Notes in the Margin Weblog

American Publishers and Foreign Languages at the Frankfurt Book Fair - NYTimes.com:

As a follow-up to several previous posts about the recent announcement of the Nobel Prize for Literature, Motoko Rich, writing from the Frankfurt Book Fair, explains why most Americans had never heard of the winner:

Although there are exceptions among the big publishing houses, the editors from the United States are generally more likely to bid on other hyped American or British titles than to look for new literature in the international halls.

According to Chad W. Post, the director of Open Letter, a new press based at the University of Rochester that focuses exclusively on books in translation, 330 works of foreign literature — or a little more than 2 percent of the estimated total of 15,000 titles released — have been published in the United States so far this year.

A week before the Nobel Prize announcement, Horace Engdahl, permanent secretary of the organization that awards the Nobel Prize, explained why the prize did not go to an American:

‘The U.S. is too isolated, too insular,’ Mr. Engdahl said in an interview with The Associated Press. ‘They don’t translate enough and don’t really participate in the big dialogue of literature.’

One French publisher told Rich, “American publishers are depriving the American readership of the cultural diversity through translation to which they are entitled.”

The Best Foreign Books You’ve Never Heard Of : NPR:

French writer Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio won the Nobel Prize for literature Thursday. If most Americans have never heard of this accomplished author of more than 30 novels, essays and story collections, perhaps it’s because there is so little emphasis on international books in the U.S. publishing world.

The reason why most Americans had never heard of the latest Nobel Prize winner for literature is that only about 3% of the books published in the U.S. are works that have been translated.

To remedy that situation, this piece ends with a list of some of the best foreign authors compiled by David Kipen, director of Literature and National Reading Initiatives at the National Endowment for the Arts.

A whale of a debate over ‘Moby Dick’ | csmonitor.com:

Please, spare us any more giant mammal jokes! Here in Massachusetts we’ve had to listen to every possible commentator refer to it as a ‘whale of a debate,’ but, after a lively discussion in our state House of Representatives we are now a step closer to having a new ‘official state epic novel.’

That would be ‘Moby Dick‘, Herman Melville’s 1851 classic.

The original request, made by the state representative from Pittsfield, where Moby-Dick was written, was for the novel to become the official state book. But that proposal met with opposition by the representative from Concord, home of Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Louisa May Alcott.

Personally, I’m more concerned about the defending World Series champion Red Sox, who are now down 3 games to 1 in a best-of-seven series to determine who plays in this year’s World Series.

I’m working on a research proposal for school right now. As exhilarating as it is to be getting near working on my dissertation, this phase is very time-consuming. Consequently, I’m resorting to a summary list of the tabs I’ve left open in my browser for far too long in hopes of being able to write a separate post about each one.

Can e-books win global appeal?

This very short piece in the Christian Science Monitor links to two articles in foreign newspapers that discuss e-book readers like the Amazon Kindle and Sony’s digital Reader.

Reading Shouldn’t Be a Numbers Game

In this opinion piece in the Los Angeles Times librarian Regina Powers laments a trend she’s noticed:

Although I am elated that many families are visiting my public library more frequently because schools send them, I am disturbed at how infrequently parents and teachers are allowing young readers to choose what to read.

During the summer, children were excited about reading because, freed from school requirements, they decided what to read. Being able to choose their favorite author, genre or topic seemed to empower them to read more. Now with school back in session, finding a book again involves navigating through a labyrinth of point values and reading levels.

A Trilling Look at Literary Criticism

This piece in Columbia University’s campus paper Columbia Spectator discusses the work of Lionel Trilling, an iconic figure in the history of literary criticism:

Trilling, CC ’25 and GSAS ’38, was one of the most celebrated public intellectuals of his day. The first Jewish professor in the English department, he rose to fame as one of the “New York Intellectuals” (a group whose members included Saul Bellow and Irving Howe) and a writer for Partisan Review. He also published acclaimed studies of Matthew Arnold and E.M. Forster, before trying his hand at novel-writing with The Middle of the Journey. His later works—collections of essays like The Liberal Imagination, The Opposing Self, Beyond Culture, and Sincerity and Authenticity—are classics of literary criticism. He died in 1975, at age 70, and remains an iconic figure, if not a fashionable one.

Using Video Games as Bait to Hook Readers

Increasingly, authors, teachers, librarians and publishers are embracing this fast-paced, image-laden world in the hope that the games will draw children to reading.

