How to use this Page

“Whaddya got?”

“Varcarel Jade Page 19!”

“Knights ownage.”

“For teh win.”

“Konnichi-wa, minna-san! We gots a Varcarel Jade update today ’cause it’s Monday and that’s when we do one of our comic updates. We gots another comic that’s called Fury of the Venom Legion but that one is updated on Thursday. Did you know that there’s a site called The Web Comic List that tells aaaaaaaall about our comics? You can even vote for us and they gave us a number button too!”

“That’s our ranking out of almost 11,000 comics.”

“Yay for us! If you read comics on The Web Comic List be sure to add our comics to your favorites and visit us every week for new pages! Ja!”

“Talk to me.”

“Varcarel Jade Page 18 is up!”

“Wicked.”

To celebrate the holidays we asked some of our favorite people in publishing what their favorite book was. Let us know in the comments what your favorite book is and be sure to check back throughout the week for more “favorites”.

Andrew DeSio is the Director of Publicity at Princeton University Press.

If I had to pick a favorite book I’d go with Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Raoul Duke’s romp, along with his trusty attorney Dr. Gonzo, through the desert in search of that unattainable state of euphoria, all the while experiencing American culture at its best and worst, is as pertinent now as it was in 1972.

Thompson is known for his heroic drug binges but his choppy yet flowing prose is often overlooked by his dirty deeds. The fact that he can remember so vividly his exploits in the book while being under the influence is testament to his great mind. He’s one of America’s eminent satirists and humorists, and will be sorely missed.

Share This

On Tuesday, in celebration of National Dictionary Day, ABC World News with Charles Gibson ran a piece about how some old expressions are being respelled (and reimagined) in new ways. They had me on to say a few words about how such respellings sometimes become so common that they make their way into the hallowed pages of Oxford’s dictionaries. (You can watch the webcast version of the segment here.) The whole thing was inspired by an OUPblog column I wrote a few months ago, “Shifting Idioms: An Eggcornucopia.” With the help of some amusing animated characters, ABC News correspondent Robert Krulwich took a look at a few of the “eggcorns” I discussed, namely vocal chords (vs. vocal cords), free reign (vs. free rein), and shoe-in (vs. shoo-in). Despite the light-hearted tone of the segment, I’ve received a number of grave responses wondering why Oxford University Press is so cavalierly allowing “corrupted” spellings into its dictionaries. So perhaps some clarification is in order. (more…)

Share This

Students everywhere are heading back to school. But is school the way you remember it? In the post below D. Michael Lindsay, author of Faith In The Halls of Power: How Evangelicals Joined The American Elite, blogs about how faith has changed on campus, specifically evangelical faith. Read Lindsay’s other posts here.

Today, thousands of students will begin another year at Harvard, which begins its 369th year of classes. Since its founding, Harvard has been home to all kinds of religious believers, people of various faiths and of no faith at all. In recent decades, though, the nation’s leading university has diversified its student body geographically, ethnically, and racially. What’s surprising is how that diversity has changed Harvard’s religious makeup. (more…)

Share This

Might the social networking site CafeScribe be the solution
Higher Ed publishers have been waiting for?

By Evan Schnittman

Last week Salt Lake City based social networking site CafeScribe visited our NY office to demonstrate their service and explain their business model. These kind of meetings happen all the time and I usually sit politely through a series of PowerPoint slides which show how Site X or Product Y appeals to a myriad of users who are in our target demographic, and how these users would love to have access to our content. When discussion of business models comes around, they are usually what I call “personal hovercraft business models” (i.e., this will start earning OUP and its author’s money when everyone is floating around on their own personal hovercraft.) (more…)

Share This

Getting back to the basic technical skill of drawing feels so good. The way I like relax is to sketch and my favorite place to sketch people is at Starbucks, sipping a yummy hot latte, mmmmm. This was a quick 5 minute sketch to which I added some color as I loved the red sweatshirt she was wearing from Aeropostale. I love their t-shirts too, especially this Pink Shoulder Script Baby T. They're nice and long and go great with low riding jeans. What do you do to relax?

By Kirsty OUP-UK

Saturday 16 June 2007 saw the Oxford offices of OUP transformed for one night only: the Oxford University Press Ball. These momentous nights only take place every few years, so it really is a special occasion. Below, for your viewing pleasure, are some photographs from the night in question. (more…)

Share This

Rebecca  OUP-US

Happy Friday to you all! I am in Minneapolis this weekend for the American Association of University Presses Annual Meeting. If you are around you should come hear the panel I am speaking on at 3:30pm. We will be talking about my favorite topic, blogs. (more…)

Share This