British Library's wi-fi service blocks 'violent' Hamlet

A man using the British Library's wi-fi network was denied access to an online version of Shakespeare's Hamlet because the text contained "violent content".

Author Mark Forsyth was writing his book in the library, and needed to check a line from the famous play.

The British Library said the fault was caused by a newly installed wi-fi service from a third-party provider.

One security expert said the incident highlighted the "dysfunction" of internet filters.

Mr Forsyth revealed on his blog that the filter had logged his attempt to access the page.

A spokesperson for the British Library said Hamlet had since been made accessible.

"The upgraded service has a web filter to ensure that inappropriate content cannot be viewed on-site," he added.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23680689 

Writing - for health and happiness?

Decades of research have shown that writing down your emotions has concrete health benefits - even helping wounds heal. But as more and more people publish their intimate feelings online, could they be doing themselves more harm than good?

High-profile coverage of cyberbullying might make sharing your deepest emotions online sound like a bad idea, but when it comes to the risks and benefits of writing online, advice is mixed.

The American Academy of Pediatrics, for example, suggests questions about social media are included in visits to the doctor, a move prompted by worries about cyberbullying, internet addiction and sleep deprivation.

On the other hand, blogging about health problems has been shown to improve feelings of social support, especially when that support is lacking from family and friends.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-23637013 

The Case for Preserving the Pleasure of Deep Reading

When a minaret dating from the twelfth century was toppled in the fighting between rebels and government forces in Aleppo, Syria, earlier this spring, we recognized that more than a building had been lost. The destruction of irreplaceable artifacts—like the massive Buddha statues dynamited in the Bamiyan Valley in Afghanistan in 2001 and the ancient texts burned and looted in Iraq in 2003—leaves us less equipped to understand ourselves and where we came from, less able to enlarge ourselves with the awe and pleasure that these creations once evoked.

http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/06/the-case-for-preserving-the-pleasure-of-deep-reading/ 

Der größte Buchverlag der Welt entsteht

Bertelsmann und Pearson haben die Gründung des weltgrößten Buchverlags perfekt gemacht. Nachdem die Kartellbehörden den Weg für das neue Unternehmen Penguin Random House frei gemacht hatten, unterzeichneten die Medienunternehmen am Montag die abschließenden Verträge. Gemeinsam wollen Bertelsmann und Pearson künftig in schnellwachsende Märkte wie China, Indien oder Brasilien und in neue Geschäfte investieren.

http://www.faz.net/aktuell/wirtschaft/unternehmen/random-house-und-penguin-der-groesste-buchverlag-der-welt-entsteht-12266737.html 

What makes Jane Austen the ideal banknote candidate?

When Charles Darwin disappears off the back of the Bank of England's £10 note, Jane Austen is a candidate to replace him. It's exactly what was speculated yesterday.

Austen is likely to make a popular choice, but how might she have won over the Bank of England?

It's the bicentenary of Pride and Prejudice, arguably her best-known novel, so getting her on a note by the end of the year would be rather appropriate. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-23044009 

TIME Presents the 12 All-Time Great Summer Reads

To celebrate the beginning of a new season, TIME editors have compiled a list of our favorite summer reads from the past 40 years. What defines a summer read? To us, it’s the kind of buzzed-about book that seems to flourish in warmer months, equally ubiquitous on beaches and in subway cars. (Not all summer reads are mindless page-turners—one of our selected titles is a brainy mystery that touches on medieval studies and semiotics.) Once you’ve perused the list, take our poll and help us crown the All-Time, Ultimate Summer Read.

And we acknowledge that our list is by no means definitive—though we think it’s a darn good representation of 40 years of seasonal tomes. So we invite you to help fill in our gaps—to correct what you might think are our egregious oversights—by telling us which books should join our list. Tweet your picks—or share what you plan on reading this summer—using the hashtag #SummerBooks. We’ll post the winner of this poll alongside a collection of your suggestions next Friday, June 27.

And now, on to our list…

http://entertainment.time.com/2013/06/21/time-presents-the-12-all-time-great-summer-reads/ 

Will Power: 10 Great Shakespeare Movies

William Shakespeare wrote 38 plays — and perhaps a couple more for which there’s circumstantial historical evidence, but no surviving copies. The magnitude and influence of the Bard’s output, even if we leave aside the brilliance of his sonnets, cement his reputation as the single greatest writer the English-speaking world has produced. (Note to those who believe that Francis Bacon, Christopher Marlowe or other Elizabethan scribes penned some or all of the works: your arguments are compelling. 

http://entertainment.time.com/2013/06/10/will-power-10-great-shakespeare-movies/