If you've ever wanted to have a deeper conversation with the printed page - or scan a library of literature for answers to your many questions - Google's Talk to Books tool is a fun little way to do just that. It isn't a Google search for books, but it does offer more conversational answers for your questions than a traditional search.
For the first time in twenty years, as the Atlantic points out, a whole year's worth of copyrighted works will enter the public domain in the U.S. on January 1, 2019. Under the terms of the Sonny Bono Copyright Act, works first published in 1923 will enter the public domain, meaning anyone can re-publish them, or chop them up and use them in other projects, without asking permission or paying the old rights holders. You can record new versions of the musical compositions; you can show the movies for a profit; you can even remake them. Amazon can sell you the ebook and keep all the money, and Project Gutenberg can give you the ebook for free. The Atlantic has a short list; we have a longer one below.
The University of Florida Baldwin Library of Historical Children's Literature has a digital archive of 6000 children's books from the 19th and early 20th century, all free to read online. A redditor discovered the treasure and shared it it Reddit's Books community. Fans of history and children's literature will be delighted to click through the pages of titles such as Aesop's Fables, The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe and Grimm's Fairy Tales - and share them with their kids.
Did you know it took J.R.R Tolkien approximately 16 years to write some obscure trilogy of novels called The Lord of the Rings? Clocking in at over 500,000 words, that's no real surprise. But how long do you think it took to write some of the other popular books in human history?
While 2016 still didn't bring the long awaited Winds Of Winter to bookstores, there were still plenty of great books released. But were any of them on Amazon's bestseller list? Here's what Australians were reading in 2016.
Book Marks is a new web site that gathers book reviews from critics and readers alike for you to browse all in one place. Books Marks was launched by Literary Hub, a site that's dedicated to a mix of book news, excerpts and original content and interviews.
When working on your first book, you're faced with an extremely daunting task. Regardless of whatever training or practise you've had in the past, it's still your first novel. At times it will be a highly enjoyable venture, but much of it will be excruciating. There are moments where you might want to throw in the towel, or where you'll feel completely lost. And when that happens just remember the wise words of the successful authors below -- they hold the roadmap back to finishing your novel successfully.
