Written more than 1,000 years ago during the height of the Heian period (794–1185), The Tale of Genji was penned by Murasaki Shikibu while she served as a lady-in-waiting at the Japanese court. The manuscript, whose most recent English translation spans 1,300 pages, follows the tender, charismatic Prince Genji, tracing his life and many romantic pursuits against the backdrop of 11th-century Japan. Read more
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What follows is a list of road trip stories, fiction and nonfiction, that have moved and inspired us in the years since “On the Road” appeared in 1957. All were written in a spirit of enlightened inquiry. Some are introspective; others have the pedal pushed fully to the floor. Some are primarily about running away; others are about rushing toward. When needed, they’ve braced our lapsing morale. Read more
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Philosopher St. Augustine is believed to have said, “The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.” That was all the way back in the 4th century, before he or anyone could know that today’s travelers would be accruing air miles to turn pages in the literal sense, too. Taking notes from the creative ways brands and celebrities alike have tapped into the astronomical rise of reading, luxury hotels are launching literary offerings for book-minded boarders. Read more
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Luis Sorriano straps his books to two trusted donkeys and brings the classroom to children in hard-to-reach towns. Read more
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At the heart of Bookish is Gabriel Book, played with trademark wit and warmth by [Mark] Gatiss himself. Gabriel isn’t your average sleuth. He’s an antiquarian bookshop owner in post-war London, 1946 to be exact, whose life is as layered as the tomes lining his shelves. Imagine Sherlock Holmes with a love of first editions and a penchant for quoting obscure poets, and you’re halfway there. Gabriel’s shop on Archangel Lane is more than a business, it’s a haven for the lost, the curious, and, as it turns out, those with a knack for trouble. Read more Watch trailer
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Federal judge William Alsup ruled that it was legal for Anthropic to train its AI models on published books without the authors’ permission. This marks the first time that the courts have given credence to AI companies’ claim that fair use doctrine can absolve AI companies from fault when they use copyrighted materials to train large language models (LLMs) … In this particular case, Bartz v. Anthropic, the group of plaintiff authors also brought into question the manner in which Anthropic attained and stored their works. According to the lawsuit, Anthropic sought to create a “central library” of “all the books in the world” to keep “forever.” But millions of these copyrighted books were downloaded for free from pirate sites, which is unambiguously illegal. While the judge granted that Anthropic’s training of these materials was a fair use, the court will hold a trial about the nature of the “central library.” Read more
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This month, THE PALM-WINE DRINKARD returns to life in a striking new edition, along with Tutuola’s 1954 follow-up, “My Life in the Bush of Ghosts,” with introductions by Wole Soyinka and Kaveh Akbar. Originally published under the Evergreen imprint of Grove Press, the books appeared alongside the storied house’s rogues’ gallery of midcentury American and European avant-garde authors like William Burroughs, Henry Miller, Samuel Beckett and Jean Genet. Read more
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He is stepping into a new phase in his career -— winning a Pulitzer Prize and maybe a second Tony while writing the Prince musical “Purple Rain.” Read more
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Historically, publishers used arsenic mixed with copper to achieve a vivid emerald green colour for book covers. While the risk to the public is “low”, handling arsenic-containing books regularly can lead to health issues including irritation of the eyes, nose and throat along with more serious side-effects. The toxic pigment in the book bindings can flake off, meaning small pieces can easily be inhaled. Read more
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Ms. Wakefield, 46, soon learned that she had stumbled upon a treasure chest intentionally hidden by Michael Cloherty O’Connell, the author of two history books that led readers on scavenger hunts around the Northeast. Read more
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