March 23, 2011
A NY judge decided yesterday that the $125 million dollar deal between Google and the book industry smacked of anti-trust problems, despite the appeal of making so many works available to the public. Google has prepared 15 million(!) books for this project. He also expressed concern about Google’s ability to use books without consent of […]
March 22, 2011
Barnes and Noble grabbed the lion’s share of the book market, according to an annual survey from Bowker’s. This includes online sales at bn.com. What surprised me about this was the strong share Borders claimed despite its ongoing problems with bankruptcy. Brief, informative article at Publisher’s Weekly.com with clear chart depicting the major players in […]
March 18, 2011
Many think of 1776 as the defining year of American history, when we became a nation devoted to the pursuit of happiness through self- government. In Unfamiliar Fishes, Sarah Vowell argues that 1898 might be a year just as defining, when, in an orgy of imperialism, the United States annexed Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Guam, […]
March 17, 2011
This may be old news to those of you who frequent the public parks in Chicago, but Gabriel Levinson, a young college grad with a mission to promote literacy, has been quietly offering free books to passers-by at various parks around the city from the fold-out, mini kiosk he totes around on his bike. He […]
March 16, 2011
An unusual number of book awards have been presented in the past couple of weeks. Yesterday Deborah Eisenberg won the PEN/Faulkner prize for her short story collection, imaginatively named ‘The Collected Stories of Deborah Eisenberg.” The award was founded in 1980 to recognize top quality American fiction. “Matterhorn” by Karl Marlantes won the PNBA (Pacific […]
March 14, 2011
Of course, the important priorities are taking care of people and housing,etc., during a natural catastrophe. However, people do always wonder about the additional things they care about. In this case, I mean books. So, what is the status of libraries around Japan? The Huffington Post linked to […]
March 10, 2011
The winners of the National Book Critics Circle Awards have just been announced: Fiction: Jennifer Egan, A Visit from the Goon Squad Finalists: Jonathan Franzen, Freedom David Grossman, To the End of the Land, tr. by Jessica Cohen Hans Keilson, Comedy in a Minor Key, tr. by Damion Searls Paul Murray, Skippy Dies
March 10, 2011
Lately much has been written about the various aspects of the gains of e-books on the traditional print market and how publishing and consuming books will continue to change. We are riding the wave of this new technology in a manner similar to that of the past when the VCR, cell phone, PC, etc., all […]
March 9, 2011
Jean Auel‘s series the Earth’s Children has been phenomenally beloved, selling an astounding 45 million copies worldwide. In “The Land of Painted Caves,” Ayla is training to be a spirit healer in the Zelandonii clan of her mate, Jondalar. While studying a cave painting Ayla seems to invent art appreciation. After confronting a romantic rival, […]
March 8, 2011
Former president Bill Clinton has returned to the world of intrigue- he’s written an introduction to his friend Thomas Caplan’s new book, “The Spy Who Jumped Off the Screen.” The story is about keeping nuclear weapons out of the wrong hands. Shira S.
