Shivers here, shivers there
Sellers are enjoying a jump in sales but fretting over whether irreplaceable books are being ‘sent to the guillotine’ to train models
Note: I created a free WSJ account to read this article- otherwise, there is a pay wall.
The Broken Glass Club has feelings about this idea- big feelings. As a caveat, I am analog by nature. I have records and cassettes, and CD’s and DAT’s and mini cassettes, a victrola, even 8 track tapes. Other than the literal weight of moving them from place to place- and I have moved a lot- and maintaining the mechanisms that allow these formats to run & play- they are trouble free, beautiful objects that are not reliant on a corporation’s whims or schemes. I don’t have to pay a monthly subscription fee to listen to them. The victrola doesn’t even require electricity! (If the whole kit n’ kaboodle of everything explodes and implodes simultaneously, you are all welcome to come over and listen to the snap, crackle, and pop of 78 RPM shellac records).
I love books for the same reason; they are freely shareable, reachable, physical items that belong to us. In this form they are not corruptible. They are not eroding authenticity, human judgment, ownership; they are not stealing. This video of novelist Janne Teller addressing AI researcher Timothy Nguyen on intellectual property cuts right to the chase. She nails it. (November 28, 2025):
https://youtube.com/shorts/7eQIUYe_Y8o?si=nXwd4t2gbvR05BjX
