What if civilisation *doesn't* collapse?

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on · · 16 comments · 550 words · read ~339 times.
An eReader with a pen.

A few years ago, I got rid of all my paper books and switched exclusively to eBooks. Whenever I tell bibliophiles1 this, they usually shriek in horror. What about the smell of books2?!!? What about showing off your bookcases to impress people3!?!? What about your signed first editions4!??!?! But the other day I had someone […]

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Review: Boyue Likebook P78 eReader - the Anti-Kindle

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on · · 6 comments · 1,200 words · read ~2,538 times.
An eInk tablet.

Before I start this blog post - here's a big fat warning. You will get no support from Boyue if things go wrong with your device. I have their previous model, the Likebook Ares. After less than a year of use, I noticed screen discolouration. The eBay reseller wasn't interested in helping me with a […]

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Why is there no eBook of Future Shock?

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on · · 3 comments · 400 words · read ~265 times.
An eReader with a pen.

Alvin Toffler's book "Future Shock" is one of the defining texts of the 20th century. In it, he correctly predicts the insanity of living in the 21st century with its constant bombardment of the shock of the new. I thoroughly recommend you read it. But there's no official eBook copy. Why? If you trawl the […]

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Sci-Fi Holiday Reading

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on · · 3 comments · 850 words · read ~171 times.

I like to go on holiday in order to read books. After last year's post a few people expressed surprise that I hadn't included many female authors. I felt compelled to rectify that, so I decided to read only female authors this holiday. I only had 7 days, and did quite a lot of sight-seeing, […]

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What I Read On My Holidays

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on · · 2,800 words · read ~181 times.

by Terence Eden, aged 35 & ⅚ths. I often wonder how much I read during the average day. A few thousand words of tweets, couple of hundred in Facebook posts, a dozen articles on blogs and news sites - and an unhealthy smattering of Reddit and other fora. All told, I am probably reading the […]

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Converting the Voynich Manuscript into an eBook

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on · · 5 comments · 900 words · read ~51,152 times.
A mysterious old book

Three years ago I promised to convert the Voynich Manuscript into an ebook. The recent news that it may have been deciphered spurred me to finish my project. So, here it is, the world famous mystery that is the Voynich Manuscript now in convenient eBook format. PDF - suitable for Kindle, nook, Kobo, Android, iOS […]

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Traditional Book Publishers Don't Own The Future

By
on · · 2 comments · 750 words · read ~171 times.

One of the "perks" of running a moderately popular blog is that sometimes people send you stuff. I've been sent wine, phones, apps, and all sorts to review - usually by PR people who realise that engagement with bloggers is a little different that their regular way of doing business. Yesterday, I received this delightful […]

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#libcampldn Library Camp London - Audio Recordings & Writeup

By
on · · 1 comment · 800 words · read ~189 times.

I haven't been to an unconference in ages - so it was nice to get back into the swing of things with LibraryCamp. It was a delight to spend time with a collection of committed professionals doing amazing things with books. As requested, I recorded all the sessions I could. Here are my notes, and […]

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Burn The Libraries

By
on · · 2 comments · 1,050 words · read ~194 times.

I've been thinking a lot about libraries recently. When I was a child I was taken to a library every two weeks and made to check out the maximum allowance of books - that's what having an English teacher for a mother gets you! Once I went to university, I stopped going to the library. […]

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Burning All My Books

By
on · · 25 comments · 850 words · read ~2,386 times.
A tiny micro sd card.

My shelves are empty. The half-dozen Billy Bookcases I bought from Ikea are now little more than scrap. I have burned my books. A bonfire of ideas and ideals. My bookshelves used to burst at the seams. Every individual shelf bowed violently from the over-stuffed mass of paperbacks squeezed onto it. Shakespeare rubbed up with […]

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