How real books have trumped ebooks

The digital revolution was expected to kill traditional publishing. But print books are ever more beautifully designed and lovingly cherishedBooks have always had a fetishistic quality to them, with their dusty secretiveness. Now, though, it feels like we’re living through a special moment in the history of book design and beautiful books are everywhere.Take George Saunders’s Lincoln in the Bardo with its marmoreal endpapers or Peter Frankopan’s The Silk Roads, with its cover inspired by mosaic from the Imam mosque at Isfahan; Sarah Perry’s The Essex Serpent, its sumptuous jacket inspired by the tiles of William Morris; 4th Estate’s gorgeous repackaging of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s backlist, based on vibrant African headwrap patterns; the glimmering Penguin Hardcover Classics reissue of the works of F Scott Fitzgerald, or its clothbound editions of Austen, Brontë and Dickens. It’s hard to know whether to read these books or caress them.Everything is aimed at persuading people to pick things up, making bookshops a place where you discover beautiful things Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2017-05-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #sarah perry #essex serpent #4th estate

Other Publishing stories related to: 'How real books have trumped ebooks'


How the Chinese edition of my book about the periodic table got such a risqué cover.

I've been lucky enough to have my book published in a few countries now, and despite the universal subject matter—the periodic table—each country has had a different take on it. Some publishers merely tweaked the book: The British, for instance, re-imagined the cover. More drastically, the... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2011-08-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book published #periodic table #disappearing spoon


AUDIO: 'Ebooks could threaten writing'

Booker Prize winning author Graham Swift believes digital publishing could threaten the livelihood of authors in the future because they are being paid too little. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2011-08-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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E-book buyers expect discounts, but do buy more

Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Tue, 16/08/2011 - 09:15 UK ebook buyers are expecting heavier discounting on digital titles than their counterparts across the Atlantic, a new survey has found. The survey, undertaken in April by consultants Simon-Kucher and Partners among 250 book... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #digital titles


Book sales slump £1m in riot-riddled week

Written By: Philip Stone Publication Date: Tue, 16/08/2011 - 16:03 Spending on printed books slumped £1.1m last week, as the UK riots caused retailers to shut stores early and the public to avoid the high street. Although bookshops remained largely unscathed during the rioting, spending... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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SoA in royalties row with Beautiful Books

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Mon, 15/08/2011 - 10:07 The Society of Authors has advised members to seek its help before dealing with Beautiful Books, after the publisher was unable to pay money owned to an author since March. Beautiful Books m.d. Simon Petherick said it will... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #beautiful books #high level


Publishers "lax" on physical quality of books - Daunt

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Mon, 15/08/2011 - 15:49 Waterstone’s m.d. James Daunt has accused publishers of being “lax” in not paying enough attention to the physical quality of books while warning bricks and mortar bookshops will not survive unless they are good enough. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sainsbury's signs exclusive deal to sell Joan Collins book

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Mon, 15/08/2011 - 15:45 Sainsbury’s has signed an exclusive deal with independent publisher Constable & Robinson to sell Joan Collins’ new book. Publishing director at C&R Andreas Campomar said the company hoped to reach a wider audience for... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Brookes brokers romantic two-book deal

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 12/08/2011 - 10:54 Pan Macmillan has acquired two novels by Diane Allen, general manager of Magna Large Print books. Publishing director Wayne Brookes acquired UK and Commonwealth rights to For the Sake of Her Children and one other novel... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HarperCollins ebook sales 11% of revenue

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Thu, 11/08/2011 - 09:10 HarperCollins ebook sales now comprise 11% of its total revenue, the company has said following parent NewsCorp's latest results. As has now become customary, figures for HarperCollins were not stripped out. There was no... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple's Device Dominance Drives E-book Price-fixing Lawsuit

A class-action lawsuit accuses Apple of working with publishers to raise the cost of ebooks. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2011-08-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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British Library launches E-Book Treasures for iPad

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 11/08/2011 - 09:08 The British Library has launched its E-book Treasures series for the iPad, with ancient manuscripts now available for download on the Apple iBookstore. The first manuscripts to be available are Leonardo da Vinci's Codex... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Real Apple iPad Killer App? Reading

Steve Jobs was wrong. People love to read on the iPad. Let’s hope newspaper publishers don’t ruin it for everyone. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2011-08-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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WaPo Reorgs Book Reviews...Again

Marcus Brauchli, executive editor of the Washington Post, sent a memo to his staff announcing, among other changes, that the book reviewers will now be report to the editors of the their respective sections. Brauchli told PW that these moves will not affect the paper's coverage of books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-08-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Poet Laureate selects third Xmas poetry book

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Thu, 11/08/2011 - 09:00 Poet Laureate Carol-Ann Duffy is selecting the third volume of The Twelves Poems of Christmas, which is out this autumn. Duffy will also write the introduction to the titles, which is priced £4.95 and published in October... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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July retail growth "modest", amid poor book market

Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Tue, 09/08/2011 - 09:43 July retail sales saw a modest improvement, according to figures from the British Retail consortium, though book sales fell to their lowest level for seven years with food continuing to outperform non-food items. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book chains in talks with police to protect stores

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Tue, 09/08/2011 - 14:10 Waterstone's and WH Smith closed stores across riot-stricken areas in London as the violence appears set to continue into a fourth night. A Waterstone's spokesperson said it was closing stores early depending on police advice... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book chains


Gallic to open Belgravia Books next month

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 09/08/2011 - 13:45 An independent bookshop to be run by an indie publisher will host an interactive website and offer home delivery when it opens in London next month. Belgravia Books, launched by publisher Gallic Books, will first welcome... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Baltimore libraries will soon check out Nooks in addition to books

Pilot program to lend out electronic readers, pre-loaded with best-sellersThe City That Reads will soon be a leader in bringing new technology to library patrons — electronically. Two branches of the Enoch Pratt Free Library will begin lending 28 Nook e-readers preloaded with almost two dozen... Continue reading at Baltimore Sun

[ Baltimore Sun | 2011-08-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #pilot program #electronic readers


Media Cache: After Much Ado, a Google Book Deal in France

Could the Internet giant's deal with Hachette Livre clear a path for a deal to settle longstanding litigation in the United States? Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-08-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ross mulls “TV Kids Book Club”

Written By: Caroline Horn Publication Date: Fri, 05/08/2011 - 14:23 Publishers have welcomed the news that Amanda Ross, Cactus TV md, may launch a television programme dedicated to children’s books. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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