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Hi list I certainly don't want to interrupt the current thread on value for money, so please feel free to continue that discussion, but as it is the first of the month, it is our humble duty to introduce a discussion theme. For February 2007 we're turning the CRUMB list into an informal virtual book club. We'd like to know what you've read (as relevant to new media art history/curating/production/presentation) and if it was worth the trees it was printed on (just kidding - there's that question of value again). We welcome your informal off-the-cuff book reviews as well as book recommendations, and hearing what was the best book you were given for Christmas - in my case it was "How to do just about everything"* because it is a mindless escape of a book. As Beryl and I put the finishing touches on a book we've been writing about curating new media art, we'll post first the table of contents and then the introduction here - to show the structure and to get feedback. Depending on response (if you're interested or not) we may also forward other chapters for review (likely to be March rather than February). We wanted to thank those of you we have corresponded with though the writing so far -- you've all said some very smart things in the six years we've been online! (To be fair, we don't mind you being a little self-promotional about your own book, so long as you tell us what you learned when writing it.) My first recommendation to CRUMB reader are the interviews on the new Electronic Arts Intermix Resource Guide to the exhibition, collection and preservation of single-channel video, computer-based arts, and digital-installation-based arts (http://resourceguide.eai.org) - and they're not even printed on trees. You'll find a case study of CRUMB there too, and an interview with Beryl and I: http://resourceguide.eai.org/exhibition/computer/casestudy_crumb.html So what do you recommend we read on these dark winter nights? Failing that, do carry on as before. Sarah * "How to do just about everything" gives this advice for using online forums: "3. begin my reading the 'posts' (messages) and follow the current 'threads' (comments related to a single topic) for several days. see if the group has an FAQ (frequently asked questions) docment. 4. write a post of your own. be prepared for a mixed response. 5. explain yourself if someone takes exception to your comments, but do not get into a heated argument via posts. 6. determine whether your forum companions get together for online chat sessions. join in if they do. 7. send e-mail to your new friends and develop new relationships." Dr. Sarah Cook CRUMB - the resource for curators of new media art http://www.crumbweb.org School of Arts, Design, Media and Culture University of Sunderland