Former frequent contributor Dave Segal has not been able to write so much for the Dose these days, what with his panels, and speaking engagements, and lobbying down in Washington, and flying around the country saving the Internet. Finally we can find out exactly what has been going on and who else to thank. The new book Hacking Politics, which chronicles the SOPA effort and other ongoing Internet freedom battles, comes out today and our Dave edited and wrote much of it.

Hacking Politics is a firsthand account of how a ragtag band of activists and technologists overcame a $90 million lobbying machine to defeat the most serious threat to Internet freedom in memory. The book is a revealing look at how Washington works today – and how citizens successfully fought back.

Written by the core Internet figures – video gamers, Tea Partiers, tech titans, lefty activists and ordinary Americans among them – who defeated a pair of special interest bills called SOPA (“Stop Online Piracy Act”) and PIPA (“Protect IP Act”), Hacking Politics provides the first detailed account of the glorious, grand chaos that led to the demise of that legislation and helped foster an Internet-based network of amateur activists.

Included are more than thirty original contributions from across the political spectrum, featuring writing by Internet freedom activist Aaron Swartz; Lawrence Lessig of Harvard Law School; novelist Cory Doctorow; Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA.); Jamie Laurie (of the alt-rock/hip-hop group The Flobots); Ron Paul; Mike Masnick, CEO and founder of Techdirt; Kim Dotcom, internet entrepreneur; Tiffiniy Cheng, co-founder and co-director of Fight for the Future; Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit; Nicole Powers of Suicide Girls; Josh Levy, Internet Campaign Director at Free Press, and many more.

Suggested price for e-book, $10. Go to OR Books now and for a limited time just “pay what you can.” (Also available in paperback for $25).

Head over to the Rochambeau Library this week for the Spring Book Sale: 20,000 donated books, audiovisuals, games, and puzzles.

Monday — Dealers Night, $30

Tuesday — Friends Night (members only, join at the door)

Wednesday/Thursday — Free entrance for all

Friday/Saturday — Free entrance/fill a bag $5

Go to the Friends of Rochambeau website for hours and details.

Book sale, April 8 to April 13, Rochambeau Branch, 708 Hope Street

(4.7) The H.P. Lovecraft Commemorative Activities Committee will be hosting a tribute this Sunday afternoon.

The annual H.P. Lovecraft Service of Tribute will be held on the front lawn of Ladd Observatory. Following the opening greeting and a “eulogy” briefly encapsulating the life and literary career of H.P. Lovecraft, there will be dramatic recitations of H.P. Lovecraft’s poetry and prose.

It is not clear from the Facebook event page whether this will be followed by a march to Swan Point Cemetery (the site of the famous “I Am Providence” headstone) as mentioned in Phil Eil’s Lovecraft article last month in the Phoenix. But who’s to stop you.

Fun fact just gleaned from that Facebook page: The Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature reports that on March 15th the IAU approved the name “Lovecraft” for a crater near the south pole of Mercury.

3pm to 4pm, Sunday, April 7, Ladd Observatory, 210 Doyle Avenue, (directions)

(3.28) Another thrilling but short marathon reading coming up.

Not About The Buildings is ready to kick winter to the curb with its more-or-less annual March marathon reading. This time we’re tackling The Duel, the autobiographical tale by that notorious Casanova, Giacomo Casanova, as he flees one kingdom only to find himself challenged to a duel over the affections of a ballerina that no one actually seems to like very much. A witty comedy of manners and rigorous send-up of the noble classes, The Duel is highly entertaining and also not especially long. It’s not nearly as bleak as the stories we normally read at these events, either.

Come to the Athenaeum to read aloud, or just listen as other people read to you. The event is free (as always) and open to the public (also as always).

We’ll be reading the 2011 translation by James Marcus, which is readily available if you’d like to buy a copy; we’ll also have a limited number on hand, if you’d like to follow along.

Free, refreshments at 5pm; reading begins at 5:30pm, Thursday, March 28th, Providence Athenaeum
251 Benefit Street

Okay Howard, big smile for the camera. The Rhode Island Historical Society is hosting two H.P. Lovecraft events this week.

Thursday, March 21st, 6:30pm, free — Lecture by Niels S. Hobbs, “Gods”: Atheism and the Cthulhu Mythos. (More about Hobbs.)

Niels S. Hobbs will explore the world-renowned literary mythology created by Providence’s own author of ‘weird fiction.’ This mythology was not one Lovecraft personally believed in, quite the opposite, though many have since tried to present it as reality. However, this mythos was directly born out of his own bleak world-view, itself the product of a long-standing fascination with advances in science, exploration, and cosmological thought that occurred over the course of his life.

Saturday, March 23rd, 11am to 12:30pm, $10 — H.P. Lovecraft: A Literary Walk.

Join us for our annual walking tour to commemorate the death of H.P. Lovecraft, Providence native and master of horror stories and weird tales. The walking tour focuses on sites and events from the Providence-based story, The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, and many letters written by the author to family and friends.

