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 ]
News tagged with:
#electronic readers
#attention span
#tax breaks
The Inspire! Toronto International Book Fair, which launched last November as a three-day consumer event, will not be held again in 2015. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-02-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Here is a quick review of my soon to be released book, Geek Physics. The post Geek Physics: The Dot Physics Book appeared first on WIRED. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2015-02-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Profile Books has purchased the business of specialist publisher Third Millennium Information Ltd for an undisclosed sum. Profile assumed responsibility for Third Millennium publishing from the beginning of this month. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-02-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#profile books
As shown by the title, Novak's book for kids contains no illustrations but instead includes funny words that reviews say are sure to get kids giggling. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
News Corp reported quarterly revenue and a profit just above analysts’ consensus forecast as its book publishing and real estate businesses offset dwindling print revenue. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2015-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#book publishing
In an oft-cited statistic, Chad Post, publisher of Open Letter Books at the University of Rochester and an outspoken advocate for books in translation, estimates that 3% of fiction and poetry books published in the U.S. are translations. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#native tongues
#chad post
#outspoken advocate
You can't open this book—literally—until you make it clear you don't have any preconceived notions.I'll admit it: I definitely judge books by their covers. But this book might train those of us who are prone to snap judgments to become slightly better people. If you look at the book with... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2015-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#judge books
To listen to the Audio Book Club discussion of Redeployment, click the arrow on the player below. Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2015-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Although radical Islam dominates the headlines, it represents only a tiny fraction of the world’s estimated 1.6 billion Muslims. That deep global diversity figures into several forthcoming titles. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#forthcoming titles
Dutch designer Thijs Biersteker has come up with a book jacket that will only open when a prospective reader shows the right facial expression. The post When A Book Cover Judges You appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#book jacket
Harper Lee has said she is “alive and kicking and happy as hell” with the reaction to her new book. Cornerstone division William Heinemann announced on Tuesday (3rd February) that it would publish Go Set a Watchman, a novel written by Lee before she penned To Kill a Mockingbird and featuring... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#harper lee
Evangelical publishers are predicting little impact on sales and plans for future books about round trips to the hereafter following the admission by Alex Malarkey that the story he told in 'The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven' is false. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#future books
#alex malarkey
Michael O’Mara Books will publish a new book by biographer Andrew Morton titled 17 Carnations: The Windsors, The Nazis and the Cover-up. Michael O’Mara acquired UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, from the book’s American publisher, Grand Central Publishing. O’Mara said: “It’s... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-02-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#mara books
#american publisher
Amazon customers in the US can now convert their print titles into Kindle books with a software package called Kindle Convert. Currently available in the US for computers running Windows 7 and 8, the software helps users to scan in pages of their print books, converting the image into usable... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-02-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#amazon customers
#print titles
#kindle books
#print books
#include features
An unlikely trio—a literary agent, a singer/songwriter, and an investment banker—are bringing the first general independent bookstore in over a decade to this New Jersey city. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-02-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#city books
#literary agent
It was recently announced that 'To Kill a Mockingbird' writer Harper Lee, who famously only released her classic novel, will publish a second book this summer. 'If you read the book ... only Harper Lee could have written this novel,' said Jonathan Burnham, senior vice president and publisher of... Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-02-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#harper lee
#recently announced
#jonathan burnham
Author Harper Lee rejects claims she is being pressured into releasing a "lost" novel, saying she is "happy as hell". Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2015-02-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Bookseller Stella Williams tells PW about working at the New York City's famed Strand Book Store, and the plans to grow the store's children's department. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-02-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Sales of the Harry Potter series and Jamie Oliver's cookbooks help Britain produce more books per capita than any other country. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2015-02-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#jamie oliver
Harper Lee, the author of To Kill a Mockingbird, will publish a sequel called Go Set a Watchman. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2015-02-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#harper lee