Virtual Matrix is up-tron us.

I was crest-fallen to learn recently through a press announcement that The Event Guide, an institution of free quality previews and listings for Dublin and elsewhere in Ireland, is to cease publishing in paper hardcopy and is soon to be located only online - www.eventguide.ie.

In parallel, there has been strong objection to the decision by the Washington Post to bin its Book World section. The Literary Saloon web-blog, delivering accurate current coverage of developments in the literary world, posted its own disappointment on 29th January 2009:

Maybe it's a generational thing -- though we rarely think of ourselves as that old -- but, man, do we miss paper coverage. Sure, all our own coverage is online, but the sources of literary coverage that we like dealing with most are those that come in printed form, which we find much easier to deal with, read, and turn back to. (Yes, online has many advantages -- such as the huge archives instantly at one's disposal, and search capability (for specific phrases, etc.) -- but day in, day out we much prefer to receive the information in printed form.) Indeed, we'd hardly bother with The New York Times Book Review if we didn't get it with our Sunday paper (admittedly in part that is due to our loathing for the nature of the semi-registration-requiring The New York Times' online presence -- though most other sources we reluctantly turn to are considerably worse).

the Literary Saloon at the complete review - a literary weblog