Booksquare

I, along with a hundred or so of my peers, spent last Thursday and Friday at a conference called Books in Browsers. As one who sat on the sidelines when the first iteration of this conference was held last year, I wasted no time in inviting myself to the event. I am still processing everything […]

I think we all know what the publisher of today looks like. The hierarchy and positions have become comfortable, established. Sort of like really nice flannel pajamas. That’s not to say nothing ever evolves; I mean, who wears the same pair of pajamas forever? And, if you talk to publishing people, you know those flannel […]

Today’s links of interest: Borders Group Reports Second Quarter 2010 ResultsMore worrisome numbers from Borders. Here’s hoping the teddy bears do the trick.

I’ve been thinking about the topic of the value of books a lot. Not for days. Not for months. Years. However, recently I’ve been angered by the implication that readers are cheap, that they won’t pay a proper price for books, that they don’t get it. Whatever it is. These assertions are not untrue. They […]

Today’s links of interest: Borders Reduces E-reader to $99And there you have it. An ereader below $100. Oh, wow, the world is still turning. Random House’s Strong Half-Year Results Driven By ‘Dragon Tattoo’ SalesStieg Larsson, who will not likely be producing more books, drives huge dollars to Random House. His ebook sales are phenomenal. Which […]

Today’s links of interest: Barnes Noble to Shutter Lincoln Center StoreThis is big news. Store closing due to increased rent costs. You’d think landlords would have a bit more foresight, but one supposes losing a major renter is the cost of taking a stand. In other thoughts, how long will the space remain empty? Borders […]

Today’s links of interest: “If it were my money, there’s no way I’d put up with this cr*p”, says young readerIs this really how you want the next generation of readers thinking about ebooks? Especially when the competition for reading is so intense? Lots of Little Improvements Make the Kindle 3 The Best E-Ink E-readerAs […]

Today’s links of interest: Random House’s Backlist E-Book Deal With Literary Agent Andrew Wylie Leaves Much UnansweredTrying not to make it all Wylie, all the time, but much analysis and conjecture. Sarah Weinman does a nice job of the former. One unanswered (but asked) question: what did Random House pay to acquire these rights? No, […]

Today’s links of interest: RH and Wylie Come to Terms; Random ‘Wins’Always worry about headlines that include wins. In this case, one wonders how much it cost Random House to win (presumably higher royalties than they’d been willing to give, possibly some sort of cash consideration). And one wonders how this impacts those who previously […]

Today’s links of interest: Post-Medium PublishingInteresting thoughts about the value of content versus format, and how publishing isn’t doing much for the former. Seattle libraries to shut down for a weekWhile the library is able to keep certain digital services (ebooks and access to databases) open during the budget-induced shutdown, so many other core services […]