According to this article performing Shakespeare plays to cows can help them to produce more milk. Researchers have found that Shakespeare’s plays help to relax a dairy herd and boost milk production by as much as 4%. Cows also produce more like when they are played slow music as this has the similar effect of alleviating stress. In an experiment actors from a theatre group entertained cows at the Pleasant Farm near Maidstone. They found that the plays helped to relax the cows although they stick to light hearted comedies rather than tragedies which could have the opposite effect.

A first edition of Emma by Jane Austen has recently sold for £325,000. The novel which was signed by the author was a copy which Jane Austen presented to her friend Anne Sharp who inspired the character of Mrs Weston in the novel. The book was last sold in 2008 for £180,000. It has now been sold to a British collector.

This is one of the country’s smallest libraries. The phone box was brought from BT for £1 under a National scheme that allows communities to adopt a phone box. Villages in the local area of Westbury-sub-Mendip can use the library, selecting books, DVDs and CDs. They simply have to leave a book they have read and take one that they would like to read. The idea was thought up by a resident when the village lost both its phone box and its mobile library in quick succession.

This is an interesting idea its a machine that can  print any book out for you in minutes. It has been launched by Blackwell who are hoping it will remove the need to order a hard to find or out of print book. The idea is that you will be able to browse a catalogue of available books. Select the one you want and choose print book. The machine which can print around 105 pages minute will then print and bind your chose book. The books are likely to cost about the same you would expect to pay for a regular book. It will also be possible for authors to take in a CD of their work and have a professionally printed book produced in just minutes. There are currently 400,000 books available but it is hoped that one million will be available by the summer. I  remember being at university and having to wait for copies of a book to become available or searching old bookshops in the hope to find an obscure out of print title. If this machine works as it says, then it could put an end to this, although knowing my luck the book I wanted wouldn’t be available.

An illustrated guide to shopping trolleys has won the booker international prize for oddest title of the year. Unfortunately the guide currently only covers trolleys in North America, so won’t be much help to those keen trolley spotters out there. Perhaps someone will release a UK version soon.