Bookish News and Publishing Tidbits 20 June 2012

RIASS stuff:

Are you a nerdy type? My husband is looking for a top-notch web developer to join his company.'Details here.

Other bookish stuff:

A short history of book reviewings long decline:'As large cultural movements occur, book review culture cant help but be influenced. In'an'Atlantic'essay, Lorin Stein, after making due note of Sept. 11, rightly, refers to the ways in which online discourse has forced book reviewing to change its terms. Amazon and Google are killing the book, are killing the newspaper, are'killing the book review. If the Internet has allowed anything, it has allowed this argument to be replicated ad infinitum across it.

Adam Thirwell writes about writing/making his new book'I began to wonder if there could be different ways of organising a story visually, rather than the usual linear flow. True, there were footnotes, or marginalia, or different font sizes, to organise different material. But it was the idea that some material in a story could be different at all that I was starting to be unsure about. And I am not a designer. So I sat there, stalled.

On vanishing languages: One linguist, attempting to define what a language is, famously (and humourously) said that a language is a dialect with an army. He failed to note that some armies are better equipped than others. Today any language with a television station and a currency is in a position to obliterate those without, and so residents of Tuva must speak Russian and Chinese if they hope to engage with the surrounding world.

Are books becoming too long to read?'In part, it seems that big now equates with importance and value. That substitutes form for function, and frequently evidences a writers ego'or perhaps an editor's laziness'and indifference to a readers limited time and attention. Life is a busy place, but dont tell that to those who write big books.

Publishers Long Overdue in Offering Libraries eBook Titles'Right now, several of the largest trade publishers (the Big Six) refuse to sell to us. As a result, libraries and ultimately the millions of people who turn to us for a growing range of materials are not getting a fair deal. This means that while the large majority of libraries are investing in e-book collections, the universe of options available has shrunk and our collections are increasingly skewed.

Exploring the flipped classroom model: What if Professor Plum is no longer in the'library? If the flipped classroom concept entails students wallowing in information and experiences, lots of sensory input and physical interactions, how can the library as an environment support those experiences?' Where does the library professional's skill set intersect with the needs of students and teachers?' Is it an existing skill set, or one that needs development?' Is this where your virtual branch ( i.e. library website) comes into its own as the launch pad for the video, podcast, media-rich website links put together (collaboratively?) by teachers and librarians'

When agents stop reading:'As you can see, I often stop early. Like reaaaaaally early. And the reasoning for this is simple: the writing or voice falls apart.

Charlie Higson Offers fans a one-off opportunity to appear in the trailer for his new book.

TS Eliot quotes as titles

Tips for teachers for finding good books for their students

Have you checked out the Late Night Library podcast?

A S Byatt on the horror and anger in Little Dorrit and Bleak House

International Network of Street Papers appoints Paulo Coelho as patron

Pinterest board: Things to do with a book besides read it

How to survive life as a character in a bad work of fiction

Pixars story rules

What to do with a bad review

Rick Mofina talks to Harlequin about his latest book, his research involving real FBI agents, and whats coming up for hero Jack Gannon. (audio)