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Monday Tally: Cyborgs, Piracy, and Digital Divides

monday-tag-150px Monday Tally is a weekly link round-up of some of my favorite posts discovered over the week. If you have suggestions for Monday Tally, please e-mail sophisticated [dot] dorkiness [at] gmail [dot] com. Enjoy!

Links Related to Books

I thought this TED Talks presentation by Amber Case, a “cyborg anthropologist,” was fascinating. She looks at the way “external brains” like cell phones or computers are helping us connect and become more human in new ways. I liked it as a companion to my recent review of Hamlet’s Blackberry by William Powers.

Amy (My Friend Amy) wrote a thoughtful post about a dying way of life, a reading life. This is a must read for people who love books, if nothing but food for thought.

I loves this post by author Saundra Mitchell about the costs of digital ebook piracy. Make sure you also take a little time to read this post.

This is cool: find out what the New York Times bestsellers were the week you were born. Wanderlust by Danielle Steel and Fatherhood by Bill Cosby topped my list.

It’s a book! Thanks to a recent commenter, Sally, for pointing me to this video.

Links Related to Not Books

I didn’t get to watch President Obama’s speech at the memorial in Tuscon last week, but reading the text of his speech made me cry. This is not a political thing, just really thoughtful writing that moved me.

Some more food for thought: Is access to the Internet via cell phones creating a new kind of digital divide where people of different races and economic backgrounds associate the Internet for totally different purposes. I’m not summing the article up well, but rest assured it’s pretty fascinating.

The comic xkcd never ceases to make me giggle. If the image is too small, follow this link to read it in full. Disclosure: I find Ke$sha to be one of the more annoying people on the planet.

Pantone announced the color of the year for 2011: Honeysuckle. I like the 2010 color, Turquoise, a little better, but I’m not complaining.

Books for My TBR

While I love collecting books for my TBR list, sometimes this starts to feel overwhelming. So many books to add, so little time to read them!

Comments on this entry are closed.

  • Trisha January 17, 2011, 8:49 am

    Honeysuckle does not look at all like what I thought honeysuckle would look like. And I’m with you on Ke$ha. I even find the dollar sign in her name annoying.

    • Kim January 20, 2011, 5:19 pm

      Trisha: I thought it would be more yellow, too. Pink was unexpected, but I sort of love the color. I HATE the $ too. Why even do that?

  • Care January 17, 2011, 10:19 am

    Was it Claire Danes who wore a Honeysuckle dress to the Globes last night? yes, methinks. Pretty.

    • Kim January 20, 2011, 5:19 pm

      Care: Possibly… I didn’t watch the Globes 🙂

  • Anastasia January 17, 2011, 1:03 pm

    Ooo, that bestseller list thing is awesome! The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe was #1 during my b-day week. I’ve also got a Danielle Steel and my mom’s favorite Stephen King book, haha.

    I really like your Monday Tally posts, btw. 😀

    • Kim January 20, 2011, 5:20 pm

      Anastasia: I know! It almost made me want to read a Danielle Steele book, just to see what it was about. That would be fun, maybe this summer when I want a book not to think about at all.

      And good, I’m glad you like them 🙂

  • Kimberly Hosey (Arizona Writer) January 17, 2011, 3:09 pm

    Great collection of links. I love the cyborg talk. I was fascinated by Amy Chua as well, although all I seem to get when I bring up the topic is extreme reactions (stereotyping! harsh parenting! OMG!). I really just think it’s fascinating from a sociological point of view. I disagree with her strenuously on some points, and agree on others, but she MAKES interesting points, and you have to give her credit for honesty.

    Thanks for sharing these!

    • Kim January 20, 2011, 5:21 pm

      Kimberly: I think Chua really brings out strong reactions in people — especially people who’ve just read the essay and not the book, which I hope is more nuanced and interesting. And I agree — credit for honesty, which is what makes me most curious.

  • Cass January 17, 2011, 8:49 pm

    Hurray for Reality Bites Back making your list! I finished it today and loved it; now I just have to review it. As for the Amy Chua book…this post: http://resistracism.wordpress.com/2011/01/09/p-s-you-suck/ on the Resist Racism blog might make some good additional reading and explain a bit of the reactions that have come up because of her book.

    • Kim January 20, 2011, 5:22 pm

      Cass: Yay! I can’t wait for the review to see more detailed thoughts. And thanks for the post, it’s going into a link round-up for Chua stuff in the next Monday Tally.

  • Erin January 18, 2011, 3:31 pm

    I love the It’s a Book trailer! It’s basically the entire book, animated. Makes me giggle every time.

    • Kim January 20, 2011, 5:22 pm

      Erin: I know! Totally cute.

  • Vasilly January 18, 2011, 9:31 pm

    You’ve just given us a million great links to look at! I understand the fascination with Chua though I’m not. If I had a parent like that, I would have rebelled at an earlier age than I did. Thanks to Cass for the great link. That post is amazing.

    • Kim January 20, 2011, 5:05 pm

      Vasilly: Yes, I liked the past Cass linked to. I’m going to d a roundup of some other Chua-related links in Monday Tally next week, and that’s on the list.

  • softdrink January 19, 2011, 10:37 pm

    I never even knew there was a color of the year. I’m so out of it.

    • Kim January 20, 2011, 5:14 pm

      softdrink: I never think about it, but get excited when I stumble across the news. I always wonder how Pantone things they’re so cool to be able to pick the color of the year.