Last year US writer Deanna Zandt took the “unusual approach” of “crowdfunding”, or asking people to make contributions – or donations – so she could take some time out to write a book.
Using the wisdom of the crowd to research a book is nothing new. Clay Shirky based a whole tome around the concept. [...]

Lang Leav is giving someone the chance to win a copy of her latest hand made book Charlie’s Widow.
To find out more, and be in running, head along to the Charlie’s Widow Facebook page (login required), before midnight (AEST), Sunday 21st of February, 2010.

Reading books seems to be more effective than listening to music, or walking, when it comes to reducing stress.
Reading worked best, reducing stress levels by 68 per cent, said cognitive neuropsychologist Dr David Lewis. Subjects only needed to read, silently, for six minutes to slow down the heart rate and ease tension in the [...]

US author J.D. Salinger who died last week, aged 91 will be remembered for many things, though possibly not by the number of his (published) works:
Since Jerome David Salinger’s death on Wednesday, at the house in New Hampshire that served as his home and self-imposed prison, the torrent of words about the writer’s long, [...]

Alex Carnevale’s list of the The 100 Greatest Science Fiction or Fantasy Novels of All Time.

People who have written a book have equated the experience with running a marathon, and, as with many long distance runners, they feel a sense of great achievement, regardless of how well their book does.
It’s sort of like running a marathon; you have to train to build up to it and maintain some discipline, but [...]

Thanks to its pocket-size portability, The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook is small enough to carry at all times.
Danger! It lurks at every corner. Volcanoes. Sharks. Quicksand. Terrorists. The pilot of the plane blacks out and it’s up to you to land the jet. What do you do?

An illustrated timeline of book publishing methods and technologies, from clay tablets in 3500 BC, to the latter day Kindle reader (larger version).

The rise of so-called “passive entertainment”, television, books, and radio for instance, has been linked to increasing levels of obesity, as has – I dare say – office and other forms of sedentary work.
Televisions have been widespread for barely 60 years. Radios, for less than a century. Books, for perhaps half a millennium. Sure, [...]

Mike Walsh talks to Brad Howarth at the recent launch of his new book “Futuretainment” (check out my summary of the event.)