The Basilosaurus lived 40-34 million years ago, was 60 ft. long, and had GIANT TEETH TO EAT YOU WITH.

• First, Barnes & Noble launches a big advertising campaign in the UK to bump up languishing Nook sales. Then, it runs out of Nooks. Probably not their finest hour… (The Guardian)
• Is Amazon losing its price advantage now that it is, at long last, being forced to collect sales tax? Tom Gara at the WSJ argues the case, with shower curtains. (WSJ)
• A new Baghdad library is one step closer to becoming a reality. The new building, which would house 2.8 million books and feature the ‘largest single-space reading room’ will replace the previous building which was ruined by fire and looting in 2003. (The Guardian)
• A new database brings together all Japanese literature translated into English and allows you to geek out about the different translators of Murakami novels to your heart’s content. (Japanese Literature in English)
• There’s never been a more worrying time for Britain’s local libraries. Recognising this, Lambeth Council in London has devised an online tool to make residents a part of the decision making behind its libraries. By taking the Lambeth Challenge, residents can decide how their libraries will look in the future, how much they should cost, and how to allocate resources. (Library Challenge) 
• So, it turns out that Shakespeare probably wasn’t as prolific a word-coiner as scholars have long believed. Digital humanities rains on our English-major parade once again. (The Boston Globe)
• The pen name Mark Twain might come from a burlesque sketch in Vanity Fair. (via The Millions)
• This year’s NASA applications required a Twitter post, a limerick or a haiku from potential astronauts.
• H.L. Wilson, the proprietor of the Bibliobarn in upstate New York, who inspired the opening of many other independent bookstores, died at the age of 71 this week. BookCourt in Brooklyn has had plans to buy the Bibliobarn and open it as a Catskills writers’ retreat. (Watershed Post)

A song for Friday: “Blockbuster” by The Sweet