AI Is Literally Flushing Books Down the Toilet
https://downtownbrown.substack.com/p/ai-destructively-scans-books-and-turns-them-into-toilet-paper
Published: August 22, 2026 14:38
Where some books go after they are destructively scanned
🦜 Dispatches from the Rare Book Trade | Scott Brown | Substack
@downtownbrown.substack.com@rss-parrot.net
I'm an automated parrot! I relay a website's RSS feed to the Fediverse. Every time a new post appears in the feed, I toot about it. Follow me to get all new posts in your Mastodon timeline! Brought to you by the RSS Parrot.
---
A periodic essay on rare books, bookselling, and book collecting, used as a hook to interest folks in my newly catalogued books. Click to read Dispatches from the Rare Book Trade, by Scott Brown, a Substack publication with thousands of subscribers.
Site URL: downtownbrown.substack.com
Feed URL: downtownbrown.substack.com/feed
Posts: 20
Followers: 1
AI Is Destroying Collectible Books
https://downtownbrown.substack.com/p/ai-is-destroying-collectible-books
Published: August 18, 2026 17:17
But it’s the scarce books that really bother me.
AI Destroys Books and (Mostly) Forgets Them
https://downtownbrown.substack.com/p/ai-destroys-books-and-mostly-forgets
Published: August 18, 2026 16:58
What Large Language Models (LLMs) really do with books
All the Companies Scanning Books for AI
https://downtownbrown.substack.com/p/all-the-companies-destructively-scanning-books-for-ai
Published: August 18, 2026 16:29
The book scanning ecosystem is large and growing
All the Books in the World
https://downtownbrown.substack.com/p/five-fallacies-ai-and-destructive-scanning-of-books
Published: August 17, 2026 15:30
Five Fallacies about AI and Book Scanning
How well does AI catalog rare books?
https://downtownbrown.substack.com/p/how-well-does-ai-catalog-rare-books
Published: August 10, 2026 15:15
Better than a human with 30 years' experience, apparently
Chop. Copy. Shred.
https://downtownbrown.substack.com/p/chop-copy-shred
Published: August 5, 2026 15:18
Thoughts on Bookselling in the Age of AI
New Arrivals from Downtown Brown Books
https://downtownbrown.substack.com/p/list-147-downtown-brown-books
Published: July 20, 2026 18:54
List 147, including books from the James Strand Collection: Ian Fleming, Joan Didion, Stephen King, Ray Bradbury, William Hope Hodgson.
eBay *Really* Doesn't Care About Fraud
https://downtownbrown.substack.com/p/ebay-really-doesnt-care-about-fraud
Published: June 30, 2026 00:13
Three case studies in inaction
Shiny Object Syndrome Revisited
https://downtownbrown.substack.com/p/shiny-object-syndrome-revisited
Published: June 22, 2026 17:31
When too much collecting is actually too much
James Strand Comics for Sale. Right Now!
https://downtownbrown.substack.com/p/james-strand-comics-now-on-mcs
Published: June 15, 2026 16:02
And Shiny Object Syndrome Revisited
A Tale of Two Comic Book Stores
https://downtownbrown.substack.com/p/a-tale-of-two-comic-book-stores
Published: June 9, 2026 00:17
How the James Strand comics started at Mile High Comics and ended up at MyComicShop.com
Of course there's a German word for it
https://downtownbrown.substack.com/p/spider-web-glassine-spinnenpapier
Published: May 29, 2026 17:07
Spinnenpapier and what it has to do with books
Newest Arrivals at Downtown Brown Books
https://downtownbrown.substack.com/p/list-146-from-downtown-brown
Published: May 26, 2026 19:06
List 146: Modern First Editions and Graphic Novels
Pinocchios, Frankensigned Monsters, and 11 Other Kinds of Signed Books
https://downtownbrown.substack.com/p/pinocchios-frankensigned-monsters
Published: May 18, 2026 18:32
A hierarchy of autographs, from worst to best
The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of
https://downtownbrown.substack.com/p/stuff-dreams-are-made-of
Published: May 6, 2026 19:31
Or How I met the creators of Bizarro Jerry and House of the Dragon
The James Strand Collection of Comics and Pulps
https://downtownbrown.substack.com/p/james-strand-comics-and-pulps
Published: May 5, 2026 16:26
On June 15, the James Strand collection of comics and pulps will go on sale at MyComicShop.com. Stolen. Recovered by the FBI. Destined for your collection?
Shiny Object Syndrome
https://downtownbrown.substack.com/p/shiny-object-syndrome
Published: May 4, 2026 17:41
Keeping books vs. bookkeeping
More Stephen King First Editions Now Available
https://downtownbrown.substack.com/p/more-stephen-king-first-editions
Published: April 15, 2026 18:02
A new list just dropped at DownownBrown.com
Collectibles and Taxes: Everything You Didn't Want to Know
https://downtownbrown.substack.com/p/collectibles-and-taxes
Published: April 13, 2026 16:35
Nothing Takes the Fun Out of Collecting Like the IRS