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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#tender age
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Karen Stevens's collection of essays offers practical advice and inspiration for those embarking on the long, lonely journey of writing a novelAccording to Karen Stevens, "writing a novel is the longest and loneliest journey a writer can embark upon". Her collection of essays by established and... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A full judicial review into Lincolnshire's library cuts has been given the go ahead by the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-03-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The manager of Vroman’s Hastings Ranch store since 2002 passed away March 14 after a long battle with cancer. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A new campaign asking publishers to stop labelling books for boys or girls has been backed by a number of leading authors, as well as bookseller Waterstones. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2014-03-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A lyrical memoir about spiritual refueling; a starred review for an examination of the lives of LGBTQ Catholics. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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#lyrical memoir
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Dell's Venue 11 Pro is the first Atom-powered computer that I can picture as a replacement for my current laptop. With its two optional accessories, this 10.8-inch tablet can transform into either a small notebook or a diminutive all-in-one PC. The two-day battery life—with the optional keyboard... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2014-03-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Thirty-eight stores earned a spot on the regional shortlists and are in the running to be The... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-02-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jim Martin's book about Jesus gets a starred review; Kerry Weber's first book takes mercy to the streets. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A new study reports that after a book wins an award its social media ratings tend to dip. The Guardian explains why. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-02-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Industry figures have voiced hopes for the latest government-commissioned review into the library... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-02-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This week James Patterson mailed the first installment of his $1 million pledge to 54 indie booksellers and the NCIBA for California Bookstore Day. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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David Belton's account of the Rwandan genocide and its aftermath serve as a fitting tribute to the actions of a heroic Franciscan priestMy first reaction when confronted with David Belton's book was to ask what is to be gained from yet another book retelling the horrors of the Rwandan genocide?... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-02-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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At first glance, there might not seem much cause for celebrating the future of African-American bookstores during Black History Month. The country’s oldest African-American bookstore, Marcus Books in San Francisco (open for 44 years), is in rough financial straits. The Shrine of the Black... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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An independent report on the public library service in England has been commissioned by culture... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-02-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Yesterday we called the pre-Super Bowl for Doritos, but a lot can happen overnight when you put a Clydesdale and a bunch of Labrador puppies in the same ad. Therefore, upon further review, we're reversing the call: Budweiser's "Puppy Love" is champion the pre-Super Bowl champion, really crushing... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2014-02-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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#happen overnight
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Jeremy Paxman offers a view of the first world war that has its insights but avoids important questions that need answeringThe battle to carve up the 100th anniversary of the first world war began early this month with education secretary Michael Gove accusing historians and Blackadder – he... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-01-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The existence of the D-notice (aka DA-notice) committee is under threat, reports the Sunday Times. It cites sources who say some officials in the Ministry of Defence, which is considering a review of the system, want to fold the committee into the new press regulator or place it within the MoD's... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-01-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Booksellers as far away as New Zealand, Guatemala and Denmark joined the ABA's Winter Institute to talk shop and pick up tips about better bookselling. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-01-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A fitting salute to the Guardian's late parliamentary sketch writerI thought it unnecessary, and perhaps ethically dubious, to cover this book when its first edition came out in 2012; but now, following Simon Hoggart's death earlier this month, and the addition of a selection from a year's worth... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-01-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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#english language
After three years in a row of declining sales, German book retailers ended 2013 on a more... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-01-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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