Illustrating Jane Austen

Sure, we love the convenience of electronic books, but there's something missing. Like art, perhaps? Read here about illustrator Joan Hassall for an idea of why. (Via)

Young Dickens

I have become enamored of the Victorianist blog. This time out, they tell us about young Charles Dickens, on the 199th anniversary of his birth. 'His parents were neither particularly affectionate nor loving toward him, and he would go on to describe himself in his childhood as a "very small and not-over-particularly-taken-care-of boy". As such, he spent much time alone between the ages on ten and twelve, which helped little Charles to develop a vivid imagination that he would return to again and again in his work. John was a poor father, who neglected the educational needs of Charles and his siblings. Even with the funds the family had at their disposal, the boy was denied any schooling.' More...

The real Sleeping Beauty

The fairy tale in depth, going back to the original sources. It's not particularly Disneyesque. 'Most obviously, there is an outrageous fact that the story passes over and that most children do not consciously note: Beauty is a century older than the prince who kisses her and ends her sleep. When he enters her dusty room she is one hundred and fifteen years old. As the reader bends with him over her inert form, adoration is tinged with something else entirely—the apprehension of death.' More...

A rejection is a rejection is a rejection

The best rejection letter ever? (Via)

An evening with J. D. Salinger

Actually, a pretty weird evening. 'Now Salinger began talking of something else; I didn’t immediately grasp his subject. Buddhism, his studies in that religion, and his wish to go further in those studies. He said, “I’d be surprised if any of you think of yourselves as Buddhists.” He talked about the discipline of meditation, of what might be reached through its practice, of a book that had helped him to appreciate its benefits. Of “levels,” or did he say, “stages of enlightenment.” He spoke more quickly as he went along. Perhaps it was simply impatience with our ignorance. I was not keeping all the information straight.' More...

Mandated e-textbooks

It was just a matter of time, no doubt. I've always believed that text books is one of the best areas for ebook use, for so many reasons. 'There’s a new rule coming from Florida’s state board of education. Within three years, all school districts will be required to spend half their textbook money on ebooks! “Students ‘cracking the books’ to study for a class or exam could be a thing of the past someday,” joked one Florida newspaper. And when an educational publisher submits their textbook to the board for review — it will have to be an ebook!' More...

The Alexandrian library

News from Egypt tells us that the library is safe. 'When unrest broke out on Friday, a cordon of young people rushed to surround the Library complex (which includes conference halls and a planetarium) and protect it from vandalism.... The Library has become an essential symbol of Egypt, or perhaps of civilization in general. In any event, the move to protect the Library—as with similar efforts by protesters in Cairo to protect the Egyptian Museum after a group of looters smashed display cases and destroyed two mummies—is not only a matter of guarding the books and other splendid collections housed beneath its circular roof: it is a matter of guarding an idea.' More...