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 “A Bookshop in Berlin,” Françoise Frenkel describes a life devoted to French literature and her escape from the Nazis across occupied France. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2019-12-12 16:02:39 UTC ]
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The Bookseller is to create a Rising Stars-style listing of individual booksellers to coincide with the Booksellers Association Conference in September 2020. The Bookshop Heroes special, supported by the BA and sponsored by HarperCollins, will be published to coincide with the annual conference. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-11 22:52:50 UTC ]
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Cultural Cross Sections Alizah Holstein I stepped out of Keflavík airport at 4:30 a.m. Far off in the dimly lit parking lot was the bus to Reykjavík—parked, empty, still off-duty. Winds buffeted me from above, the cold air curling its way up my wrists and... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2019-12-03 17:31:19 UTC ]
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Send your friends, family, and favorite bookstore and library workers warm holiday greetings with these 20 literary holiday cards! Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-11-29 11:34:57 UTC ]
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San Diego's Mysterious Galaxy bookstore must find a new owner and a new location before its lease expires in less than 60 days. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-11-26 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Store owners from BXsellers, PW's bookstore Facebook group, are prepping special promotions for Black Friday and Small Business Saturday, focusing on loyalty discounts and gift card bonuses. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-11-26 05:00:00 UTC ]
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November is Picture Book Month, so these illustrated little gems are deservedly in the spotlight. In a recent blog post for Books Are Magic, novelist and bookstore owner Emma Straub curated a list of picture books. Among Straub’s picks for the best picture books of 2019 is a wonderful biography... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2019-11-25 12:00:00 UTC ]
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A new bookshop has been opened in Farnham, Surrey, as a “gift” to say thank you to the town. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-24 14:46:01 UTC ]
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Montclair Book Center is 9,000 square feet of nooks, alcoves, labyrinths and warrens. “It’s like a time machine,” one customer says. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2019-11-23 10:00:19 UTC ]
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Ian Williams, winner of this year’s $100,000 Scotiabank Giller Prize for his debut novel Reproduction, began his acceptance speech Monday night with an emotional tribute. “Margaret Atwood over there is the first book I bought with my own money at a bookstore in Brampton,” he told the audience.... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2019-11-19 20:30:03 UTC ]
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John Lewis' Christmas advert has come under fire as author and former bookseller Jen Campbell highlighted the similarities between the advert and her children’s book Franklin’s Flying Bookshop (Thames & Hudson). Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-18 10:24:18 UTC ]
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For this year's Love Your Bookstore Challenge, the staff at Brooklyn's Greenlight Bookstore share their colorful and varied must-read titles. The post Love Your Bookstore: Greenlight Bookstore appeared first on The Millions. Continue reading at The Millions
[ The Millions | 2019-11-13 11:00:58 UTC ]
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A bookshop that runs independently Meanwhile, Amazon keeps shittin’ on us endlessly Essentially, the rent keeps rising relentlessly Let the tourists come around, go on a spending spree Stop by, exchange ideas, sip some coffee There will be a cultural revolution in this city Enter me, the Drama... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2019-11-12 21:44:15 UTC ]
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Comedy group The Good Liars changed covers on the presidential son's book to "make it a little more honest." Continue reading at HuffPost
[ HuffPost | 2019-11-09 12:52:40 UTC ]
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Another Story Bookshop is focused on social justice and diversity, continuing the mission its founder established over 30 years ago. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2019-11-09 10:00:11 UTC ]
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Who doesn’t love an independent bookshop? Think of the Shop Around the Corner in You’ve Got Mail! Think of the Travel Book Co. in Notting Hill! Embryo Concepts in Funny Face! Black Books from the British sitcom of the same name! Think of the real brick-and-mortar bookshop in your own community.... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2019-11-08 19:34:19 UTC ]
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He may have created the biggest hit on Broadway, but the ‘Hamilton’ auteur still thinks small in a lot of ways, especially when it comes to business. Along with being the creator of a little show called Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda is also known for his enthusiastic social media... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2019-11-08 17:15:09 UTC ]
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Just a few days from the 2019 Love Your Bookstore Challenge, Brooklyn's Books Are Magic crew weigh in with staff picks and must-read titles. The post Love Your Bookstore: Books Are Magic appeared first on The Millions. Continue reading at The Millions
[ The Millions | 2019-11-06 11:00:45 UTC ]
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Book Reviews Alice-Catherine Carls My association with the work of Józef Wittlin started when Professor Anna Frajlich invited me to write a paper about Wittlin’s association with France for her 1996 Józef Wittlin conference at Columbia University. I... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2019-11-05 14:04:18 UTC ]
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Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine EvaristoSince studying Lara as a student, I have been a fan of Bernardine Evaristo’s work, and am delighted to see her win the Booker Prize this year. Girl, Woman, Other follows the lives of twelve black characters with different backgrounds and experiences, most... Continue reading at British Council global
[ British Council global | 2019-10-30 09:49:28 UTC ]
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