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More Americans Reading Fiction: NEA

Study indicates literary decline might be reversing

(Newser) - The percentage of Americans reading fiction has increased for the first time in years, a new study by the National Endowment for the Arts indicates. The reported 50.2% of the population who picked up a book for pleasure marks a turnaround from a statistical decline in literary culture over...

462 Books a Year? No Big Deal for One Critic

LA Times critic explains her incredible literary appetite.

(Newser) - Determined to read more this year? Critic and columnist Sarah Weinman may be able to help, if her standard doesn't intimidate: She plowed through 462 titles last year. "I read a page not necessarily word by word,” she tells the Los Angeles Times, “but by capturing pages...

10 Biggest College Libraries
 10 Biggest College Libraries 
Jan 11, 2009 7:09 AM CST

10 Biggest College Libraries

Labyrinthine stacks good for more than reading

(Newser) - Whether your purpose is to study, flirt or nap, college libraries are "labyrinths" of opportunity. The editors of College on the Record list the biggest, and why they like them.
  1. Harvard (13,617,133 books): "Because size matters."
  2. Yale (9,932,080 books): "Because it’s
...

Web Novels Let Readers Drive the Plot

Weekly installments end with a choice

(Newser) - Fantasy fans who’d like a role in the action can turn to literature’s latest incarnation: the online Web-novel, or wovel, NPR reports. Readers can click and read a chapter each week. Then, “at the end of every installment, there's a binary plot branch point with a vote...

Rove: Bush Is a Bookworm
 Rove: Bush 
 Is a Bookworm 
OPINION
Dec 26, 2008 8:30 AM CST

Rove: Bush Is a Bookworm

(Newser) - Bitter liberals may believe the president is an illiterate buffoon, but in 2006 the president read a whopping 95 books, and, just for good measure, read the entire Bible front-to-back, Karl Rove assures us in today’s Wall Street Journal. “In the 35 years I've known George W. Bush,...

Bola&ntilde;o's 2666 Tops Another Book List
 Bolaño's 2666 Tops 
 Another Book List 
OPINION
Dec 8, 2008 2:55 PM CST

Bolaño's 2666 Tops Another Book List

Choi's A Person of Interest also gets Salon fiction nod; '67 Oscar race tops non-fiction

(Newser) - Chilean author Roberto Bolaño's novel 2666, about the murders of women in a border town, features on Salon's list of the 10 best books of the year. They include:
  • 2666: Bolaño, who died young in 2003, is celebrated posthumously in the English-speaking world. "He pursues, with suave
...

Death of Reading Greatly Exaggerated
 Death of Reading 
 Greatly Exaggerated 
Glossies
Sep 29, 2008 4:39 PM CDT

Death of Reading Greatly Exaggerated

Author Eggers pooh-poohs skeptical pundits, says it's 'as alive as ever'

(Newser) - Our bleak outlook on the future of reading owes itself to a doomsday reflex, the pervasive belief that things are bound to get worse, author Dave Eggers writes in Esquire. "It must be true, we think—just yesterday I saw some kid on the bus, and he wasn't reading...

10 Books to Pass Up With Confidence
10 Books to Pass Up
With Confidence
Sep 20, 2008 5:27 PM CDT

10 Books to Pass Up With Confidence

Richard Wilson saves us all a bunch of time and effort with a not-reading list

(Newser) - Forget the coma-inducing titles that lit lovers keep telling you to read, Richard Wilson writes in his book, Can’t Be Arsed: 101 Things Not to Do Before You Die. He lists the top 10 clunkers in the Daily Telegraph:
  • Ulysses, James Joyce: notoriously hard, so why bother?
  • Lord
...

Re-Kindling May Not Be Enough
 Re-Kindling May Not Be Enough
ANALYSIS
Aug 26, 2008 9:46 AM CDT

Re-Kindling May Not Be Enough

Version 2.0 is coming, but a megahit may still elude Amazon

(Newser) - Amazon plans to launch the next generation of its Kindle e-book player in the coming months, but an iPod-sized hit may still be out of the company's grasp, Peter Burrows writes in BusinessWeek. Much-needed improvements are on the way, but the real future for Kindle could be in using its...

