Charles Petersen traces the fascinating history of the New York Public Library to show the real cost of the planned renovations and the pitfalls of the inevitable digital libraries of the future. Mark Athitakis observes how archives flatten fictions with keywording.
Lost in the Archives
Nobel Odds
Bob Dylan is a 25-1 dark horse, while Peter Handke looks good at 201-1; place your bets now. (via GalleyCat)
Down, Set, Read
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck is the NFL’s unofficial librarian. According to his teammates, Luck is a voracious reader who regularly recommends books in the locker room. The genre is unimportant; Luck reads everything from books on concrete architecture to Love Life by Rob Lowe. Where is the Football Book Club when you need them?
Dabbling with Purpose
"That’s why I’m organizing this fundraiser for Planned Parenthood, because for me the right to say what happens to my body is the right to make art." Year-in-Reading alum Claire Vaye Watkins has launched "Dabbler's Ball," an art auction featuring work by some other boldtype names you might know (Ramona Ausubel, Lauren Groff, Tom McGuane, Emma Straub). Bidding runs until September 5th and 100% of the proceeds will go toward the venerable PP. See also: our reviews of Vaye Watkins's novel Gold Fame Citrus and Battleborn, her first story collection.
●
●
FYI: GRH
The editor of the sumptuous Aussie lit-mag Torpedo - a kind of antipodean McSweeney's - interviews a recent contributor: me (2).
●
●
Duke University Press Goes Digital
Even though HathiTrust is currently being sued by The Authors Guild and a few others, it's recently partnered with Google and Duke University Press to digitize "a trove of older titles."
●
●