The struggle to read classic books, but why bother?
8 February 2022
Alison Flood, writing for The Guardian in 2016, on the topic of classic books because there is some sort of obligation to do:
This week, YouGov tells us that only 4% of Brits have read War and Peace, although 14% wish they had; 3% have read Les Misérables, although 10% want to; and 7% have read Moby-Dick, with 8% aiming to.
Aside from my school days, when reading some of the classics was requisite, I’ve made little effort to pick any up since. That’s probably not the sort of thing I should say on a website where literature and books feature, but there you are. I did try though. Moby-Dick. The Great Gatsby. Pride and Prejudice. The Grapes of Wrath. Vanity Fair. East of Eden. War and Peace. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.
Much to my (sort of) shame, they were all DNFs, each and every one. All are great books I’m certain, and all contributed to making contemporary literature what it is, but they were titles I could not get into. But I didn’t start reading them because I felt an obligation to, I read them because they were hailed as highly revered works of literature. But most did little for me, and so be it.
Life is too short to read books you don’t want to, no matter how acclaimed they are. But maybe it’s me. I also have difficulty listening to a lot of music — some of which is considered classic — that was recorded prior to the turn of the century. Besides, it not like there is a shortage of contemporary works to read, there’s several lifetimes worth. If the classics aren’t for you, it’s simple, don’t waste time on them.
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Flee, a film by Jonas Poher Rasmussen
7 February 2022
Flee, trailer, an animated documentary by Danish filmmaker Jonas Poher Rasmussen, recounts the story of Amin, who left Afghanistan as a child, and settled in Denmark. As he prepares to marry his boyfriend, he confides in a friend, sharing a story about his past he has so far kept secret from everyone.
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The impact of COVID lockdowns on new authors
7 February 2022
Newly published authors are among those whose livelihoods have been impacted by the COVID lockdowns of the last two years, writes Mark Rubbo, managing director of independent Australian book retailer Readings. Bookshop exposure is integral in building an author’s profile, and is something many new authors have missed out on recently, with people staying at home because of restrictions imposed as a result of the pandemic.
For most first-time authors, exposure in bookshops is very important in establishing a market for a book, be it a chance encounter, a recommendation or a purchase triggered by some form of publicity. If the book is any good, then word of mouth builds a more sustainable demand. Many of the books released in the past two years risk becoming Covid orphans.
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Veronica Gorrie wins 2022 Victorian Prize for Literature
4 February 2022
Veronica Gorrie has been named winner of the 2022 Victorian Prize for Literature, for her 2021 book Black and Blue: A Memoir of Racism and Resilience, a memoir which recounts her childhood, and service as an Aboriginal officer with the police force in both her home state of Victoria, and Queensland.
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When will Wordle run out of five letter words?
4 February 2022
Fans of riotously popular word game Wordle need not fret — for now at least — about the daily challenge running out of five letter words. According to WordFinderX, there are over 158,000 five-letter English language words, depending which dictionary you refer to. That’s several centuries of daily puzzles.
On the other extreme, we are told there are a mere 5,350 words only available to word games. Even so, that makes for fourteen and a half year’s worth of units of language. Plenty of time to worry about what to do next. Let the fun continue.
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Book reading suggestions for February 2022
4 February 2022
Ten books to read in February, put together by Jason Steger, books editor at the Sydney Morning Herald. A nice mix of Australian and international titles, fiction and non-fiction, including The Furies by Mandy Beaumont, What I Wish People Knew About Dementia, by Wendy Mitchell, and Found, Wanting, by Natasha Sholl.
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The National Pleasure Audit
4 February 2022
The National Pleasure Audit is presently open to Australians aged eighteen and over. Conducted by Dr Desirée Kozlowski, a researcher at Southern Cross University, the audit aims to find out what brings joy — by whatever means — to people. Participation is anonymous, so anything goes, though you can submit an email address if you wish to be sent the results of the audit.
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Words in Progress March 2022, hosted by Declan Fry
2 February 2022
Australian writer and poet Declan Fry hosts a panel discussion with Tara June Winch, Charmaine Papertalk Green, Claire G. Coleman, about their writing processes, on Sunday 20 March 2022, from 4:15PM until 5:15PM.
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ASA pre-budget submission hopes to boost investment in Australian literature
2 February 2022
It’s incredible to believe that Federal Government investment in Australian literature has declined by forty percent in the last ten years. It is something the Australian Society of Authors (ASA) hopes to redress in a pre-budget submission to the Australian Treasury. Direct grants to authors, and an increase in public lending rights scheme, are two key areas of interest to the ASA:
- Direct authors’ grants: the development of a Commonwealth Fellowships and Grants program which includes a focus on First Nations storytelling, designed to fuel the talent pipeline and build the creative economy of the future.
- A 20% increase to the Federal Government’s Lending Rights Budget to fund the expansion of the public lending rights (PLR) and educational lending rights (ELR) schemes to include digital formats (ebooks and audiobooks), which would modernise the schemes and reflect the reality of library holdings.
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Wordle bought by New York Times
2 February 2022
Word game Wordle, created by Josh Wardle, and hugely popular with — among others — the book-reading posse, plus one or two game developers looking for a piece of the word-game-gone-viral action, has been bought by the New York Times.
Created by a Reddit engineer and launched in October, Wordle gives players just six guesses to determine a five-letter word that changes every day. The soothing daily puzzle has become a hit since its launch, quickly attracting hundreds of thousands, then millions, of players. Social media posts about its game of the day have become ubiquitous, along with screenshots of the game’s distinctive grid.
Update: on the topic of Wordle “copies”, instructions for installing the official real version of the game, rather than an imitation.
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