Book clubs in America: Why do we love them so much?

A casual observer of the book-club scene could be fooled into thinking that this summer was a hard one for the nation's leisure readers. Late in spring, Oprah's club shuttered, stranding publishers in what promises to be a long shoal of short print runs and offering the rest of us one literary arbiter fewer to love or hate. Borders, which ran a sort of book group of its own, shut down stores, too, after creditors refused a buyout offer from a book-club mega-company. Could reading groups be losing their sway in our culture? On one hand, this is a reasonable question; on the other, it's like asking whether the United States should worry about being out-powered by Belgium. More than 5 million adults are thought to be in reading groups, not counting online clubs, and a number of those adults have a noticeable missionary bent: If Oprah didn't get you onboard, there's a good chance that your neighbor with a Thursday group will have you marking up Love in the Time of Cholera before summer is through.[more ...] Continue reading at 'Slate'

[ Slate | 2011-07-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #buyout offer #reading groups #good chance

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Astronaut Mark Kelly has written a children's book

Mark Kelly, husband of former US Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, will release his children's book about a mouse in space this fall. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-02-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Indian book market in "rapid growth"

The Indian book market grew by 45% in volume and 40% in value over the first half of 2011, with... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Children's book sales soar in spring half-term break

Sales of children's books rocketed 30% week-on-week as the spring half-term break resulted in... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Ban' for Mayle book in Malaysia

Malaysian officials order book shops to stop selling a sex education book by British author Peter Mayle. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2012-02-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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E-book pricing is a 'Catch-22' situation

Publishers are continuing to experiment with ebook pricing, as sales and marketing teams balance... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book review: 'Watergate'

Thomas Mallon's novel deftly paints a picture of 1970s America and adds an imaginative back story to the characters.Watergate Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-02-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book review: 'The American Way of Eating' by Tracie McMillan

Tracie McMillan takes us to agricultural fields, Wal-Mart and Applebee's, where she works short stints and tries to eat healthfully on meager pay.The American Way of Eating Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-02-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Are Teens Embracing E-books?

A recent PubTrak survey from R.R. Bowker indicated that teens remain reluctant when it comes to ebooks. Accustomed to social media, they find that electronic stories have “too many restrictions,” according to the report. But many industry players—agents, booksellers, publishers, and authors—are... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Media Decoder Blog: Release Date Moved Up for Shadid Book

The Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter, who died Thursday while reporting in Syria, was to have embarked soon on a 20-city tour to promote his new book. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2012-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book review: 'Monstress' by Lysley Tenorio

The author's short stories paint vivid pictures of growing up Filipino American.In a smoke-stained San Francisco hotel room, Felix Starro is making fake blood. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Collins buys Tutu book

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[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Kitson Stacks Up the Books

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Over a third of students ‘not interested’ in physical books

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[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Harvill signs two-book deal with Neville

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[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bloomsbury acquires "the" book on Lucian Freud

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[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Picador to learn Ten Things About Love

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[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Path Isn't Only App to Upload, Store Address Book Data

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[ PC World | 2012-02-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bedford Square Books strikes exclusive Tesco deal

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[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Cold snap book sales plunge 16% year on year

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[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The murder of Oakland journalist Chauncey Bailey and a family's violent rise to prominence is given gripping life.On a morning in August 2007, a slender masked man ran up to Chauncey Bailey on an Oakland sidewalk and fired two shotgun blasts at the journalist. The first slug tore through Bailey... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-02-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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