ALA, ARCs, and the blogger dilemma
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Read MoreA crappy trailer
I should mention that 1) that’s not me on the front cover, and 2) my last name is pronounced “witty,” though that isn’t a big deal. Hey, at least it’s closer than “White.”
Read MoreBooksbooksbooks
It’s that time of year again, when a horde of media, librarians, and booksellers descend on NYC with one goal in mind: free books! Yes, it’s BEA, and if you’re like me, you’re stuck at home doing . . . work. Ugh. Fortunately for us, Book Expo has organized a live stream for some of the top breakfasts and panels, so we won’t be completely out of the loop. The video player is imbedded below so you can watch right here. Just keep in mind, everything is live streaming...
Read MoreHoly craptastic!
Crap on a stick! This is awesome! I’m totally not going to be one of those authors buy my book! who goes on and on about how amazing her book is it’s really really awesome & you need to buy it and is always tweeting out links to Amazon or posting a link to Barnes & Noble on Facebook or telling you to support your local indie bookstore or even suggest that you let others know about a fun book they might...
Read MoreGive us what we want
It appears that a simple comic by artist and humorist Matthew Ingram, aka The Oatmeal, has demonstrated one of the biggest issues of online piracy better than any previous article or debate. You should read that before we start into the discussion. Don’t worry. I’ll wait. *whistles and glances around room* This insightful commentary from Andy Ihnatko suggests the problem with piracy is due to modern sense of entitlement many of the middle and younger generations have. While I...
Read MoreClassic bandaids
I was really excited after reading this brief bit of news from Shelf Awareness this morning— —until I realized I’d misread it. Skateboards are boring. But bandaids with Penguin Classic covers? Yes, please! So to make a pitch to the people at Penguin Classics, I offer my suggestions for extremely awesome bandaids featuring some of the great Classics book covers. (In addition to the excellent selections above.) *Credit for all these covers obviously goes to Penguin...
Read MoreSome Very Wise People Discuss Publishing
A roundup of some very smart things said by very wise people regarding traditional vs self-publishing, plus related topics. “Indie Publishing” – A Meditation on Words and Their Meanings Jarek Steele of Left Bank Books discusses the recent misnomer of vanity presses calling themselves “indie publishers.” Takeaways: “Left Bank Books hosts some events for self published authors because we believe in the writer, the book and the privilege of asking a reader to spend a...
Read MoreHas the time of the community bookstore passed?
Why did the little independent bookstore I opened fail? I’ve avoided this subject for a good six months now, afraid to take a look back at the past year to see What I Did Wrong. There’s a very important reason I was afraid: because I was asking the wrong question. When I first embarked on this adventure, it was with the “knowledge” that communities need indies. I put that in scare quotes for a reason. What I though was a truth was actually a perception. It was the...
Read MoreQuote of the Day
“In a world where it is increasingly possible to seclude yourself in a hive with fellow creatures who buzz the way you do, bookstores, like libraries and newspapers, are among the few places where a variety of ideas and opinions can jostle together for your attention. That tolerance of perspectives, including contradictory ones, isn’t a marketing strategy for those institutions. It’s part of their DNA. It’s why they exist.” —Jim Higgins in a Milwaukee Journal...
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