Neil Gaiman’s brilliant graduation speech on living the creative life, made into a giant comic, from the same folks who distilled Neil deGrasse Tyson’s monologue on the most astounding fact about the universe into a comic.
‘App-less’ publishers (groan)
I’ve just interviewed Russell Quinn for the second time for The Literary Platform, mainly concerning his thoughts around the storytelling opportunities that so far publishers have been missing when it comes to digital books.
I also asked him if he had any examples, as a reader/’experiencee’ of these types of ‘publications’, of work that has really stood out for or that he’s found inspiring? His answer illuminates the deficit of workable, reading-focused ideas coming from publishers today:
“Kind of not! I don’t know, there are some great non-fiction digital projects, but I always feel let down by the value of the literature on the fiction side.”
You can read the interview itself over on The Literary Platform.
More on Kapow! Author Adam Thirwell and designer Frith Kerr talk about the book, while travelling around London in a black cab. Out on Thursday people.
For the first post in a series where we ask New Yorker writers what book they have revisited most often, Maile Meloy writes on J.D. Salinger’s, “Nine Stories”: http://nyr.kr/Lb0Yza
“A woman who is willing to be herself and pursue her own potential runs not so much the risk of loneliness, as the challenge of exposure to more interesting men - and people in general.”
—Lorraine Hansberry
Birthday wishes to playwright Lorraine Vivian Hansberry ( born today in 1930), author of “A Raisin in the Sun” (1959).
Perspective.
The Book Depository’s live book selling tracker. See books being bought live, as it happens. If that’s the sort of thing that gets you excited.
These are a couple of years old, but I’ve only just seen them (thanks to Rajesh Pancholi’s Twitter account).
I actually own the Vintage Books edition of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea that Tierney went on to design the 3D cover for (along with Journey to the Centre of the Earth, both shown below – pop on some 3D specs if you’ve got them handy). Presumably this work came about off of the back of the covers shown in the video. For my money though, the covers in the video are better. Check out the spindle and wheel on Around the World in 80 Days, or the hidden rocket on the cover of From the Earth to the Moon. Clever stuff.
What’s more, Jim has a rather fine blog archive full of illustrated book covers over here.
A very engaging movie on Professor Chinua Achebe. His childhood influences. His trials and battles which he commandingly prevailed against. His world of writing and secrets to his craft. There is also a pull of interviews from Professors, doctors, civil servants and students about their perspectives of Achebe. Video clips of Things Fall Apart included. And many more….
