The NYT magazine reviews a font: It’s not everyday a typeface scores a Sunday NY Times review.

Quote:

“One tricky thing about script fonts is that in actual handwriting, the form of one letter might be affected by the letter next to it. Interestingly, Bello uses a digital format called OpenType, which, among other things, makes just such adjustments. As you type the word ”Bello,” for example, the second ”l” looks different from the first. Helmling suggests this may be exactly what people find attractive about Bello and other script fonts. It’s not just the appeal of ”handwritten flavor,” as he puts it, in a digital age. It’s the way that technology allows users to harness those comforting imperfections perfectly.”

Potter raves: The 14-year-old finished the new Harry Potter book by 3:30 p.m. and gave it high marks. However, since his review for me led with a spoiler and the revelation of how the book sets up a clash in the final book…I’ll skip sharing it. The book apparently is getting good reviews from the official press, as well.

Quote (AP story):

The New York Times compared it favorably to “The Lord of the Rings,” and the Los Angeles Times to “Charlotte’s Web.” The AP’s Deepti Hajela called it a “powerful, unforgettable setup for the finale,”

Speaking of the 14-year-old’s reading, a close friend of mine in the book world who knows of my son’s voracious reading habits sent him an advance reading copy of Christopher Paolini’s book coming out next month, Eldest. According to my in-house critic, it’s a worthy follow-up to Paolini’s first book in the series, Eragon. (Paolini was 15 when he wrote Eragon and is 19 now.)

Nashville connection: While I’ve voted for my favorite podcast on Podcast Alley, I’d missed the Nashville-angle (from an AP story on podcasting):

“Podcast Alley is a typical Internet bootstrap operation, prized by fans of Internet “narrowcasting” not just for its podcast selection but also for free tools and tips. Launched in November and featuring 4,100 podcasts, it has just one employee: founder Chris McIntyre, a 26-year-old programmer from Nashville, Tenn. McIntyre says the number of podcasts has tripled in the past three months on his site, and he’s already begun selling enough ads to cover his expenses.”