Archive for the ‘Books’ Category
Great Article: Reading Dickens Four Ways
June 13th, 2009
Great article by Ann Kirschner in the June 12 edition of The Chronicle Review on the various ways we read today :
Reading Dickens Four Ways — “How ‘Little Dorrit’ fares in multiple text formats”
When Ann Kirschner’s book group decided to read “Little Dorrit,” she has to decide how she wants to read it — in book form, on the Kindle, on the iPhone or as an audiobook. Each format has its advantages and disadvantages, as she discovers, and each has its passionate advocates.
“That’s the worst accusation: that I am not a serious reader. Not guilty! I love books as much as anybody. But I love reading more. It is the sustained and individual encounter with ideas and stories that is so bewitching. If new formats allow us to have more of those, let us welcome and learn from them.”
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LibraryThing’s Legacy Libraries
January 23rd, 2009
One of the most interesting aspects of Web 2.0 sites is the way members tend to use them for things beyond what the founders originally intended, and that’s certainly the case with LibraryThing.
One fascinating development from members of the LibraryThing community is the Legacy Libraries, a volunteer effort to set enter the book collections of famous readers as diverse as Franz Kafka, Mary, Queen of Scots and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The LibraryThing group I See Dead People’s Books provides a forum for discussion and collaboration on the Legacy Libraries, and resources like a very useful Cataloging Guide by Jeremy Dibble (jbd1) LibraryThing’s Bibliothecarius Mortui, Librarian of the Dead.
Why would anyone bother entering these libraries on LibraryThing? Most of these libraries are based on published lists which are reasonably available to anyone who really cares. But putting these collections on LibraryThing provides some new ways of looking at this information. For example, LibraryThing’s social features make it easy to see the overlap between member’s libraries, which can be interesting. (Not surprisingly, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams share a lot more of titles with each other than either of them share with me, but I share a lot more books with Theodore Dreiser than I do with Hemingway or Fitzgerald.)
Thomas Jefferson’s Legacy Library was the first of the Legacy Libraries, and it’s an especially interesting one. Titles were tagged using Jefferson’s own system:
Thomas Jefferson’s Library also includes nearly two hundred “book reviews” — comments on books taken from his letters and other writings. One of my favorites is on A treatise on practical farming; embracing particularly the following subjects, viz. the use of plaister of Paris… by John Alexander Binns. Jefferson writes: “Mr Binns, a plain farmer… understands handling his plough better than his pen. He is certainly somewhat of an enthusiast in the use of this manure.”
Links
- What Do Tupac and F. Scott Fitzgerald Have in Common? — A post in Jacket Copy, the Los Angeles Time book blog
- Want to Browse Famous Writers’ Bookshelves? Then Look at LibraryThing… — A post in the U.K. newspaper the Guardian’s Book Blog
Books for a New President
January 21st, 2009
The New York Times published an interesting article called From Books, New President Found Voice on President Obama’s approach to reading, with a sidebar called “A Reading List That Shaped a President” listing the books mentioned in the article as significant to Obama, including the Bible, “Team of Rivals” by Doris Kearns Goodwin, “Gilead” by Marilynne Robinson and “Moby Dick” by Herman Melville.
In the comments section, now closed, the Times asked public what books they would recommend to the new President, and they got some interesting responses : “War and Peace” by Leo Tolstoy, “Three Cups of Tea” by Greg Mortenson, “Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge” by Edward O. Wilson, and “Flatland” by Edwin A. Abbott. Many gave reasons for their recommendations, and a few gave other advice.
While most people wanted the President to read widely and deeply to provide himself with the wisdom and knowledge he’ll need as a world leader, Harry Reynolds, of Scarsdale, New York, who offered this advise to the President : “Read any book that disengages your mind from the tasks at hand. Literature should be your refuge and not your source of instruction.” and added “…use a low energy reading lamp. It will tend to induce the sleep you will need and thus benefit you more than any book can yield.”
Libraries might get some equally interesting responses to this question, and the choices might make an interesting display for Presidents Day.
From Books, New President Found Voice
Article by Michiko Kakutani, New York Times, January 18, 2009