Spurred by arguments that video games also may teach a kind of digital literacy that is becoming as important as proficiency in print, libraries are hosting gaming tournaments, while schools are exploring how to incorporate video games in the classroom.

When Books Could Change Your Life
“Why What We Pore Over At 12 May Be The Most Important Reading We Ever Do”

In this wonderful piece Tim Kreider explains why the books we devour as children and adolescents are some of the most important reading of our lives:

It’s not that children’s books are pure entertainment, innocent of any didactic goal–what grownups enviously call “Reading for Fun.” On the contrary, the reading we do as children may be more serious than any reading we’ll ever do again. Books for children and young people are unashamedly prescriptive: They’re written, at least in part, to teach us what the world is like, how people are, and how we should behave. . .

National Reading Group Month:

Reading groups are proving that good books bring people together. National Reading Group Month salutes reading groups. It fosters their growth and promotes the love of literature. It’s an opportunity for reading groups to reflect on their accomplishments and plan for the future — the perfect time to join or start a group.

On this site you’ll find the story behind National Reading Group Month, a calendar of nation-wide events, and resources and tips for enhancing book discussions. Whether you’re a reading group member, author, bookseller, librarian, or publishing industry professional, get involved in National Reading Group Month. Celebrate the joy of shared reading.

National Reading Group Month is an initiative of the Women’s National Book Association (WNBA). Founded in 1917, WNBA promotes literacy, a love of reading, and women’s roles in the community of the book.

ALA | Banned Books Week:

Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read is observed during the last week of September each year. Observed since 1982, this annual ALA event reminds Americans not to take this precious democratic freedom for granted. This year, 2008, marks BBW’s 27th anniversary (September 27 through October 4).

Check out the American Library Association’s Banned Books Week Website for information about the most frequently challenged books and about how you can fight censorship in your community.

Just in time: Banned Books Week | csmonitor.com:

Given the recent public scuffle over Sarah Palin’s conversations while mayor with a Wasilla librarian about the possibility of banning books, there probably couldn’t be a better moment for the American Library Association’s Banned Books Week, which begins tomorrw, Sept. 27, and runs through Oct. 4.

Inside Google Book Search: Book Search everywhere with new partnerships and tools:

Google makes it even easier for readers to part with their hard-earned cash:

Today, we’re taking a big step towards bringing more books, across more sites, to more people online.

We’re launching a set of free tools that allow retailers, publishers, and anyone with a web site to embed books from the Google Book Search index. We are also providing new ways for these sites to display full-text search results from Book Search, and even integrate with social features such as ratings, reviews, and readers’ book collections. By providing tools that help sites connect readers with books in new and interesting ways, we hope publishers and authors will find even wider audiences for their works.

Moving Beyond ‘Catcher’ On School Reading Lists : NPR:

“The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger’s beloved novel, once banned and full of frank four-letter words, will continue to be assigned to high school reading lists this year.

But Anne Trubek, a professor of English at Oberlin College, argues that it’s time to update Salinger’s coming-of-age tale.

This article provides a link to the sound version of Trubek’s discussion with NPR’s Scott Simon and lists a few of Trubek’s suggestions for books to replace “Catcher” on a list of required reading for today’s teenagers.

As a baby boomer, I’m one of the millions who read about Holden Caulfield while growing up. I reread the book when my daughter was in high school and found it just as compelling the second time. Moreover, my daughter (who, admittedly, is now 30 herself) seemed to have no problem comprehending Holden’s teenaged angst.

What’s your take on this? Is Holden Caulfield outdated for today’s young people? Do you have your own memories of reading “Catcher in the Rye”?

From the always-eager-to-sell-you-a-book folks at Amazon comes this notification:

As someone who has purchased Harry Potter products from Amazon.com, you might be happy to hear that The Tales of Beedle the Bard, J.K. Rowling’s book of fairy tales written to supplement the Harry Potter series, will be published in two new editions on December 4, 2008.

Now, as a full-time student, I’ve been buried under mounds of textbooks for the past three years, and I was completely unaware of this literary gem. Apparently Rowling penned it and then auctioned it off, with the proceeds going to a children’s charity. You can read all about it at the Amazon page:

Amazon.com: The Fairy Tales of J.K. Rowling

Be sure to scroll all the way down the page to look at the photographs, which include some of Rowling’s hand-drawn illustrations. And, if you really have some time on your hands, follow the links to the comments at the bottom of the page.