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 ]
On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Bloomsbury Academic's line of books about albums, 33 1/3, PW talked to the Publisher at Bloomsbury who oversees the series, Leah Babb-Rosenfeld, about the book line's origins, what makes it unique, and what the lasting mark of these books will be. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-11-15 05:00:00 UTC ]
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12 Books for Tolerance and Understanding (2023), by The Editors of WLT Lit Lists [email protected] Tue, 11/14/2023 - 14:07 For years, a prognostication by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe appeared on the masthead page of World Literature Today: “These... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2023-11-14 20:07:42 UTC ]
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In bookstores' L.A. heyday, shops were as ubiquitous as a certain coffee chain is today. But we're no slouches today, even if the internet removed many stores' physical presences. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-11-14 16:00:50 UTC ]
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I first heard of Willa Cather as a teenage bookseller in North Denver, at a new, used, rare, and antiquarian bookshop that had once been a mechanic’s garage. At the bookstore, there was an entire section of Cather’s famous works, which I had labeled meticulously with colored markers on scraps of... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-11-14 10:00:45 UTC ]
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Sarah Anderson, who founded the Travel Bookshop in London before becoming a writer and painter, discusses the value of quiet in 'The Lost Art of Silence' (Shambhala, Dec.). Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-11-01 05:00:00 UTC ]
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San Jose children's bookstore Hicklebee's has a new owner for the first time since its founding in 1979. As of midnight on October 31, sisters Monica Holmes and Valerie Lewis are handing the reins to Laura Gahrahmat, a newcomer to bookselling. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-10-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Get a backstage pass to the lives of Madonna, Tupac, and George Harrison in these biographies, which hit bookstore shelves this week. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-10-20 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The King's English Bookshop in Salt Lake City doubles down on supporting Drag Story Hours following a bomb threat, and is preparing to launch a new venture, Mosaics Community Bookstore and Venue. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-10-19 04:00:00 UTC ]
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This essay isn’t about World War II. But like any historical fiction writer publishing in 2023, it’s impossible to ignore the recent wave of WWII novels that fill bookstore shelves at the moment. As someone who reads and enjoys many of these books but has no desire to write one, I have a theory... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-10-17 08:45:05 UTC ]
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A Frankfurt-Paris Fellow, Karla Kutzner is the founder of Berlin's InterKontinental press with a bookstore and literature festival. The post Frankfurt Fellowships: Karla Kutzner, Germany’s InterKontinental appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2023-10-13 17:55:51 UTC ]
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These anthologies, which annually round up short works published during the prior year in a handful of genres and subject areas, hit bookstore shelves next week. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-10-13 04:00:00 UTC ]
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While so much has been asked about what the Bible says, Hebrew Bible scholar Jacob L. Wright explores ‘Why the Bible Began’ in his new book, arguing that the Good Book is much more than a moral code. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-10-11 04:00:00 UTC ]
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No Book Left Behind, by Alice-Catherine Carls Essay [email protected] Mon, 10/09/2023 - 15:35 Photo by Alexander Grey / UnsplashWelcome news to those of us in the “Flyover Zone”: our reading habits are healthy and well served. The Jackson Madison... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2023-10-09 20:35:50 UTC ]
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Lydia Davis’ new collection Our Strangers, is available now from Bookshop Editions, so we asked her a few questions about her writing, reading, and more. How do you tackle writer’s block? I don’t really have writer’s block anymore. When I first started out, I certainly did just sit there... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-10-02 09:00:46 UTC ]
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What if you went to the bookstore and saw no one on the shelves who looked like you? One couple is addressing that deficit for young Black children, supporting literacy and identity. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2023-09-29 13:58:26 UTC ]
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The Paris bookstore Chantelivre, owned by publisher L’École des Loisirs, has opened a 'House of Stories' where kids engage with narratives. The post Children’s Books Edition: L’École des Loisirs’ New ‘House of Stories’ appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2023-09-29 12:25:13 UTC ]
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The co-owner of San Francisco's Bookshop West Portal and founder of onetime Bay Area bookselling staple A Clean Well-Lighted Place for Books, died on September 6. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-09-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
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This month, TikTok's trends newsletter spotlighted a new book-related hashtag, #independentbookstore. We spoke with bookstore owners and staffers about the value the app has for booksellers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-09-15 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Opus & Olives, a gala fundraiser sponsored by the Friends of the St. Paul Public Library, is celebrating its 20th anniversary on October 8. The annual event is one of the most successful public library fundraisers in the U.S. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-09-14 04:00:00 UTC ]
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In-person bookstore author events have returned as the pandemic has eased, but publishers have still scaled back tours and are requiring longer lead times for booking, resulting in a different kind of thinking about bookstore programming. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-08-25 04:00:00 UTC ]
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