Paleontology is one of the most visible yet most misunderstood fields of science. Children dream of becoming paleontologists when they grow up. Museum visitors flock to exhibits on dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals. The media reports on fossil discoveries and new clues to mass extinctions. Nonetheless, misconceptions abound: paleontologists are ... more >
In Praise of the ‘Career Romance’ – A great tribute to Romance novels of the 1940s, 50s, and 60s that highlighted women in different career paths, from private secretary to actress to architect to copywriter. That they were often written to provide an educational theme does not necessarily eclipse their ... more >
How to judge a book by its network – A group of researchers from Cornell (representing Sociology, Information Science, and Computer Science) have published an analysis claiming that consumers tend to buy books along partisan lines, even when the books are not overtly political. Moreover, they have allegedly discerned certain patterns among book ... more >
Survey Time! – Donna Marie Hanson has asked us to post the link to two surveys she has put together as part of her dissertation research (at the University of Canberra) on popular Romance novels. I have not looked at either survey myself, yet, so I cannot provide any details beyond what ... more >
A Pulitzer winner is giving away her book in Chinese because the topic scared off publishers – Although Mei Fong’s One Child was published almost a year ago in the U.S. by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, she hasn’t been able to sell the book to a Chinese language publisher in Hong Kong, China, ... more >
The best Black Friday book deals from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and more – Even though it’s now technically Cyber Monday, most of these deals are still valid (Barnes & Noble has changed their discount to 15% for Cyber Monday), and with the holidays coming… While most people tend to focus ... more >