J.K. Rowling
Not really a full links post, but a few things caught my eye this morning. So here we go.
First of all, J.K. Rowling has been sued for plagiarism, again, hilariously. This time the plaintiff is the estate of a writer who died thirteen years ago. They claim she stole from a 36-page pamphlet called “The Adventures of Willy the Wizard.”
The entire case rests not on copied passages, but on the fact that “both Willy and Harry [are] required to solve a task as part of a contest, which they achieve in a bathroom assisted by clues from helpers.”
So, your case rests on the word “bathroom.” Good luck.
My other favorite line from that story is the estate’s PR guy (not lawyer) saying: “‘All of Willy the Wizard is in the Goblet of Fire.’” That’s a joke, right? Because “Willy” is only 36 pages long? Right?
And there’s a lot of other funny stuff in the Guardian piece. In other news:
- In doom-of-literature news, James Cameron wants to write a novel based on Avatar, presumably to create a special effect where the universe folds back on itself and creates a black hole of mediocrity. Maybe George Lucas can consult. Wait, he’s busy panicking about being a terrible filmmaker. (If you haven’t seen the 70-minute YouTube review of The Phantom Menace, I recommend it.)
- Engadget reports the new iRex ereader is finally coming out, only four months late. This new model, the cutely named DR800SG, is notable because it costs less than $800, and it gives Engadget a chance to backhand the stupid Nook by calling the iRex “Barnes & Noble’s first big play in the space.” Since it has a stylus-driven touchscreen, file it under Y for Yet another reason not to get a QUE.
- TeleRead reports that the new agency pricing model for ebooks might not mean all that big a change for readers. That’s good, because raising prices makes for fewer sales, which could stifle ebooks (the best thing to happen to the publishing industry since, well, J.K. Rowling) before they fully get off the ground. And, for the record, publishing needs to stop listening to the music industry. Piracy is not the main reason for their decline, never has been, and does not discourage people from creating. So embrace ebooks and take the DRM off them, huh?
- And, finally, The Rapture, one of my favorite bands, says this about their upcoming release:
“Our new album’s gonna be fucking 100 times better than the iPad,” [band member Gabe Andruzzi] jokes. “With this record you’re going to be interfacing with your soul in ways that have never happened before.”
So we’ve got that going for us. Which is nice.
The Plastic Logic Whatzamawhoozit
The advantages of paper books that I have in mind here have already been discussed in some earlier posts and comments, namely notation and random access. I think these issues are worth further examining for two reasons: (1) these features must be carried over from one generation of reading device to the next; (2) the first company who gets them right will command the coveted academic and business markets (at least until someone comes up with The Great Universal eReader).
