The Big Question: Do electronic books threaten the future of traditional publishing?: Not in the short term, because sales of e-book readers will only cannibalise a tiny proportion of physical book sales for the foreseeable future. In fact, evidence from the US suggests that dedicated book readers who use the electronic readers also continue to buy books. The long-term danger for publishers is if they don’t invest in digital technology for their content. [Independent]
Online, R U Really Reading?: As teenagers’ scores on standardized reading tests have declined or stagnated, some argue that the hours spent prowling the Internet are the enemy of reading — diminishing literacy, wrecking attention spans and destroying a precious common culture that exists only through the reading of books. But others say the Internet has created a new kind of reading, one that schools and society should not discount. [NYT]
The 10 most popular misconceptions about Oscar Wilde [Guardian]
More Bang for the Book: In recent years, a growing number of writers, from the best-selling to the less so, have hit the rubber-chicken circuit, speaking at colleges and businesses, chambers of commerce, trade fairs and medical conventions. While a midlist novelist might ask, though not necessarily get, $2,500 per appearance, a superstar presidential historian might command $40,000. [NYT]
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