I didn’t see that coming

But still, it is rather amusing. The people at Unshelved posited a question to librarians, booksellers, and readers: “What do you wish publishers knew?” They went through over a hundred emails and compiled and distilled the responses into a book (with original comics based on some of the quotes). The title of this volume? Publisher Confidential: Frank Feedback for Publishers from Librarians, Booksellers, and Readers. Try saying that in one breath.

Who would have thought that there would be a book telling publishers what the public wants. Will the publishers listen? Who knows. My favorite part of this book is the cover illustration. A comic of a quandary. Librarians, booksellers, and readers are buying fewer books because of the sometimes astronomical pricing, according to publishers they are raising prices because no one is buying. Sound business sense. Since no one is buying, jack the prices to make sure it stays that way ;)

Still, this is a book worth checking out. Some of the quotes seem silly, but hey, it’s good for a laugh and a “hell yeah.”

Enjoy!

College Book Store to go Bookless

Caltech, needing to severely trim its 2010 budget, has decided to merge the Caltech Bookstore with the popular c-store.  They will sell merchandise and food, and some published Caltech authors, but other than that, not a book is to be seen.

Students will now have to acquire their textbooks online.  Right now, plans are being made to create an easy-to-use interface to make things easier on students and staff alike when it comes time to buy books.

Out of all the ways to cut spending – they choose to eliminate books.  Even TEXTBOOKS!  And this is a college?  True books seem overpriced and you can never get half of what you spend back off of those books, but some students need a bricks and mortar bookstore.

Check out the article and the responses this decision has made, here: [http://www.nacs.org/news/041709-caltech.asp?id=cm]

The Monkey’s Paw

A bookshop in Toronto, The Monkey’s Paw, is definitely a curiosity shop.  It specializes in “uncommon scholarly and out-of-print books; ephemera & images; manual typewriters; [and] biological specimens.”

Seriously. One would expect some odd things in a book and curiosity shop, but biological specimens?  Definitely a must-see if one is ever in the Toronto area.

The books offered are amusing to note, such as A Treatise on the Use of Flogging in Medicine and Venery by John Henry Meibomius along with poetry by Alfred Lord Tennyson.  Something for everyone. From history nerds, literature lovers, and people who are just amused by rare and weird items.

To check out some of what The Monkey’s Paw stocks, check out their blog. [http://mo-paw.blogspot.com/]

NewPages Reviews New Issues of Literary Magazines

NewPages updated their Literary Magazine Review column yesterday. It contains 11 new reviews of the current (or one of the most recent issues) of online and print magazines.

Magazines reviewed in this batch of reviews are:

The Antioch Review :: The Chaffin Journal :: ChiZine :: Eclectica :: The Farallon Review :: Journal of Ordinary Thought :: Manoa :: The Missouri Review :: storySouth :: The Sun :: Tuesday

This edition even contains a double review of the two most recent issues of Tuesday; an art project. So go and dip your toes into the world of literary magazines and maybe you’ll even be inspired to purchase the issues reviewed or even to subscribe to the magazines in question.

Shattered

Our lives are fragmenting, breaking like shattered glass.  Each time we think that we have picked up the pieces and mended it, it breaks again.  The pieces are getting smaller and smaller with each new fracture.

Pieces are missing now.  We can’t find them, perhaps they have turned to dust and been scattered to the wind.  The possibilities are endless as to where they have gone.  All that is known is that our lives shall never be whole, but rather mish-mashed mirrors full of holes, reflecting a refracted image.

That is our lives now. An imperfect image, splintered and divided. No glue, no heat can bind the gaping wounds and fill in the gaps. Nothing can replace what has gone missing, our most precious things.

How did they do that?

You know I attended catechism classes for my church for two years. All I can remember from those two years are the Apostle’s Creed, a little bit about baptism and confession (not that Lutherans practice confession like Catholics do), and some little pieces of scripture that had to be memorized.

But, the thing I remember the most (and probably one of the most worthless pieces of information) is how to figure out when Easter will fall.  Did you ever wonder how they determined when Easter will be every year?  There is actually a formula for it.

Ready? Ok, here goes.

Easter is the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox.  Hence why sometimes it is in March and other times it is in April.  It is all tied to the lunar cycle.  Very pagan in a way.  But what are Christian holidays but versions of pagan holidays?  Christmas shouldn’t technically be celebrated in December because if you do the math and everything Jesus was most likely born in either fall or spring (I can never remember which).  So why do we celebrate that particular holiday in December?  Well, it comes down to this lovely thing called evangelism.  When the Christians tried to convert the pagans, they made it easier by corresponding holidays and traditions all in one.

Hey it worked.  And if it didn’t?  Well, if you didn’t convert, then sometimes you died.  Gotta love it.

Anita Blake Telefilm Announced

Oh dear God no!  That was my first reaction to an article I read today on the Publishers Weekly website. http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6648610.html

And why this reaction?  Once upon a time, I was a fan of the Anita Blake book.  Not so much now.  Why?  Well, truthfully when there is more sex in a book than plot, why bother reading?  The scariest part is that the author actually mentioned that she knew there was more sex and less plot.  Some fans craved the overly graphic and excessive sex scenes, while others wanted more plot.  What to do? Seriously, does that question even need to be asked? I think not.

Another reason for the reaction: HBO’s take on the Sookie Stackhouse series. Trueblood is campy, stupid, and filled with so much cheese that it is ridiculous.  Not to mention, its total disregard of the actual plot of the series.  Granted it is entertaining pop fiction, but still.  Charlaine Harris had some good books before the plot went totally south.  Open-ended series – never a really good idea.

So another book series bites the dust. Another movie shall be made. The first few books were ok, so maybe the movie will be ok.  But with the track record of movies and series based on books, that is hard to believe.

NewPages Book Reviews

It is the first of the month again - that means that NewPages has new book reviews up. From memoirs to short story collections to poetry to YA novels to essays on Emerson and writing, there is a little something here for everyone to dip their toes into and explore new books from several independent publishers.

Enjoy the reviews!
[http://www.newpages.com/bookreviews/2009_4/april2009_book_reviews.htm]