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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April 23, Dia de Sant Jordi, the Catalan festival dedicated to books and roses, accounts for 5–8% of annual book sales in Catalonia. The post Catalonia Celebrates Biggest Book-Giving Holiday of the Year appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-04-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The sale of nonbook items rose at Books-A-Million in 2014, compared to 2013, as the retailer continued to diversify its inventory mix in response to a decline in print books, the company reported in its 10-K filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-04-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Strong juvenile book sales and a commitment to education led the American Booksellers Association to launch a separate conference for children’s booksellers nearly five years ago, following its merger with the Association of Booksellers for Children. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-04-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In any standards landscape, there is diversity and not likely to be a single or permanent solution. Because content often has to connect to bibliographic and business metadata, integration with other standards can be a requirement and a challenge. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-04-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A new independent bookshop has opened in Navan in Ireland, selling new books with a focus on children’s literature. Last weekend husband and wife team Shane and Lorraine Breslin “quietly opened” Blackbird Books on the Old Corn Market in Navan, County Meath, which is about a 40-minute drive... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-04-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bennett starts ‘Feminist Fight’ at Harper and more in this week's notable book deals. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-04-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'These are the books that speak most immediately to young people, dealing with many of the difficult issues that arise in their own lives, or in the lives of their friends,' Judith Platt, chair of the Banned Books Week national committee, said of challenged YA books. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-04-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This week: Werner Herzog walks on ice, Oliver Sacks's new memoir, and the golden age of murder. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-04-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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With no new hits, sales of juvenile fiction print books fell 46% last week compared to the same week in 2014, while sales of juvenile nonfiction dropped 39%. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-04-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In honor of World Book Day, the International Publishers Association has an infographic on how much children should read and why literacy is important. The post How Much Should Children Read? World Book Day Infographic appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-04-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Through a grant, the University of Minnesota is launching an effort that will allow it to produce interactive digital editions of the books it is publishing in print. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-04-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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British scientists say their research confirms that emotion-charged passages in 'Harry Potter' books have significant impact on the brains of readers. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-04-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Connect Books has delivered a “much improved” operational performance in the last six months, although sales were down 3% to £103.4m. The Norwich-based company, which comprises Bertrams, Dawson Books and Wordery, also saw its underlying operational profit decrease by 18.6% to £1.9m compared to... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-04-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Royal Collection Trust will publish a children's story written by the monarch when she was a young girl. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-04-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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More than 250,000 books are to be handed out for free as part of World Book Night Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2015-04-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Village Books & Paper Dream, Bellingham Wash.’s long-time bookstore, will open up a second location this fall. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-04-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A new non-fiction book club on Claudia Winkleman's weekly BBC Radio 2 "Arts Show" is to launch this autumn, as part of The Reading Agency partnership with the station. The book club follows on from the Radio 2 Book Club on Simon Mayo's show, and a children's writing competition called 500 Words... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-04-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Random House Children’s Books will increase the first printing for previously undiscovered Dr. Seuss title 'What Pet Should I Get?' to 1 million copies. The post Random House Raises First Printing of New Dr. Seuss to 1 Million appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-04-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Spanish language market is not the easiest one to break into. This highlights the importance of cultivating partnerships with international publishers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-04-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Gannett, the media company that is spinning off its publishing business, said Tuesday it'll run its broadcasting and digital units under the new corporate name TEGNA. Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2015-04-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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