Interesting posts and other things that have caught my eye this week. It isn’t actually everything, since I didn’t want to kill myself copy-pasting, so for the entire link collection check out my Delicious page.
Books in General
- Bookshops Are Dead: And I Killed Them « Eoin Purcell’s Blog
“So there will be demand for print books but at a much reduced level (because many others will shift to digital as will casual readers and new readers) and the economics of bookshops will become completely skewed favouring the online Emporia. Booksellers can react by hand-selling to customers and making themselves relevant as Ravenbooks has (I am increasingly sure of finding a pile of relevant books there every time I walk in) and no doubt this will mean concentrating on older books, out-of-print books and second-hand books, books that appeal directly to the customer, and print-on-demand books printed directly on site (though I am less convinced of the economic case for this).” - The Problem With the Follow-up Memoir – Newsweek.com
“The biggest challenge is, you had a really good, resonant story to tell, why should you expect there to be another one so quickly?” says Ben Yagoda, author of Memoir: A History. “It seems there might be a half-life effect. With Frank McCourt, each successive book had a fraction of the sales and artistic impact as the earlier books.” (Thanks, Kim! sophisticateddorkiness.com) - Religion and Science Fiction: Asking the Right Questions / Tor.com
“Most people who debate science vs. religion tend to ask the same boring question. Does God exist? Yawn. However, the question in all of these stories is never “Do these beings really exist?” The question is “What do we call them?” It’s never “Does this force actually exist?” It’s, “What do we call it?” Or “How do we treat it?” Or “How do we interact with it?” One of the many things that fascinates me about these stories is that the thing, whatever it is—a being, a force—always exists.”
Authors & Publishers
- Top Ten Question Dutton Editors Ask Themselves « Writing and Illustrating
Filing this under my “learn how to be an editor” thingy. - BABBLING ABOUT BOOKS, AND MORE!: When An Author Doesn’t Want You To Review Their Book
“Book review blogs are for the reader and quite honestly, I rather post a positive review for a book and “pimp” it to the clouds over posting a negative review. But just as book review blogs are here to promote the best in books and authors, they are also here to do a service, to give balance and very bluntly warn readers about books that are not the best they can be ( in their own opinion).” - Kirkus Reviews: “Working toward an arrangement with an acquiring company” – mediabistro.com: GalleyCat
“According to an internal memo obtained by Daily Finance, Kirkus Reviews has found a potential buyer and will continue publication.” Yay!! - Richard Nash: Book Publishing 10 Years in the Future – mediabistro.com: GalleyCat
“Former publisher, Richard Nash has never been one to hold back his voice on how he feels the book publishing industry needs to make dramatic changes. We asked him what he sees happening in the next 10 years and here is what he had to say” My favorite: “In 2020 the disaffected twentysomethings of the burgeoning middle classes of India, China, Brazil, Indonesia will be producing novels faster than any of us can possibly imagine.”
(Book) Blogging
- Introducing GalleyCat Reviews – mediabistro.com: GalleyCat
“In addition, we would like to build a directory of online outlets for book reviews, sharing this valuable information with our readers. As traditional review outlets disappear, online communities may be one of the last places where readers can go to find out about new books. If you would like to be included on that book review directory or participate in GalleyCat Reviews, email us today.” - Presenting Lenore: My episode on That’s How I Blog is available now!
Yay!
Book Wishlist
- Cold by Bill Streever. Nymeth says: “t’s a science book, yes. But it’s also a natural history; a social history of Arctic exploration; a book about our relationship not only with cold weather and cold places but with our idea of them; an environmental plea; and a personal account of one man’s passion for cold and all the natural wonders that surround it.” WOW.
- 8th Grade Superzero by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich. I originally spotted this on an editor’s website because they were highlighting the author’s awesome query letter (see: link), but it’s been getting good reviews on the blogs lately, too.
- Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey. Trisha says “it’s set in New Zealand and features Maori mythology” and I want to read it, too! It’s not coming out until April, though.
- Wicked Plants by Amy Stewart. Tal says: “It’s an A to Z of plants that kill, maim, intoxicate, and otherwise offend. A tree that sheds poison daggers; a glistening red seed that stops the heart; a shrub that causes paralysis; a vine that strangles; and a leaf that triggered a war.”
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