E-Waste@Large – New York Times
Whatever are we to do with all the electronic waste we accumulate as we upgrade our gadgets and systems? Garbage Land author Elizabeth Royte has some suggestions.
A Peoples History of Science by Clifford D. Conner
A new book site from Booknoise, featuring four excerpts and a fine front-page review in the NY Times Book Review.
Get behind the scenes to stay ahead of the curve
Access by readers to the text while it’s being written and edited. I’m not sure David Foster Wallace would go for it (though on second thought, maybe he’ll get all over this—more footnotes!), but it’s a pretty cool idea for tech books.
Not for the faint of heart.
Some books title themselves, but other titles are the result of a prolonged author agony (and the fallout agony of anyone nearby during the naming process). The clever folks behind this website have put together a bit of software that analyzes titles for their inherent bestselling qualities based on years of the NY Times best seller list. Good fun, at the very least.
New Uses for Glut of Small Logs From Thinning of Forests – New York Times
Last Breath author Peter Stark is featured in this NY Times science section story about logging small trees in an environmentally friendly way. One of the issues is that there are virtually no large trees left to be harvested anymore.
Amazon is offering author pages that the authors themselves can contribute to. Like similar pages at publisher websites, these efforts are limited even when the amounts of information allowed are extensive. A booknoise.net site enables an author to craft her or his own message about the book, using all the resources she or he may want to bring to bear.
That (sometimes) alternative focus is what makes a booknoise.net site stand out, and helps media outlets and readers find books they might miss on the big sites. Still, if given the chance, getting your own author page at Amazon is a no brainer.
SlushPile.net » Interview: Claire Howorth, Publicist
Worth reading if you’re interested in books and publishing, and she suggests all authors read Elizabeth Royte’s Publish and Perish piece from the October 23, 2005 NY Times Book Review.
Brian’s Blog: Non-fiction Gems
WNYC radio’s Brian Lehrer reports that Garbage Land is one of his show’s listeners’ non-fiction gems. We’re big fans of A Great Improvisation and Mountains Beyond Mountains, too.
The Survivor and Garbage Land make the Washington Post’s list of best books of the year.