John Brown House Museum, 52 Power Street, directions

Today is the anniversary of the death in 1937 of famed Providence resident and fantasy writer H.P. Lovecraft. The Swan Point Cemetery crew knows to expect visitors to the grave site on this day, people often wearing black who respectfully leave little bits and bobs and coins on the stone. To some extent this goes on all year, and it seems to be well-tolerated by the proprietors, but they do have to keep things neat for the “neighbors” and occasionally curate the offerings.

Phil Eil at the Phoenix has a great interview this week with Lovecraft scholar, and much-beloved west end character, Niels S. Hobbs who will be giving a lecture — “Gods”: Atheism and the Cthulhu Mythos — on March 21st at the RIHS. Also on tap for Lovecraftians,

On March 23, the RIHS will host a “literary walk” pointing out significant landmarks from Lovecraft stories. On April 7, the H.P. Lovecraft Commemorative Activities Committee will hold its annual tribute service on the lawn of Brown’s Ladd Observatory, followed by a march to Swan Point Cemetery and Lovecraft’s legendary “I AM PROVIDENCE” headstone.

Hobbs is also one of the organizers of NecronomiConProvidence 2013 to be held in town this August. And go check out the article for a picture of the bronze bust that will soon find a home in the Providence Athenaeum.

(2.23) Ada Books will host a poetry reading Saturday evening.

From New York City: Jon Curley “Angles of Incidents” and David Fitschen “The Weight of Sorrows.” And from Providence, Eric Paul “My Parents Were Insects”.

Eric Paul, Jon Curley & David Fitschen make you drunk on words while beer and wine make you drunk on beer and wine. And it’s all as free the deadly rays of the sun!

7pm to 9pm, Saturday, February 23, Ada Books, 717 Westminster Street (fb)

Again, a little late on this one — people need a heads-up on reading a whole book I suppose —  but there is still time. Read fast! You have until 6pm Wednesday to read A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore. Better still, if a reading group is your thang, hook up with these people and get directly into the loop yourself; I clearly can’t be counted upon. This week’s group will be led by Brian Folan.

Tall. Dark. Handsome. Brian studied English Literature and Creative Writing at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and the University of East Anglia in Norwich, UK. Now a resident at AS220, Brian has started working on his own novel. He is a founder/editor of caringtapes.com (est. 2010), an open-forum art blog and contributor/editor for Squarepop.com. Previously, he has worked at Dunkin’ Donuts, Showcase Cinema, Atkins Farm Deli, and the Norwood Cemetery, and more. He didn’t like any of those jobs.

6pm to 7:30pm, Wednesday, February 27, AS220 Reading Group, 115 Empire Street

(1.31) Chrystia Freeland, author of Plutocrats: The Rise of the New Global Super Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else, will speak Thursday at the Watson Institute at Brown University.

There has always been some gap between rich and poor in this country, but in the last few decades what it means to be rich has changed dramatically. Alarmingly, the greatest income gap is not between the 1 percent and the 99 percent, but within the wealthiest 1 percent of our nation–as the merely wealthy are left behind by the rapidly expanding fortunes of the new global super-rich. Forget the 1 percent; Plutocrats proves that it is the wealthiest 0.1 percent who are outpacing the rest of us at break-neck speed.

Chrystia Freeland joined Reuters as global editor-at-large in 2010 and was appointed editor of Thomson Reuters Digital in April 2011.

Plutocrats will be available for purchase and the author will sign books. The book signing and reception will follow the talk.

Free, 5pm, Thursday, January 31, Watson Institute, Brown University, 111 Thayer Street (directions)

Eat, drink, and talk about a book. You are invited to join the first meeting of the AS220 Reading Group: This week’s discussion of Citrus County by John Brandon will be led by Brian Folan.

In John Brandon’s second novel, set in the thicket of this Florida county, everything is evidence. Evidence of young love, bad habits, and death threats. For Toby, Shelby, and the middle school geography teacher, Mr. Hibma, everything is a crime of passion, especially their crimes. As these characters try to break out of their designated roles, they begin a long sprawl of sociopathy and alienation while the world around them stays the same — a constant state of disintegration with deft and deep prose, Brandon manages to rewrite the classic crime novel like Dostoevsky at a 7-Eleven.

Brian Folan studied English Literature and Creative Writing at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and the University of East Anglia in Norwich, UK. Now a resident at AS220, Brian has started working on his own novel.

6pm to 7:30pm, Wednesday, January 30, AS220 performance space, 115 Empire Street, (fb)

(1.26) The Providence Athenaeum will host a salon this Saturday featuring the founders of Dragonfly Bindery in Woonsocket.

Join John Russell Bartlett Society members Pat and George Sargent for observations and commentary on their Dragonfly Bindery, which they have operated for 30 years, offering a wider range of services than most binderies, including restoration and designer work that makes use of their art background and training as alumni of RISD. They have been able to challenge their creativity and explore new directions in producing unique bindings, casings, and displays for rare books and other printed artifacts, elevating the presentation up to and beyond the artistic level of the content.

