Pandemic closes public libraries; e-resources remain vital
The myriad ways the novel coronavirus is upending daily life includes the shuttering of public libraries across the United States. Led by the Library of Congress, thousands of libraries have… Read more »
Stephen King wants Governor Paul LePage to “man up and apologize”
It’s tax season, everyone! And in a radio address in which he proposed a tax overhaul plan, Maine Governor Paul LePage suggested that “famous residents [are] leaving the state because… Read more »
Independent Booksellers Week: Q&A with Nik Górecki from Housmans Bookshop
Continuing our series of interviews with independent booksellers, in celebration of Independent Booksellers Week, today we interview Nik Górecki from Housmans bookshop. Housmans is London’s oldest radical bookshop and the… Read more »
‘Motherhood is not a threat to creativity’ — Zadie Smith and other prominent authors react to controversial article
Zadie Smith and other prominent female writers have reacted against an article published by The Atlantic entitled: ‘The Secret to Being Both a Successful Writer and a Mother: Have Just… Read more »
50 annotated first editions—going to the highest bidder
It’s an impressive feat to collect 50 first editions of some of the most eminent authors writing today. But it’s a rare event when each of those fifty books has… Read more »
Shakespeare on the fiscal cliff
For those of us who find economics baffling once things get more complicated than the most basic concept of supply-and-demand, Ari Shapiro has compiled a series of interviews with literary… Read more »
A new plan for the NYPL?
Writer Caleb Crain here pushes hard for compromise on the New York Public Library’s Central Library Plan (which has been covered previously on MobyLives here, here, and here). In Crain’s… Read more »
Appeal for arrested Iranian writers
Today is World Refugee Day, and thoughts turn to regimes that imprison their writers, forcing others into exile. Iran is one such regime, and PEN last week launched an appeal on… Read more »
Hundreds of writers and scholars rally to save the NYPL
More than 750 writers, scholars, and librarians have signed a public letter asking New York Public Library president Anthony Marx to reconsider a $350 million plan to radically transform its… Read more »
The Avenue Reads
Thousands of Tunisians crowded the heart of the capital yesterday, occupying Habib Bourguiba Avenue in a silent demonstration dubbed “The Avenue Reads.” A Facebook page created for the event explains:… Read more »