finished copy of your book
• 31 most unlikeable female memoirists.”
- LitHub
The collective putting it on could use an equivalent funder, but they don’t trust the Smithsonian after last year’s sudden, unexplained cancellation weeks before the kick-off. - Washington Post (MSN)
This episode of the podcast There's More to That tells the whole story, from how these papyruses buried by the Vesuvius eruption of 79 CE were discovered were rediscovered in the 1700s to how a trio of scientists solved the problem and won a $700,000 prize. (audio plus transcript) - Smithsonian Magazine
A book’s demand, condition, publishing history, whether it is signed or inscribed, and even the timing of when a book enters the market are all factors that affect its value. - The Atlantic
"Since 2022, more than 170 books valued at more than $2.6 million ... have vanished from (national and university libraries across Europe). The books are worth tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars each. In most cases, the originals were replaced with high-quality copies that mimicked even their foxing." - The New York Times
"According to the report (commissioned by HarperCollins), 74% of YA readers were adults, and 28% were over the age of 28. The research suggests this is due to behavioural changes described as 'emerging adulthood': young people growing up more slowly and delaying 'adult' life." - The Guardian
"Inspired by the existing Albatross Books, (Allen) Lane’s nascent company wanted an animal for (a) mascot. Many years (later), designer Edward Young explained that after a couple hours of fruitless brainstorming, 'we were in despair. Then suddenly the secretary’s voice piped up from behind the partition. ‘What about penguins?''" - JSTOR Daily