Books, posters, and artifacts from Dragonfly Bindery will be on view in the exhibit “Looking Back at 30 Books from 30 Years at Dragonfly Bindery/Studio” in the Philbrick Rare Book Room from January 8th through January 29th.

Free and open to the public, 1pm, Saturday, January 26, Providence Athenaeum, 251 Benefit Street

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(1.11) Meet Marilyn Bellemore author of The Night the Music Ended this Friday at Books on the Square.

This book looks at The Station nightclub of West Warwick, Rhode Island, and the site of a tragic fire on February 20, 2003–the fourth deadliest nightclub fire in American history. The Night the Music Ended is presented in memory of that tragic night and its victims, but is also a look at the nightclub itself, its place in the community, the fire, and the aftermath.

In addition, The Night the Music Ended focuses on the music–interviews with the very bands that attracted so many devoted fans to this popular club. Quiet Riot, The Dave Davies Band, Warrant, The Fixx, and many more. This book is both a memorial to the events, and a celebration of a community.

7pm, Friday, January 11, Books on the Square, 471 Angell Street (Wayland Square), 331.9097

C-Span2 recently visited Providence to film several segments for its BookTV and AmericanHistoryTV features. Seen here is the interior of the Providence Athenaeum on Benefit Street.

Other BookTV segments take you inside the John Hay Library, the Rhode Island Historical Society Library, Cellar Stories Bookstore; there are also talks from local authors and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse expounding “On Virtues.”

The AmericanHistoryTV segments cover topics ranging from the Gaspee Affair to The Mob.

more »

Competitive book collecting? Get Jeff Probst on the phone. (“I didn’t come here to make friends!”)

Meet John Russell Bartlett: co-founder of the Providence Athenaeum, statesman, author, publisher, scholar; member of numerous societies devoted to the advancement of human knowledge; and the official librarian for John Carter Brown’s library collection from 1856 until his death in 1886. So the man was somewhat bookish.

And every year the John Bartlett Society holds a rather unusual prize competition in honor of Brown’s first woman Professor of Bibliography, Margaret Stillwell, “with the intent of encouraging students to share her lifelong pleasure in reading and book collecting.” This is open to undergraduates at any Rhode Island college or university.

A contestant’s collection may be in any field. It may emphasize some particular interest within a field, or exemplify certain bibliographical features such as edition, issue, and other conditions of manufacture and sale; illustration, type, calligraphy, binding, etc. All types of books, including paperbacks, may be included, as long as their place in the collection can be justified (the inclusion of textbooks is nevertheless discouraged, except in rare cases).

The deadline is April 5, 2013; top prize is $750. Before entering, contestants are strongly encouraged to contact the Stillwell Prize chair, Richard Noble, at the John Hay Library, Brown University (Richard_Noble@Brown.edu; 401.863.1187. Complete info at Stillwell Prize 2013.

It’s like Kindle never happened . . . or computers . . . or steam-powered weaving machines . . .

(12.7) Some people are so ambitious and energetic it is positively annoying. For instance, I have been known to casually drop the occasional “Crime and Punishment” reference into a conversation so as to appear cultured and accomplished. I read a chapter book! Meanwhile, Trinity Rep artistic director Curt Columbus was translating this same book into English while simultaneously adapting it for the stage.

His work, with Marilyn Campbell, as translator/adaptor turning Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment” into a taut theatrical thriller has been called by the New York Times “a feat that rivals the construction of the Hoover Dam….”

My ‘To Do’ list so rarely includes “learn new alphabet.” Truth be told, I really loved this book and will probably want to reread it before checking out Trinity’s upcoming production (January/February).

So head down to the Athenaeum today where Columbus will discuss the challenging task of bringing Russian authors to life in a contemporary, American vernacular, as well the anti-theatrical nature of 19th century philosophical novels… and how to theatricalize them anyway.

First question: Why can’t the Athenaeum and Columbus even agree on how to spell Dostoevsky/Dostoyevsky? Who do you go with here?

5pm to 7pm, Friday, December 7, Providence Athenaeum, 251 Benefit Street

(11.16) Friday’s Salon at the Athenaeum — “Proust’s Duchesse: The Making and Unmaking of a Society Style Icon” — continues the ‘Proust and fashion’ conversation started Tuesday (see below), this time with Columbia University Associate Professor of French Caroline Weber.

Weber examines Proust’s friendship with the three leading salon hostesses and taste-makers upon whom he based his novel’s iconic anti-heroine, the Duchesse de Guermantes, and the complex relationship between this fictional muse and her real-life counterparts. The importance of fashion and style in the Belle Epoque, including the rise of such couturiers as Fortuny, and the evolution in the nature of celebrity and social prestige at that moment, emerge as particularly important elements of the Duchesse’s – and her models’ – personae.

Free and open to the public, 5pm to 7pm, Friday, November 16, Providence Athenaeum, 251 Benefit Street