Just as Engadget was hitting publish on its first posts, I was putting a freshly minted English degree to use working at an indie bookshop in Los Angeles. In seemingly unrelated news, Amazon had just reported its first profitable year after switching from selling books to selling “everything” four years before. (It still sold a lot of books.) Our bookstore did a good job keeping shelves stocked with a balance of the more worthy popular hits and smaller, better fare. But we couldn’t have every book a customer might want, so we offered to order any in-print title. If a distributor had it, it’d take about a week to get in, longer if we had to go through the publisher. That seemed fine for most customers. But sometimes “about a week” was too long. A few people came right out and said, “Nah, I’ll order it on Amazon.” In 2005, Amazon launched Prime, the membership program that, for $79 a year, gave customers unlimited two-day shipping on most orders. At launch, CEO Jeff Bezos called it “‘all-you-can-eat’ express shipping.” No one knew at the time how hungry the world was for Amazon’s brand of convenience. And now, nearly two decades later, we’ve seen the shifts that accommodate that buffet — in labor, retail and the entire customer experience. Prime wasn’t an overnight success. It’s estimated that six years after launch, just four million households paid for the service. But 10 years later, in 2021, Bezos claimed it had accrued 200 million members worldwide. Outside of that... Continue reading at 'Engadget'
[ Engadget | 2024-03-08 14:15:57 UTC ]
With all the challenges that the book publishing industry currently faces, what will the future bookstore look like? Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-04-19 10:35:00 UTC ]
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The garlanded short story author will release her next collection solely in bookshops and select independent online outlets to coincide with Bookshop DayPrize-winning author Lydia Davis’ new collection of short stories will not be sold on Amazon, with the author saying she does not “believe... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-04-19 10:05:07 UTC ]
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The publishing party for my first book was held in the bookstore I used to work at. My book was piled on the table. People with flowers, people with cups of wine, people who didn’t understand Icelandic all filled the store. I felt like it was my birthday. Ten days earlier, I’d been awarded the […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-19 08:52:49 UTC ]
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I first read Carl Sagan’s Contact and Cosmos in high school, when I was working at a bookstore that let us borrow any book we had at least two copies of on the shelves. I loved them then and was excited to revisit these books in the course of my research for The Possibility of […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-18 08:54:28 UTC ]
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We talk with Annie Carl, founder of the Neverending Bookshop in Edmonds, Wash., a community bookstore that focuses on genre titles and children’s and YA. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-04-14 04:00:00 UTC ]
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In December 2022, author Chelsea Banning had 37 people RSVP “yes” to her book event. On the day, only two showed up. In March 2023, Jamar Perry showed up to his 7 p.m. book event to find the bookstore empty, and figured he would give it another 40 minutes. Still, no one came. This week, […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-05 11:57:06 UTC ]
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The five finalists for PW's 31st Bookstore of the Year and 25th Sales Rep of the Year awards have been selected. Winners will be announced at the U.S. Book Show, which is set for May 22-25. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-03-28 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Joshua Rothes of Sublunary Editions and Phil Bevis of Chatwin Books have formed Asterism Books, a wholesale distribution portal and bookshop for independent small presses. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-03-27 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Over the last two decades, Amazon has grown from an online bookstore into one of the largest tech brands on the planet. No longer just dealing in paperbacks and printing runs, Amazon now sell everything from TVs to wholefoods to clothing. And a huge part of their business model hinges... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2023-03-24 03:23:00 UTC ]
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Lockdown in Literature, by The Editors of WLT Lit Lists [email protected] Mon, 03/20/2023 - 14:39 Photo by Jens Maes / Unsplash There has been plenty of handwringing among some over whether it’s too soon to write pandemic literature, but these... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2023-03-20 19:39:01 UTC ]
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In FBI documents recently acquired by Unicorn Riot, a left-leaning independent media outlet, Chicago’s worker-owned Pilsen Community Books was said to be a meeting place for “anarchist violent extremists, or ‘AVEs,’ environmental violent extremists, or ‘EVEs’ and pro-abortion extremists.” As... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-03-15 16:14:24 UTC ]
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Park Slope of the east, Prospect Lefferts Gardens, has had its own Greenlight Bookstore since 2016, an addition to the neighborhood that made people feel, We have our own bookstore! All we need, now, is a good place to buy sourdough bread. But in an unfortunate sign of the times, Greenlight has... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-03-14 12:56:57 UTC ]
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After more than 6 years in business, co-owner Jessica Stockton-Bagnulo announced that the location will permanently close on May 14, 2023. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-03-14 04:00:00 UTC ]
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One day, the friends have had enough with their husbands, their jobs, their lives, and decide to make a break for it. They grip hands, stuff their weapons* into the glove box, and… open a bookstore together. It’s a thing. “Over a drink in the pub one evening, we started to sketch out what our […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-03-08 14:08:31 UTC ]
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Attention book lovers yearning to get out of Dodge: a down-on-its-luck bookstore in the Welsh mining town of Blaenavon (population 6,055) is headed to (online) auction next week, with bidding to open at the low low price of £72,000. Sure, it needs some work. But it comes with all the books, and... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-03-01 15:27:18 UTC ]
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James Daunt launched his first indie bookshop in London 33 years ago. The Barnes & Noble CEO is now bringing the lessons he learned to the biggest bookseller in America. If you’re strolling down the Marylebone High Street in London, you’ll stumble across a popular bookstore called Daunt... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2023-02-28 04:30:00 UTC ]
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A ransomware attack compromised the data of current and former employees at Canada's biggest bookstore chain, Indigo Books & Music Inc. says. Continue reading at CBC
[ CBC | 2023-02-24 19:32:50 UTC ]
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After Lonesome Dove author Larry McMurtry died in 2021, his bookstore in Archer City, Texas, was turned over to the long-term store manager, Khristal Merklin. But as CNN reports, in November 2022, the deed was snapped up by Fixer Upper’s Chip Gaines. Will Gaines tear out the bookshelves and... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-02-23 14:27:50 UTC ]
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If you’ve ever been derailed from an on-time departure by a set of lost keys or misplaced wallet, you’ll benefit from a Bluetooth tracker. These small devices attach to your stuff and use your smartphone to keep tabs on where they are. There aren’t a ton of players in the field yet, but we... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2023-02-22 14:00:28 UTC ]
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The Black, Indigenous, and people of color-focused bookstore in Pasadena, California opened to customers lined up around the block. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-02-20 14:38:53 UTC ]
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