IS AUDIO REALLY THE FUTURE OF THE BOOK? – Although we’ve talked a lot about the increasing popularity of audiobooks, this essay from Rebecca Rego Barry on the history and reception of aural reading reveals the difficult path to widespread respectability the audiobook has taken. Matthew Rubery has written a book, The Untold Story ... more >
Go Set a Legacy: The Fate of Harper Lee – Harper Lee’s death on Friday has generated a number of excellent chronicles of her life (like this one from AL.com). It has also spurred several inevitable discussions about her literary legacy, especially because of the cloudy circumstances around last year’s publication ... more >
Here Are The Winners Of The 2015 World Fantasy Awards – The World Fantasy Award winners were announced at the recent World Fantasy Convention, and i09 has the entire list of finalists and winners. David Mitchell won Best Novel for The Bone Clocks, Daryl Gregory won Best Novella for We Are All Completely Fine, and Scott Nicolay ... more >
Sherlock Holmes, Pro and Con – An interesting essay by Terry Teachout that actually reads more like a paen to deep thoughts in literature than a meditation on the positives and negatives of Sherlock Holmes. Teachout discusses the persistent popularity of the Holmes character, including the longevity of the original stories, despite ... more >
More Titillated Than Thou: How the Amish conquered the evangelical romance market -A really interesting, insightful, and respectful piece on the popularity of Amish Romance written by someone with familiarity of the community – a Mennonite woman who grew up in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, which is widely considered “Amish country.” ... more >
FCC votes for net neutrality, a ban on paid fast lanes, and Title II – So the FCC finally reached a decision to enforce net neutrality by reclassifying internet service providers as common carriers, which puts them in the category of, for example, phone companies, and subjecting them to much ... more >