Archive
“How do you make a small fortune in publishing?” “Start with a large fortune.” First of all, I must apologise for over a month’s silence here at booktwo.org. I have, as I promised, been working on something, and it’s finally available for inspection. I hope you won’t mind me discussing it here: certain aspects of […]
Imagine a book that told a different story every time it was opened. The story might change depending on the gender of the reader, or the sex. It might depend on the location of the reader, or the position of the book in time; the time of day, or time in years. Centuries might pass […]
George Perec’s W, and the tyranny of the Olympic Ideal, by James Bridle. The Frenchman Pierre Frédy, Baron de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympics, believed that the Olympic games could be a force for peace in the world, creating a new religion “adhering to an ideal of a higher life, to strive for perfection”, […]
The Great Escape cover above, designed by Abram Games for Penguin in 1951, is one of my all-time favourites. And when, Moleskined-out, I needed a new notebook, it sprung to mind. So here’s what I did. I scanned in the cover, and created a dummy edition, complete with 200 blank, numbered pages, which I had […]
I got my Cuecat a couple of weeks ago and spent a happy couple of hours scanning in this whole bookshelf, which consists of approximately 90% of my library. The above is a detail from the resulting author cloud. I like the cuecat as a nice little interface tool, necessary now like a CD reader […]
Vanquished in the field of arms, Armenia seeks salvation in the scriptoria. It is a retreat, but in this withdrawal there is dignity and a will to live. What is a scriptorium? It can be a cell, sometimes a room in a clay cottage, even a cave in the rocks. In such a scriptorium is […]
And so the end of the year. So much to say, so little time. I’m off until mid-January, and I wish all Booktwo readers the very merriest of Christmases. No final comments (and I have so much to say!), no best-of lists (although I have to say, this was definitely my book of the year). […]
Whenever I have the discussion with people about the future of literature I run into a brick wall: “But I Love Books.” Well, so do I: here’s proof, if it was needed – the fruit of my Saturday. After months of having them stacked untidily around me, they’re back where they belong, out, accessible – […]
If things have been less busy around here for the last couple of weeks, there’s a reason: I’m moving on from my day job with the lovely Snowbooks, and pursuing other opportunities, with the consequent upheavals. Booktwo isn’t going anywhere though, and neither is Slow Fire – thanks to all who have signed up, and […]
For Hire
Booktwo.org is the blog of James Bridle, a book and technology specialist with specific expertise in planning and producing web and new media projects for clients in publishing and the arts. If you'd like to hire me, have a look at my CV and portfolio, and feel free to get in touch.
I am also a member of the Really Interesting Group.
You can follow me on Twitter.
Speaking Engagements:
I am available for conferences and other events. For examples, see my talks at Interesting, Playful, South by Southwest, dConstruct and Tools of Change Frankfurt.
A complete list of talks, with links, is available.