I think that ultimately publishing a book will mean an e-book. The convenience of having a vast library of books in a tiny space is most appealing, especially since most people generally don’t live in mansions or have the space for a huge home library. Publishers that offer cheaper e-books will thrive while those that offer exclusively physical books, except perhaps those offering “special” editions, will perish. Time marches on and I predict that paper books will be essentially collectibles, not for their content alone but just simply because they are composed of an ancient substance. Read any good papyrus or scrolls lately?

Leslie Rosenbaum

> On Jan 4, 2017, at 3:06 PM, Kevin Mac Donnell <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
> By now it should be apparent to everyone that it depends on the audience. If 
> you're imitating Twain on board the Delta Queen with a boatload of tourists 
> that includes pre-schoolers you probably don't want to toss the word around. 
> If you're reading a passage in front of Twain scholars at a conference you'd 
> look like an idiot leaving it out or replacing it. It's all those in-between 
> situations that get tough.
> 
> How about a shameless promotion of a book to which I contributed a chapter 
> that discusses this topic? The book is a collection of essays by various 
> folks, edited by R. Kent Rasmussen, called CRITICAL INSIGHTS: ADVENTURES OF 
> HUCKLEBERRY FINN. It's due out any second from Salem Press. Alan Gribben has 
> a chapter on his edition of HF that addresses in some depth the issues 
> touched on in the MT Forum. My own chapter chronicles readers' reactions to 
> HF in the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries: boys and girls, book reviewers, 
> critics, academics then and now, other writers, black readers, classroom 
> readers, etc. I debunk two famous quotes about the book, and you might also 
> be surprised by the unexpected reactions of some readers. It's an issue that 
> is at least as complicated as the variety of readers of the book, their 
> times and places, and what they bring to the table themselves. BTW, our 
> Forum member from France may be pleased to know that I quote a French reader 
> who wrote Twain to tell him exactly what his wonderful book meant to her.
> 
> Kevin
> @
> Mac Donnell Rare Books
> 9307 Glenlake Drive
> Austin TX 78730
> 512-345-4139
> Member: ABAA, ILAB
> *************************
> You may browse our books at:
> www.macdonnellrarebooks.com
> 
> 
> -----Original Message----- 
> From: Jon Kerr
> Sent: Wednesday, January 04, 2017 12:26 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Use of the N-word
> 
> I agree with other posters that it is a very slippery slope once we start
> to sanitize or otherwise censor language - even for the most benign
> reasons. Political correctness often incorrectly substitutes style for
> substance.
> 
> But I also appreciate Clay's points, especially since my recently described
> experience with an audio tape of Huck Finn being accidentally heard by
> others. This forum is not an average audience. We don't always have time to
> explain the historical context of Clemens' era and language. It certainly
> can, and does turn off some individuals we want to appreciate his overall
> message which is timeless.
> 
> I would at least expect that if Clay or anyone is substituting for Twain's
> words that they are at least making it very clear to the audience exactly
> what they are doing, and why. Perhaps it can even be an opportunity to
> encourage reading the original language and appreciating the history even
> more. It is somewhat reminiscent of debate over how translations from one
> language can water down meaning even while broadening the audience able to
> listen.
> 
> This is a tough one that deserves more discussion.
> 
> Jon Kerr
> 
> 
> 
> On Tue, Jan 3, 2017 at 8:35 PM, Dave Davis <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
> 
>> If we can tolerate the prescribed reading of a Bible in which God
>> allows Satan to murder Job's children, just to make a point*, or to
>> have a couple of bears eat 42 children, again, just to show who's side
>> He's on, we can surely tolerate -- in context -- the offense to our
>> eyes from a term which was certainly the one that would have been
>> uttered by the characters at the time.
>> 
>> Or we can ditch realism, and authenticity, and Bowlderize a text which
>> help produce and propagate that very liberalism of spirit which we, of
>> the enlightened 21st century, are all so concerned to signal to each
>> other, lest we be mistaken for bigots.
>> 
>> Sheesh.
>> 
>> 
>> DDD
>> 
>> *It's OK. He gave him new children later. To make up for it.
>> 
>> [re: The Bible] It is full of interest. It has noble poetry in it; and
>> some clever fables; and some blood-drenched history; and some good
>> morals; and a wealth of obscenity; and upwards of a thousand lies.
>> - MT, Letters from the Earth
>>