Friday News: Writerly eccentricities, print v. digital (again!), Steam kills Greenlight, Jennifer Weiner still speaking out, and WWI diaries digitized
Publishing Newsdiaries / digital books / feminism / gaming / Jennifer Weiner / print books / Steam / World War I10 Comments
The Incredible Eccentricities of 20 Great Writers – After you’ve checked out the writers who liked to write in the nude, you’ll get a kick out of this list of unusual writerly habits. From Balzac, who drank approximately 50 cups of coffee a day, to Byron, who apparently kept a bear in his dorm room, this list definitely calls for a new normal when it comes to author writing habits. Mental Floss
E-books surge as devices multiply — but print holds fast – Sometimes I wonder if the recent spate of articles defending the success of print books are intended to comfort those who were afraid digital books would take over the world and wipe out paper. Still, I think the Pew study that gave rise to this piece is interesting, and let’s face it: everyone wins when both print and digital are strong.
“Still, Pew’s survey of just over a thousand American adults found that in almost every demographic, more e-books are being read than ever: Twenty-eight percent of all respondents had read an e-book in the last year, compared with 23 percent in 2012 and 17 percent in 2011. Yet the the average number of books read per person (five) did not change, nor has it for years. How is that possible?” NBC News
News: Steam Greenlight to ‘go away’ as publishing restrictions are relaxed, says Newell – There are a number of interesting pieces of information in this relatively short article, not the least of which is that Steam now has 75 million registered users. Steam has big plans for Steam OS, which may make it look a lot like Amazon and Apple (for better or worse). Still, I think it’s kind of a shame that Greenlight is going red:
“Greenlight allows users to vote on game projects and concepts posted by indie developers that they would like to see published on Steam. The highest voted software is then considered by Valve for a global Steam release.” CVG US
Jennifer Weiner Willing to Step Down As Feminist Gadfly – I have so many different reactions to and opinions about this piece and the backstory surrounding it that I’m not going to share any of them, and simply offer it up with the suggestion that if you’re not familiar with Weiner’s so-called “provocations,” that you check them out. There are some good links in this story, as well.
“What sets Weiner apart from other female authors isn’t some innate writerly disqualification from the boy’s club, but her unique position to critique it. She’s one of a handful of female authors with the publishing clout — in terms of dedicated readership, sales, and movie options — to speak out against industry sexism without fearing retribution. “ New York Magazine
British Army war diaries 1914-1922 – I have made no secret of my desire to see more Romances set around World War I. Even in America and Britain, which have been so overdone in the genre, some really amazing things were happening at the turn of the 20th C, and the advent of modernity (and modernism) wrought substantial changes on individual and national consciousness. So I’m hoping this new digital project will perhaps inspire more research into this historical period.
“These records are the war diaries of the first three cavalry and the first seven infantry divisions of the British Army in the First World War. They are part of a large series of records, WO 95, which contains many more diaries that have not yet been digitised. They are not personal diaries try the Imperial War Museum for those.” The National Archives
The New Yorker also just published an article about Jennifer Weiner… http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2014/01/13/140113fa_fact_mead
What you said.
Is it wrong to ask who the hell is Jennifer Weiner and why should I care? But the stuff about the daries is cool…thsnks.
Remember: Google is your friend! Like Officer Friendly and Smokey the Bear.
I too think the digitizing of the WWI diaries, the reissues of classics dealing with the period, and the centennial commemorations will all come together to create a lot more knowledge in popular culture. Hopefully over the next 3 – 4 years, we’ll see some movies and more books too. There has to be interest in a cross between Downton Abbey and WWII Inglorious Basterds/Saving Private Ryan type stuff. The “War Horse” play shows there is a lot to be said on WWI still, and people are hungry to see it – although I don’t know if the movie did well.
FYI Jayne reviewed two of Julie Rowe’s Carina Press novellas about WWI – she liked (based on Edith Cavell, a real nurse, I assume) and gave it a solid B, if I recall. I remember the plot b/c I’ve hiked at Mt. Edith Cavell in Jasper Nat’l Park, the first time I’d encountered the story about the nurse executed for spying, and then I saw Julie’s story.
There’s also a wonderful (poignant) illustrated book – Archie’s War – that is aimed at children but benefits from an adult to help explain the subtext. It’s basically a graphic novel of a kid’s diary of WWI, when his uncle goes off to war, and his mom to work in a bomb factory, etc. Worth seeking out, even for adults.
And if anyone gets the chance to go to Belgium – I know some of the readers here are in Britain and Europe – the museum at Tyne Cot, the largest British overseas cemetery, is breathtaking. It’s organized around a theme of “the things they carried” and things the families of the boys buried there donated, like their last report card before they enlisted. The letters received from soldiers AFTER their families had received notice of their death. The hand-carved pipes in their pockets. I recommend visiting, if you’re in southwestern Belgium or Northern France.
Oh, please tell me … how can I edit the post above to close the link?
Oh, the shame and embarrassment of an old dog trying to learn HTML.
And obviously, now I want to know all those opinions…
Also, total agreement on more romances set during the first couple (or three) decades of the 20th Century.
Digitizing WWI – wake up!
It’s already happening at Distributing Proofreading, a volunteer site that proofreads OCR output against images, formats the results, processes it into a book and releases the result to Project Gutenberg where it is available (free!) in multiple e-reader formats.
Volunteers & donations always welcome!
If you’re interested in WWI, this article is definitely worth a read. I found it absolutely fascinating.
Melting glaciers in northern Italy reveal corpses of WW1 soldiers