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 ]
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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Book Reviews Photo by Daniel on Unsplash Readers will naturally and, perhaps, unfortunately, wish to make connections between Sayaka Murata’s (b. 1979) newest novel, Earthlings, translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori (Grove Press, 2021), and her... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2022-04-19 20:44:40 UTC ]
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Some sad news coming out of the Boston area today: the Children’s Book Shop in Brookline Village, Mass., will close its doors after 45 years. Dear Customers: We are sad to report that The Children’s Book Shop will close its doors on April 30, 2022. We have provided good books, great service and... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-04-18 16:28:49 UTC ]
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On April 30, the Children’s Book Shop in Brookline Village, Mass., will close its doors after 45 years. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-04-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
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L.A. transplant Stanley Rose's short-lived 1930s bookstore and boozy backroom became a literary haven for Chandler, Fante, Faulkner, West and many more. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-04-14 13:00:44 UTC ]
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A guide to the literary geography of Los Angeles: A comprehensive bookstore map, writers' meetups, place histories, an author survey, essays and more. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-04-14 13:00:40 UTC ]
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The oldest bookstore in SoCal has always known its customers best, from tourists to Caltech professors and the diverse clientele that adores it today. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-04-14 13:00:37 UTC ]
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Amy Winehouse was an avowed bookstore browser and book-lover—in a 2007 interview, she told The Guardian that she never traveled without a good book. “I read a lot when I’m travelling and always have a couple of books on the go.” If you’re interested in perusing the late singers collection, you... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-04-13 19:15:56 UTC ]
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There is something solemn about mornings, when the world is quiet and the shop is calm. The books are illuminated by a dim natural light. When empty, the bookstore is filled with community, with our collective memory—with aspiration both communal and individual—and when full, the bookstore often... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-04-13 08:52:06 UTC ]
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My first encounter with Valzhyna Mort’s work was Collected Body, her second book of poems released in America, which I picked off a shelf in a bookstore in Upstate New York. As its title suggests, the collection explores the body as a conflicted site of desire and repulsion, mythology and... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-04-13 08:51:54 UTC ]
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Shelf Talkers is a new series at Lit Hub where booksellers from independent bookstores around the country share their favorite reads of the moment. Here are recommendations from the staff at The Bookshop, a store in East Nashville, Tennessee, founded in 2016. * Kyle Lucia Wu, Win Me Something... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-04-11 08:51:17 UTC ]
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I decided to become a volunteer at my local anarchistic bookstore during the pandemic. This is what it's like. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2022-04-08 10:35:00 UTC ]
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Barnes & Noble finally has a direct answer to Amazon's purchase of Audible. The bookseller has launched a B&N Audiobooks service in the US that lets you either buy recordings or pay $15 per month for a subscription that offers one recurring monthly credit. You'll have access to more than... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2022-04-07 16:21:47 UTC ]
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New Yorkers still tell stories of browsing at Harlem’s Liberation Bookstore or spending the afternoon at Scribner’s. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-04-01 09:03:09 UTC ]
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The five bookstore finalists and five sales rep finalists have been announced in PW's annual award program. Winners will be announced at PW's U.S. Book Show set for May 23-26. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-03-15 04:00:00 UTC ]
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