Tuesday News: Book View Now, Project Gutenberg, the “pavement bookworm,” and “New Natives” photography

JanetPublishing NewsBook Reviews / book television / digital books / gender / PBS / photography / Project Gutenberg / Race1 Comments

PBS Beefs Up Book Programming – PBS is expanding its coverage of the book industry via its series Book View Now, which was launched in late 2014. The network hopes to build “a distribution platform that includes livestreaming, social media, third-party partners, original program development, and targeted content delivery to other public media partners based on genre and region-driven interests.” Pointing to the work of C-SPAN in covering books and lectures/readings by authors, the show’s executive producer, Richard Fahle brings his experience as a former vice president of Borders to PBS, and

Johannes (or John) Gutenberg is best known for introducing mechanical movable type printing to Europe. This brought about a revolution in printing, which was a key event in shaping today’s information and knowlege-based society.

Michael Hart invented the electronic book in 1971, launching what would become his life’s major calling. He named his effort “Project Gutenberg,” to recognize the impact of Johannes Gutenberg and in anticipation of electronic books helping to transform society by bringing cost-free literature to all people. Free literature, and the freedom of thought and freedom of expression it fosters, is key to growth of literacy, opportunity and enlightenment. – Project Gutenberg Blog

Homeless Man Sold Books and Book Reviews to Get Off The Streets, Now He’s Written One – We hear so many stories about someone who gets a book contract based on their notoriety, but here’s a great story about a young South African man who, when he ended up living on the streets of Johannesburg, sold books and even book reviews to people as a way to get himself back into a place of financial stability and drug-free living. With an inherited collection of 500 books, Dladla even started a book club for local children, giving them books in exchange for them telling him what they learned from the book.

Twenty-five-year-old Philani Dladla credits his love of books with helping him overcome a drug addiction and get off the street. Now, the man known in Johannesburg, South Africa as the “pavement bookworm” has written a book himself.

His aptly titled memoir The Pavement Bookworm will be released by South African publisher Jacana Media in late October. The book will share the story of how Dladla’s love of reading transformed his life and led him to help others. – People Magazine

Photos that Challenge Conventions of Beauty, Race, and Gender – The title says it all – some remarkable photos from Joseph Maida’s “New Natives” collection:

Maida’s images feature aspiring male models set against the primordial landscape of Oahu, Hawaii. Each model took Maida to a local place where they wanted to be photographed, and also listed as many ethnicities as wanted to from their backgrounds, which Maida factored into the titles of the photographs.

In a 2013 interview, Joseph told me the series was partly inspired by the election of Barack Obama: “I’ve always been thinking about identity, particularly in terms of sexuality and masculinity in my work. But when Obama was elected, that seemed like a turning point. For me, his presidency represented a swing in a direction that’s more open-minded and accepting. I thought, Hawaii is a really charged place, and it may be the perfect place to explore these issues in more detail.” – Vice

Janet

isn't sure if she's an average Romance reader, or even an average reader, but a reader she is, enjoying everything from literary fiction to philosophy to history to poetry. Historical Romance was her first love within the genre, but she's fickle and easily seduced by the promise of a good read. She approaches every book with the same hope: that she will be filled from the inside out with something awesome that she didnʼt know, didnʼt think about, or didnʼt feel until that moment. And she's always looking for the next mind-blowing read, so feel free to share any suggestions!

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