Bookstores bracing for the next chapter: Only a few years ago, bookstores helped define neighborhoods. They were physical and cultural markers on the landscape - showcases of what mattered, there and then. Now, instead of perking up when I step through the doors of a good bookstore, I wonder morosely how long it will last. “It’s an antiquarian business model in a changing world,” admits Melissa Mytinger, manager of Cody’s Books in Berkeley. [SFGate]
Lois Lowry: A children’s writer who doesn’t talk down: Lois Lowry flies under the radar of most adults. But she’s a monumental figure to many readers in the 11-to-15 age range. “She has huge appeal,” said the librarian Judy Nelson of Tacoma, Washington, past president of the Young Adult Library Services Association. “Once she has been introduced, it’s not unusual for a child to read all her books as she grows up. We have schools that require her books, on the fifth- or sixth-grade level.” [IHT]
One thousand and one delights: But Arabic literature itself is not in crisis; in fact, it has never been more energetic and more varied than today. Some of the authors who came to maturity in the 60s are now writing the swan song of that decade, others turn to different episodes of history, either to look for parallels or for the lines that connect the “then” to the “now”. Younger writers are making their mark. Many are writing politically engaged works, others depict an alienation that is itself a comment on the “now”. Several deal with issues of the Arabs’ relationship to the west. From the epic works of Ibrahim al-Koni to the contemplative narratives of Bahaa Taher to the “puzzle” novels published by Malamih, the bestselling Alaa al-Aswany and the runaway success of the “blogs” brought out by Dar al Shorouk Publishing House, Arabic literature today grapples with and comments on the ills experienced by Arab societies. [Guardian]
Robots wrote my bestseller: Philip M. Parker has written over 200,000 books, and all of them have turned a profit. How does he do it? With the magic of computers. [Times]
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