I’m live blogging this book on intellectual property, Boldrine and Levine, and it occurs to me that this is a great exercise. It takes a lot of discipline but it is great training and a wonderful service.I’m learning more by live blogging it than merely reading it through.
Here is my proposal. If you plan to live blog any book in the Mises store, from top to bottom, on this forum or on your own blog or somewhere else, meaning write on each chapter, summary and critique and commentary, we will send it to you for free.
Any book. Just write me a note at tucker@mises.com and we will send it to you. But you have to live up to your promise.
I wish I knew that before I decided to buy Principles of Economics by Carl Menger though. Oh well, I might try to live blog it anyway. Besides, the money goes to a great cause.
I also see it as helpful for not only the people reading the blogs, but the writer of the blog. I know that as a write about a text, I come to a much better understanding of it. I guess you could say that it could help my scholarly pursuits as much as the readers’.
Are there deadlines implicit in this promise? How long is it allowed to take? For example, could we read it at a pace where we read a chapter every two weeks or would we have to finish the live blog in a two week timeframe?
I would also be interested Mr. Tucker, definitely another great idea. Personally, I think this would be an exceptional way to introduce other bloggers outside the Austrian sphere to the works of Mises, Menger, Hayek, etc. Few wish to read .pdf files on a bright monitor, and fewer would actually buy the paper, ink, and bindings; but the offer of a free book might just be what will expand horizons.
Could it not be a book of analogous monetary value from the store? Usually if I read a book I already own it or plan not to read it again in the immediate future.
No deadline.But it would be great to see anything as soon as you have it. Even if it is a reflection on the table of contents or what you expect to find.
A live blog is your own creation. It can consist of a rigorous analysis, just personal reflections, ideas that the reading prompts, or whatever. I think of it as a written record of your thoughts.
You can do this with any book. Look broadly through the store.
Or perhaps we should have a forums section devoted to posts about books or where people can post links to their blog entries about books they are reading. I am going to do The Vampire Economy by the way.
How about extending the store to let people to purchase this as a ‘microgrant’? “I’d like a replacement copy of Capitalism and-- oh! this is neat: I’d also like two copies for people who’ll commit to blogging their way through it.”
Jeffrey, I always planned to do this (book reviews), but as Jon mentioned, once I read a book I’m less likely to pick it up again.
I’ve got my eye on a couple works, and I’m wondering if we can get affiliate IDs for the store. Those of us with proper websites.
This is a fantastic idea, although I would make a suggestion or two from my past experience. Make sure they know where they are going to blog it. See if they have ever blogged before. About 5 years ago, I had a business that sent out samples for review. Even when qualifying that my reviewers were somewhat legit, I never had more than a 70% review rate. Although I am sure you understand there may be a loss factor at work here.
