The link below is to an article that considers the ongoing role of literary criticism.
For more visit:
http://www.vqronline.org/blog/2013/05/23/why-literary-criticism-still-matters/
Tag Archives: role
Article: On Bookstores
The link below is to an article that looks at the role of bookstores and why they are still needed. What do you think?
For more visit:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/william-petrocelli/who-needs-publishers-bookstores_b_1803155.html
Website: Little Librarian
The following link is to a website that has been made for ‘Little Librarian.’ What is Little Librarian? It is a little library kit that will allow kids to play the role of a librarian. The kit comes with library cards, bookmarks, overdue notices, etc. It is a role-playing game that will help get kids into books and libraries.
For more, visit:
http://www.littlelibrarian.net/
Book Review: Currently Reading – Print is Dead, by Jeff Gomez
I have been reading ‘Print is Dead – Books in our Digital Age,’ by Jeff Gomez. Having just read chapter two, ‘Us and Them,’ I must say that his point in that chapter is well made. The demise in traditional book sales has not been because ebooks have taken the world by storm – at least not at this stage – but because other areas of the digital world have. Generations of younger people have turned away from books in all their forms and have sought entertainment in other things, such as the Internet and video games, to name just a couple. It is reading itself that is being passed by, so the advent of the ebook is not that which is killing off the traditional book and by extension the bookseller/bookshop, but rather ‘dumber’ forms of entertainment.
Books will always be around in one form or another (at least I believe that), whether they remain as prolific as they now are is quite another thing, it is the habit of reading that may fall away dramatically and cause books to be cast aside – at least in the wider community. I think there will always be a group or community of diehard book readers, who eventually will have ebooks as their primary source of books and reading material. There are those who will not be lost entirely to less intellectual forms of entertainment, though perhaps some of these other forms of entertainment may play a role in the ‘reading’ of the future in the digital world (linked to videos, etc). Reading is a great skill that is being lost and the medium for ideas through the ages faces its greatest threat from a lack of it.
The next chapter, ‘newspapers are no longer news,’ deals with newspapers as a source of news and book reviews, or rather, how they are rapidly loosing their ascendency to online applications and tools. In a world that is rapidly changing and access to news as it happens online, newspapers are becoming a too infrequently updated source of news and information. Online access to news and events as they happen are so readily accessible, that the traditional source of news is fading away. As for book reviews, the avenues of discussion about books on the web via social networking, Blogs and the like, opens the opportunity for all to join the discussion. Book reviews in newspapers, like movie reviews, are opportunities for the reviewers to pontificate and/or push their own views onto a public unable to respond – online however the avenues of discussion are legion and varied. All may be involved – or not at all. The decision as to how one may be involved is left to the individual, which also translates to news stories in a similar manner. Interaction with the news and books has never been so simple and as rich an experience.
See also:
http://www.dontcallhome.com/books.html (Website of Jeff Gomez)
Podcast (Excerpts from the Book)
Google Books
Amazon
Life of George Washington – Washington Irving
I have been reading the five volume work of Washington Irving on the ‘Life of George Washington’ over the last little while. Currently I am in the middle of the second volume. Though I am only reading two to ten pages a day and don’t view this reading exercise as particularly pressing, I am enjoying my reading experience very much. It is an easy to read book, with chapters divided into very manageable portions. As a whole, the five volumes make up about 2000 pages.
This work by Washington Irving on the life of George Washington covers the life of the first president of the United States, shedding much light on the life and times of Washington. Thus far I have covered the period of Washington’s early life, through the war against the French and Indians (in which Washington played an important role) and into the American War Of Independence (in which Washington led the fledgling nation’s army against the British). This biographical work seems to be an excellent life of George Washington, but also provides an insight into the players and the history of the times.
In short, this five volume work on Washington is excellent and I would highly recommend reading the entire work on an important person in, and period of, American history. The work is available at the Internet Archive and I have links to the five volumes on my website at:
BOOK REVIEW: The Noticer, by Andy Andrews
The first book I will be reviewing for Thomas Nelson is called ‘The Noticer,’ by New York Times bestselling author Andy Andrews. It is actually an ebook that I have.
The hardcopy book is available at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0785229213/thomasnelsoni-20
There is an online web site associated with the book called ‘The Noticer Project’ at:
http://www.thenoticerproject.com/
I haven’t started to read the book yet, but will be doing so today. Certainly the web site looks interesting. The site encourages visitors to think of 1 to 5 people who have played an important role in their lives. You then post a message sharing your thoughts about these people on the site and an email is also sent to those people. The message is meant to be an inspiration and encouragement to others who visit the site.
A quote from the site will perhaps help:
"The Noticer Project is a worldwide movement to "notice" the five most influential people in your life! Noticing those five people can be as private (just a letter or email) or as public (posting to your Facebook page or joining The Noticer Project Facebook group) as you choose, but the movement is meant to encourage us to step outside our busy schedules and avoid waiting until a wedding, graduation or even a funeral to take notice of the special, influential people in our lives. By noticing those who have made a difference for you, you not only acknowledge their contribution, but you may gain a new perspective on your own journey. If you are noticed, you are encouraged to continue the movement by ‘noticing’ five people in your life!"
There is also a Facebook Group that can be joined and ‘The Noticer’ can be followed on Twitter.
The web site has a number of suggestions as to how you can ‘notice’ that important person in your life, be it from writing a private letter, making a donation to a charity in the name of that person, etc.
The site encourages you to notice a person before a birthday or funeral.
Overall, I quite like the concept of noticing others. It certainly has you thinking in a more ‘other-centred’ manner and encourages you to not be so ‘self-centred.’ I wouldn’t try and blend what is a secular concept into a Christian one, but the project does warrant comparisons with many Christian virtues.
Visit the web site by clicking on the banner below:
A MEMOIR OF THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF ANDREW FULLER
I have now completed placing this work onto my web site at particularbaptist.com. The URL for the book is listed below:
http://particularbaptist.com/library/memoir_fuller_contents.html
My copy of this book is in very poor condition. It was published in 1863 as part of the Bunyan Library, which was a collection of books by ‘eminent Baptist authors.’ It was volume 11 in the library. The book was printed in 1863 by J. Heaton and Son in London, England.
This book is an excellent introduction to the life, work and writings of Andrew Fuller. It includes an account of Fuller’s friendship and partnership in the missionary enterprise of William Carey and the formation of the Baptist Missionary Society, in which Andrew Fuller played a major role.
I highly recommend this work and would give it a 4 to 4.5 out of five. It seems to be a very fair and honest portrayal of this early English Particular Baptist.
A MEMOIR OF THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF ANDREW FULLER
I am currently reading ‘A Memoir of the Life and Writings of Andrew Fuller’ by his grandson Thomas Ekins Fuller. I am also placing this work onto my web site at particularbaptist.com. The URL for the book is listed below:
http://particularbaptist.com/library/memoir_fuller_contents.html
My copy of this book is in very poor condition. It was published in 1863 as part of the Bunyan Library, which was a collection of books by ‘eminent Baptist authors.’ It was volume 11 in the library. The book was printed in 1863 by J. Heaton and Son in London, England.
This book is an excellent introduction to the life, work and writings of Andrew Fuller. It includes an account of Fuller’s friendship and partnership in the missionary enterprise of William Carey and the formation of the Baptist Missionary Society, in which Andrew Fuller played a major role.
I highly recommend this work and would give it a 4 to 4.5 out of five. It seems to be a very fair and honest portrayal of this early English Particular Baptist.
At the BookShelf 