This Week Online...

So I've been thinking that maybe I should do a weekly roundup of great book or writing or reading-related articles I've found around the internet. I always stumble across great things, and I tweet a lot of them, but it might be nice to have them all in one place.

Lauren Conrad caused a stir online when she used some books to make a craft project, which resulted in this thought-provoking article, Books Are Not Sacred Objects. And I agree--I used to absolutely shudder at the idea of destroying a book, and maybe people I know refuse to even get rid of old books they don't read anymore. But books themselves--and by this I mean the binding, cover, pages--are not so special. Perhaps if you have a first edition or a rare signed copy, you could argue for treating the container itself as something of value. But it's the STORY inside that matters most. (My perspective on this changed when I became an author, because as I handed different version of my own books I realized the story is the true magic, whether it's read on my laptop or my Kindle or from a print copy, or even if it's listened to as an audiotape or shared aloud by one reader to listeners.)

Speaking of different ways and mediums to consume stories, I read this fascinating article about the history of paperbacks. There's some pretty strong parallels between the emergence of (and initial opposition to and snobbery about) paperbacks and ebooks that I find fascinating. History repeating? Here's another article on How Paperbacks Changed Popular Literature.

Also, for those who are interested in writing - How to Use Foreshadowing to Jazz Up Slow Scenes
Read anything good online this week?