Commentary

Is your dictionary sexist?

I found this article really interesting: Why People are Calling the Oxford Dictionary Sexist – And Why It Matters That last bit is really important. Reinforcing stereotype of “a nagging wife” doesn’t merely reflect use, it actively reproduces sexism. @OxfordWords pic.twitter.com/O5NLIPecCQ — Michael Oman-Reagan (@OmanReagan) January 23, 2016 That’s the key here: people look to the dictionary for definition and… Read more

A Book Lover’s Holiday

  Ever dream of retiring and running a bookstore? Apparently, a lot of people do and there’s a bookshop in Scotland that will let you try the dream on for size. There’s a great article in The Independent. The Open Book shop in  Scotland’s “national book town” of Wigtown has been listed on room-letting website AirBnB offering wordy holidaymakers the chance… Read more

The Hugo Awards and their aftermath

If you haven’t been following the controversy swirling around this year’s Hugo Awards, there’s a great article over at Wired that explains it all. Definitely recommended reading. I don’t read as much science fiction as I used to, sadly, but I still use the Hugo Awards to guide some of my choices. I don’t want to see them hijacked for… Read more

Utterly ridiculous: Germany says you can only buy adult eBooks after 10 pm

What? Do they restrict the sales of them in brick-and-mortar stores to late-night hours? This strikes me as really, really silly. Adult eBooks can only be sold after 10 pm, Germany rules The 10pm to 6am window was originally instituted in a 2002 law — Jugendmedienschutz-Staatsvertrag, or Youth Media Protection Act —  that was intended to restrict adult cinemas from… Read more

The History of Media Mail

Interesting thing: I was at the post office, mailing a book to a friend (Beast – I’m so sorry! I should have sent it ages ago!) when I happened to mention that I love the media mail rate. (Instead of $12 to mail my book, it was only $3.) The postman gave me – and everyone else in line –… Read more