Tag: books

In this ever-evolving world of AI drawing and chat and who knows what else, we find a new realm for computer-generated text-to-voice to apply its skills: audiobook narration. Leyland Cecco at The Guardian has more about how Apple is playing with fire in this experiment. The popularity of the audiobook market has exploded in recent years, with technology companies scrambling to gain a foothold. Sales last year jumped 25%, bringing in more than $1.5bn. Industry insiders believe the global market could be worth more than $35bn by 2030. Apple was due to launch the project in mid-November, but delayed it as layoffs…

We’ve seen a boom in the availability of tiny libraries across the world. These small structures can be found in parks, outside people’s homes and in other public spaces. Often they have clear doors on the front and are stuffed with books to take. The idea is great and it’s also a wonderful way to leave some books you wish to pass onto other readers. A new idea called BookCrossing aims to add to this by becoming a way to share and track your passed-on books. The idea was brought to my attention a while back on Twitter when I…

There’s the saying “Better late than never” but this definitely takes it to a whole new level. At the Sheffield Cathedral, a building that is 800 years old, now has finally received back its 300-year book loan from a patron. David Kessen has more over at The Star. Now the book, The Faith and Practice of a Church of England Man, is set to go on display at the church, which was well known for its library until Geogian times. The Reverend Canon Keith Farrow, vice dean and canon missioner at the cathedral, said when it was still a church it…

It’s a tale as old as time: books being banned for Reason X that Group Y feels threatened by its contents. However, an idea is something that cannot be contained. Books are one of the oldest forms of communication and to censor books goes against human knowledge. Fighting the good fight, The New York Public Library has announced four banned books are available nationwide to anyone without any wait times. A. Khalid has the details. The New York Public Library made four banned books available nationwide on SimplyE, its free-reader app. The titles include Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, King and the Dragonflies by…

For many, many years the Pebble Time has been the top project ever on Kickstarter. The revolutionary smartwatch was a smash hit on Pebble’s second trip to Kickstarter. I was an early backer and loved the product. After so many years though, it was only a matter of when someone overtook Pebble to claim the #1 slot. Leave it to prolific author Brandon Sanderson to be that person. Chaim Gartenberg at The Verge has more. The project’s original goal was to raise $1,000,000 in 30 days; Sanderson hit that number in around 35 minutes, according to The New York Times.…