A charming French novel about an old-school publisher trying to get to grips with the digital ageAt more than one point in this novel I found myself asking: could this be any more French? Early on we meet a character described thus: “She used to be incredibly good-looking and now at thirtysomething she is creditably handsome.” Sorry? What the narrator, an ageing male publisher, looks like, or how creditably or uncreditably good-looking he is, we don’t find out. Another woman leaves the room “in a wiggle of buttock” – I dropped my annotating pencil when I read that line. “Artichokes require a degree of elegance” – there’s another drop of essence of Gallic for you.But there is more to Dear Reader, and what kept me going was that one of the subjects exercising our narrator is the issue of electronic readers – Kindles or, as our hero Robert Dubois has it, the “dear reader” of the title. This book is an elegy for a dying world: that of the printed book and, that death’s darker corollary, the reader who is still interested in, or has the attention span for, the long-form narrative. (I always thought these things were arranged better in France, with no Net Book Agreement and tax breaks for bookshops, but apparently not.) In the world of Dear Reader, there has been a general collapse of cultural understanding: the interns point out to Dubois the remarkable coincidence that the publishing house they have landed in has the same name as him. Meanwhile, Dubois cannot quite get to... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2014-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Editors gathered at BEA Friday morning to share their favorite middle-grade books for fall. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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We Need Diverse Books marked its first anniversary with a BEA panel of diverse authors who advocated for booksellers to stock and handsell diverse books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This week: Judy Blume's first novel for adults in 17 years, Stephen King's latest, and the absolutely incredible story of Stalin's daughter. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Revenue at Books-A-Million fell 1.9% in the first quarter ended May 2, 2015 compared to last year’s first period. Net loss at the chain was cut to $5.3 million, from $5.6 million. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The theme of the International Digital Publishing Forum conference on day one at Book Expo in New York was “Putting Readers First,” but whether power has shifted from publishers and retailers to readers - asserted in a keynote by Canelo Publishing’s Michael Bhaskar - was quickly challenged by... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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John Green’s "The Fault in Our Stars" was the top-selling ebook in 2014, according to data just released by PubTrack Digital, a unit of Nielsen BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This children's book not only teaches about ecology, it practices it.Despite the rise of ebooks, most children's books are still made from trees. One new picture book is designed as a simple reminder of that fact: When kids finish reading a story about an adventure in the rainforest, they can... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2015-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A Thursday afternoon panel was officially named "The Power of Partnerships," but as moderator Keith Michael Fiels, executive director of the American Library Association suggested, it should have been called "E-books: The Continuing Saga." Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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John M. Templeton Jr. dies; Thomas Merton remembered; the legacy of Richard John Neuhaus. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Along a downtown Toronto laneway (back alley) named after Canadian poet bpNichol, an eight-line poem is carved into the concrete that leads you to Coach House Books, an independent publisher founded 50 years ago by artist Stan Bevington. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This year, as always, we walked the aisles to ask our favorite folks in the know what upcoming books they are excited about. The two novels we heard about the most were Jonathan Franzen's 'Purity' (FSG, Sept.) and Garth Risk Hallberg's 'City on Fire' (Knopf, Oct.). Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As booksellers, librarians, and publishers descended on the Javits Center for the first full day of BookExpo America, there was strong early interest across all age ranges and genres, including adult books with YA crossover and vice versa. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Digital Reader reports that due to concerns over “rampant commercial piracy,” Google has closed the Google Play Books Partner Center to new users. The post Google Closes Down Play Books Publisher appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-05-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Winners of the 2015 Best Translated Book Award, Can Xue for fiction and Rocío Cerón for poetry, were announced at BookExpo America this year. The post Winners of 2015 Best Translated Book Awards appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-05-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Former W H Smith books director Michael Neil will cover the maternity leave of Dubray Books' managing director Maria Dickenson. Neil, who left W H Smith last month, will be the Irish independent bookshop chain¹s acting managing director from the beginning of August. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-05-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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John Green's The Fault in Our Stars was the top-selling ebook in 2014, according to data just released by PubTrack Digital, a unit of Nielsen BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Goldsboro Books is to expand in June, increasing its size by a third. The high-profile independent bookshop, founded in 1999, is currently based at 23–25 Cecil Court in the heart of London’s theatre district. It will expand into the adjacent premises, at 27 Cecil Court, in June. David Headley,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-05-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A new report from the BIZ Beijing, The Chinese Book Market 2015, provides a thorough understanding of trends in Chinese publishing. The post Download: Report on Chinese Book Market 2015 appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-05-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The impact of Amazon on the book business is a longstanding, ongoing debate. But is Amazon good for readers? That’s the topic of this afternoon’s discussion at this year’s International Digital Publishing Forum conference. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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With so many galleys flooding the BEA show floor, it’s hard to know which ones to choose. Here are 10 of our favorites, with excerpts from PW reviews. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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