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 ]
In his grouchy, funny memoir, “A Factotum in the Book Trade,” Marius Kociejowski writes about what a good bookstore should feel like, famous customers he’s served and more. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-07-18 18:02:04 UTC ]
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The New Orleans bookstore is a shop with a mission—to eliminate mass incarceration through the promotion of literacy. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-07-15 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Okay, maybe I say this every Tuesday, but I really, really mean it today: we’ve got a good book bounty this week, folks. * K-Ming Chang, Gods of Want (One World) “Relationships between women—familial, beloved, strange, imagined—dominate queer Taiwanese American Chang’s explosive and bizarre... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-07-12 12:00:03 UTC ]
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In the back of my favorite bookstore in Brooklyn, there’s a wall covered in all the random things the employees have found in the used books they sell: photos, newspaper clippings, notes, receipts, pressed flowers, etc. It’s a fascinating little archive, both meaningless and somehow magical,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-07-11 14:16:40 UTC ]
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The owners of Franklin Fixtures, which supplies retail displays to bookstores, are opening a new independent bookstore and café named Plenty on Spring in Cookeville. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-07-01 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Alta Journal just released a map for the Western bookstore road trip of my dreams: it’s a guide to indie bookstores on the West coast (with a few options from the desert and other non-coastal spots thrown in, because why not). A lot of the picks, as to be expected, are clustered around cities... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-06-29 16:46:35 UTC ]
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A bookstore in New Mexico fosters a community of Native artists, writers, and fans of the flourishing Indigenous comic book genre. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2022-06-27 14:59:00 UTC ]
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While we celebrate queer literature and history all year long at Lit Hub dot com, we also love a good book list. This year, in honor of Pride, we reached out to some of our favorite librarians, booksellers, and authors and asked them about the queer books they find themselves recommending over... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-06-24 08:52:38 UTC ]
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Celebrate the The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art's 20th anniversary with a whole summer of Eric Carle goodness! Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2022-06-20 10:39:00 UTC ]
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For founder and owner Jazzi McGilbert, the concept bookshop and creative space is a physical offering for Black people in L.A. to be themselves. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-06-17 19:58:19 UTC ]
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The year 2021 saw a substantial increase in the number of independent bookstores in the United States. And a growing proportion of these stores is owned by individuals from diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2022-06-17 15:44:11 UTC ]
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On Friday night, P&T Knitwear opened its doors on the Lower East Side to celebrate its grand opening. Any new indie bookstore/cafe is cause for applause, but this one in particular has a few fun bells and whistles worth mentioning! When you first walk in, what’s probably most noticeable is... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-06-06 15:01:31 UTC ]
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Today's edition of Daily Deals is sponsored by The Boardwalk Bookshop by Susan Mallery.`The Boardwalk Bookshop by Susan... Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2022-06-02 15:17:24 UTC ]
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Some days after Barry’s death on December 25, 2020, I pulled every book of his I owned from the shelves around my apartment and stacked them on a corner of my desk. Then I walked down the hill to the used bookshop in the small Oregon town where I live and found several books of […] Continue reading at The Paris Review
[ The Paris Review | 2022-05-31 16:36:03 UTC ]
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The Eastern European country Belarus has banned the sale of 1984, and two booksellers and publishers have been detained for carrying it. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2022-05-30 17:22:36 UTC ]
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After a decade of enjoying his presence, an Ohio bookstore is hosting a party to celebrate Otis the Cat's retirement. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2022-05-25 15:44:02 UTC ]
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The Raven Bookstore in Lawrence, Kans., was named 'PW' Bookstore of the Year in a virtual awards ceremony held during the U.S. Book Show. Commission rep Kurtis Lowe of Book Travelers West is 'PW' Sales Rep of the Year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-05-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
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In very 1984 news, Belarus has banned the sale of 1984. Belarusian weekly newspaper, Nasha Niva, reported that security forces detained Andrei Yanushkevich, publisher and bookstore owner, and confiscated 200 books, with a focus on 1984. Nasha Niva also reported that they had obtained a copy of... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-05-20 14:23:20 UTC ]
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His Common Concerns bookstore in Washington became a left-wing community resource in the 1980s. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2022-05-13 18:04:58 UTC ]
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A worthy cause for you this Thursday: a bookstore owner’s petition to make Harriet Tubman Day a federal holiday (and the first federal holiday named for an American woman) is at nearly 8,000 signatures, and you can add your name here. The petition was created by Jeannine Cook, owner of Harriet’s... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-05-05 16:26:12 UTC ]
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