A heart-warming love letter to books and bookshops, by an amenable fellow turned antisocial old misanthrope“I was in here two years ago and you had a book by Roger Penrose. Do you know what happened to it?” Shaun Bythell – owner of the Book Shop in Wigtown, Galloway – has 100,000 books in stock, sells 20,000 a year, and has handled nearly 1m second-hand books since he bought the shop in 2001. Unsurprisingly, the Roger Penrose volume had not stuck in his mind.Before he entered the book trade at the tender age of 31, he was “amenable and friendly”. Now, after many years of fielding bizarre questions, constant haggling over prices (why is it “acceptable to try to screw the profit out of struggling small businesses” but not supermarkets?), and struggling to survive despite Amazon’s “icy grip” on bookselling, he has been forced to embrace the stereotype of the “impatient, intolerant, antisocial proprietor”. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2019-08-24 10:58:38 UTC ]
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The Bookseller is launching a children’s marketing competition for delegates of this year’s children’s conference, which will take place at the Barbican in London on the 29th September. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This week marked the opening of several unusual bookstore combinations, including a bookstore greenhouse and a tax prep office and bookstore. Colorado’s Lithic Press also added a bookstore and gallery. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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M. Judson in Greenville, S.C.; the Little Bookstore in Shelbyville, Ill.; and UH Bookstore in Honolulu have already opened this month. And Webster Groves Bookshop, is celebrating its first half century. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Will social media and aggregated preferences sweep away book reviewing and literary culture? There’s nothing new about the death of literatureThe writer Caleb Crain is unhappy about “the intrusion of counting into the life of literature”. He believes that big data and predictive-taste algorithms... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-08-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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#literary merit
The long-anticipated ribbon cutting for Anderson Bookshop’s third Chicagoland store takes place this weekend as does the Martha’s Vineyard Book Festival, which has been held every other year for the past decade. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon has reportedly blocked a person from reviewing an ebook because the company thinks that they are friends with the author. Imy Santiago attempted to post a review of an unnamed title several times, each time being told that it was in violation... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2015-07-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Booksellers will get “quicker and wider access” to book proofs from across the publishing industry through a partnership with the Booksellers Association and NetGalley. UK booksellers will get access to digital proofs from over 50 publishers – including Bonnier, Hachette, HarperCollins, Penguin... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Fourteen indies opened between April and June, according to the ABA. And new stores continue to open, including Books by the Beach in New Smyrna Beach, and a second location for Ye Olde Warwick Book Shoppe. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A selection of the top ten books that have received five star reviews on IndieReader, a service which reviews self-published books. The post IndieReader’s Top 10 Five-star Reviews of Self-Published Books appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-07-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Putin's government plans to offer tax breaks and other benefits to booksellers who let the government pick patriotic titles for in store promotions. The post Russian Booksellers Balk at “Help” from Putin in Picking Books appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-07-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Frank Cottrell Boyce has discovered some new literary heroes at the most beguiling library in the world, The International Jugendbibliothek. It was set up after the second world war by a Jewish refugee after Nazi book burning and banning. Here Frank tells us all about it – and kicks off a... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-07-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Michael Palin, Bill Bryson and William Dalrymple are just some of the names already nominated for the Edward Stanford Award for Outstanding Contribution to Travel Writing. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Rizzoli Bookstore will reopen July 27 in New York City, and Books. Inc. puts the finishing touches on its grand opening of its new Berkeley store this weekend. New stores opened in Fresno and in New Richmond, Ohio. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Days before Amazon celebrates its 20th anniversary, Authors United is asking authors to sign a letter to the DoJ for an investigation of Amazon, and ABA submitted a similar request on Monday. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Author Josh McDowell on childhood molestation, what he's learned in 55 years of writing, and winning the Christian Bookseller Association's Lifetime Achievement Award. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Harper Lee's Go Set a Watchman is not a book that should be read in a vacuum. It becomes fairly transparent, fairly early on, that this can only be taken as a first draft of what would become To Kill a Mockingbird. This perspective allows it to be an unprecedented insight onto a seminal novel,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The first reviews of 'Go Set a Watchman' reveal Atticus Finch to be a racist, a disclosure that has only increased debate about the book, set for release tomorrow. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Portrayal of liberal lawyer’s dark side praised for its realism by civil rights campaignerOne of the great figures of American literature has suffered dramatic reputational damage this weekend. The unexpected early release of shocking plot details from the new novel by Harper Lee, a sequel to... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Among this week's openings are the Tiger’s Den bookstore/bar in St. Joseph, Mo. And, in other news, Lancaster, Pa., bookstore Aaron's Books is celebrating its tenth anniversary. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Both the Book House in Maplewood, Mo., and Acorn Books in Dover, Del., will remain open. The former had a successful Indiegogo campaign to pay off old debt, while Acorn found new digs in nearby Smyrna. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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