Today’s literary headlines include a surprisingly heart-touching copyright claim involving the Peanuts gang, a new chatbot feature for Google Play Books, and more.
A Copyright Claim We Can All Feel Good About
As you probably know, Late Show with Stephen Colbert It was canceled by CBS, claiming that “purely a financial decision“It had nothing to do with politics. Sure.”
In a separate blow, in the final episode, Stephen Colbert reported the owner of the music from the Peanuts movies and TV specials had recently filed multiple lawsuits against those illegally using the song “Linus and Lucy” – a song which the band immediately began playing. Colbert said, “Oh no! I hope it doesn’t cost CBS any money!”
Now, CBS and Lee Mendelson Film Productions, Inc. have come to an agreement, and the Company will donate the proceeds from it (an “undisclosed amount”) World Central Kitchen. in the last episode of Late Show with Stephen ColbertHe highlighted the non-profit and donated $2.5 million.
Copyright claims aren’t usually good stories, but I think we can all celebrate the outcome of this one.
Do you want an AI chatbot in your book? Google is betting on “yes”
Google Play Books has launched book insight“A helpful reading companion, designed with Gemini in mind.” It is currently available on “selected English titles”, which appear to be public domain books based on the examples given. Features including “Catch Me Up”, which provides a recap of what you’ve read so far, as well as the ability to ask questions while reading, such as “Was this character introduced earlier in the book?”
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Although some of these features may be useful in theory, I am skeptical of their use in practice. For one thing, most readers don’t want the reading experience interrupted: adding a chatbot to a book defeats the purpose of being immersed in the story. I wouldn’t even trust a book’s summary of an AI chatbot so far, given how wildly inaccurate the Google AI summaries I found against my will are. Even Google’s own press blog about Book Insights admits, “Book Insights is designed to provide spoiler-free answers by only contextualizing the text up to your current reading position. However, generative AI is experimental and mistakes may be made.”
What do you think? Would you use an AI chatbot embedded in an ebook?
Renee Watson has been named a TIME Visionary
Writer Renee Watson has been nominated time 2026 visionaryRecognizing “people working to improve the lives of all children”. Watson’s first book was a picture book place where storms comeAnd she recently won the Newbery Medal for her middle grade novel the sky’s all blue. In the Time article, she discusses fighting for representation in her literature, including her insistence on featuring young black girls with natural hair on covers, and how she places this at the center of her writing.
In celebration of Ghibli season, I’ve paired each Studio Ghibli film that ran this year with a graphic novel to read. The Ghibli films blend breathtaking artwork with poignant and unforgettable stories, making the graphic novels an ideal choice for your next read after watching these films. Which of these Studio Ghibli films do you like best?
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