I got sidetracked tonight and jumped into the rabbithole that is Pollen and Racket, which I’ve been tempted to look into for several years for simultaneously publishing both websites and books. 

In just a few minutes in a quick demo, I’ve been able to build a local website. This seems a bit easier than I had initially expected, but there’s still a way to go…

Liked a tweet (Twitter)
 

 
Bookmarked ISBNdb (isbndb.com)
ISBNdb gathers data from hundreds of libraries, publishers, merchants and other sources around the globe to compile a vast collection of unique book data searchable by ISBN, title, author, or publisher. Get a FREE 7 day trial and get access to the full database of 24 + million books and all data points including title, author, publisher, publish date, binding, pages, list price, and more.
Read Pirate Book Chest by Michael BeckwithMichael Beckwith (apiratelifefor.me)
If you’ve ever talked to me about books and reading, then there’s chance that I’ve brought up GoodReads and how I’m pretty active there. I can’t claim so active that I’m updating daily. I do, however, make sure to keep my current book statuses accurate. On the flip-side, as highlighted b...
Mad respect to Michael for going all in on the “pirate life” by reading Treasure Island and experimenting with reading/book posts and naming his digital shelves “Chests”!
Listened to Designing and Developing New Tools For Thought with Andy Matuschak from Village Global's Venture Stories

Andy Matuschak (@andy_matuschak), joins Erik on this episode. He is a technologist, designer and researcher. They discuss:
- The key thread throughout his work and what he’s trying to accomplish.
- Why people read books despite remembering little of what they read.
- What books should look like and the features they should have in the digital age.
- Why spaced repetition is so powerful.- His requests for startups in the space.

Read Here are four things that you can do to de-colonize your bookshelf this year: by Ally HennyAlly Henny (facebook.com)

• Add books written by black, brown, and indigenous people. Try to add at least one book from an author of color for every book written by a White person that you buy this year.

• Purge books that are racist or written by problematic authors. The goal isn’t to run away from alternative viewpoints or ideas with which we disagree, but these should not be the dominant voices in your library. There are some beloved works that are racist trash and belong in university libraries (where they can be studied for the trash that they are) and not in our personal collections.

• Don’t pigeonhole authors of color. Black, brown, and indigenous people can do more than talk about race...pick books from your favorite genre written by authors of color.

• Don’t hold authors of color to a higher standard. Not every book written by a black, brown, or indigenous author will automatically be great and that’s 100% okay. If you have mediocre or crappy books written by white authors, you can also have some mediocre books from people of color on your shelves, too.

Watched Joel Dueck: Pollen, Textpattern, and Websites as books by Jared Pereira from YouTube

Joel walks us through his 20+ year strong personal website, and digs into his frustrations with past versions, and how he's building the latest edition to generate both a website and a book.

  • 0:00 — History/existing Textpattern site
  • 35:00 — Tour of new site
  • 58:00 — Use of Racket / Pollen to wield godlike powers
  • 1:15:00 — Dual web/printed-book publishing: Pollen, LaTeX, Quad, etc.
Read thread by Brendan SchlagelBrendan Schlagel (Twitter)
Just finished reading this. Some interesting tidbits hiding in it.
Watched Which Is The Most Explosive Paper in Hydraulic Press? 150 Ton Hydraulic Press Test from YouTube

500 sheets of paper, books, playing cards, some pulp and other paper products vs. our 144 ton Hydraulic press on this experiment where we test which is the most dangerous paper of them all!

Do not try this at home!! or at any where else!!

Who would have thought you could make paper explode with a little bit of pressure?! Excuse me a moment while I go rearrange some books in the library…
Liked a tweet by ReadwiseReadwise (Twitter)
Bookmarked Institute for the Future of the Book (futureofthebook.org)
We're a small think-and-do tank investigating the evolution of intellectual discourse as it shifts from printed pages to networked screens. There are independent branches of Institute in New York, London and Brisbane. The New York branch is affiliated with the Libraries of New York University.

👓 Lean Publishing by Peter Armstrong [Leanpub PDF/iPad/Kindle]

Read Leanpub (Leanpub)
This book explains the philosophy behind Leanpub, from its origin in "a book is a startup" to the present form. Lean Publishing is the act of publishing an in-progress book using lightweight tools and many iterations to get reader feedback, pivot until you have the right book and build traction once you do.
Great example here of eating what one cooks for one’s self (aka self-dogfooding.)

👓 The Books of College Libraries Are Turning Into Wallpaper | The Atlantic | Dan Cohen

Read The Books of College Libraries Are Turning Into Wallpaper by Dan Cohen (The Atlantic)
University libraries around the world are seeing precipitous declines in the use of the books on their shelves.