To Turn Boys Into Readers, Gross Them Out

Publishers embrace books about farts, boogers, blood

(Newser) - Young boys, who trail far behind their female peers as readers, are reversing that trend with help from publishers who seek to exploit their love for everything gross. The Wall Street Journal examines the wave of children's’ titles rife with farts, boogers, blood, and flesh-eating bacteria—and talks with some...

Kindle Is King of the Market —But It's a Small Market

Amazon's electronic reader is up against tough demographics

(Newser) - After about 9 months on the market, how goes the Kindle? No official sales figures are out for Amazon's electronic reader, but Liz Gunnison of Portfolio tries to get a sense of things. If you were expecting it to ignite a revolution in reading, keep dreaming. Amazon has likely sold...

Does Surfing Equal Reading?
Does Surfing Equal Reading?
Jul 27, 2008 2:34 PM CDT

Does Surfing Equal Reading?

Experts debate whether kids' online time is as educational as hitting the books

(Newser) - As kids spend more time on the internet and less time reading books, a debate is raging over whether online reading is as educational as the traditional kind, the New York Times reports. While the Web allows readers to quickly gobble up multiple perspectives and information, some experts worry that...

Online Readers Have No Attention Span
Online Readers Have No Attention Span
analysis
Jun 14, 2008 6:30 PM CDT

Online Readers Have No Attention Span

So writers serve it up fast and simple, with lists and links

(Newser) - Web readers are fidgety, so writers have to serve up the goods fast, Michael Agger writes in Slate. For example:
  • Online readers are “selfish, lazy, and ruthless,” according to theorist Jakob Nielsen.
  • They are informavores hunting for information at all costs.
  • They like text short, scannable, and occasionally
...

Search Engines: How They're Reshaping Your Brain

Is faster thinking always better?

(Newser) - Although he’s thrilled with all the time he saves using the Internet for research and awed by the vast intellectual opportunities available to every web surfer, Nicholas Carr is a bit disconcerted that he no longer has the patience for reading books or long articles. With his netizen mind...

Bored at Work? Site Disguises Classic Lit

Readatwork.com lets you fool the boss

(Newser) - Business world got you down? Want to escape into a classic poem or short story? The New Zealand Book Council has made a website to help you: ReadatWork.com. The site brings up a fake Windows desktop with folders and PowerPoint files, the Wall Street Journal reports. Click on them,...

10 Easy Breezy Summer Reads
 10 Easy Breezy Summer Reads 
May 28, 2008 12:00 PM CDT

10 Easy Breezy Summer Reads

Mostly light new literary fare from the Devil Wears Prada scribe and others

(Newser) - The perfect summer read is like a breathmint: light, refreshing, and available for purchase at the airport. Cosmopolitan book editor John Searles dishes his top 10 titles  of the season to MSNBC.
  1. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein: a family tell-all—from the dog’s POV
...

Depressed Dads Make Kids Less Literate

Sad fathers don't read as much to babies, whose vocabs suffer

(Newser) - About 10% of new fathers show signs of clinical depression—a rate twice that of other men—and that can have a noticeable effect on their children, an American Psychiatric Association study finds. Sad dads interact less with their progeny, which means less bedtime reading and a smaller vocabulary by...

Don't Get Comfy, Harry Potter

Dr. Seuss, EB White win popularity contest over Rowling

(Newser) - Both are fantasists who've sold zillions of books, but in a recent poll of American children, the classic wins out: Dr. Seuss' works are more popular than JK Rowling's. Three million-plus kids weighed in on an educational software company's website, and Rowling's Harry Potter books trail works by EB White,...

Dems' Advice on Reading: 'Blah Blah Blah'

Errant email from Pelosi's office offers talking points

(Newser) - Your Democratic congressional representative may do well to avoid the advice from Nancy Pelosi's office regarding “Read Across America” day next Monday, writes Washington Post blogger Mary Ann Akers. An email on how to deal with the big day urges Dems to stress the damage done to education programs...

Eating Isn't Only Healthy Benefit of Family Dinner

Structured, deep interaction at meals yields adjusted kids

(Newser) - Studies in the 1990s showed that regular family dinners made kids less likely to do drugs, smoke or have psychological problems, but a closer look now finds that it's what goes on during those meals—strong verbal interaction, parents showing interest in their children—that really counts in the youngsters'...

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