Lee Child on Amazon’s real-life bookshops – and why we should be worried

The world’s biggest online retailer wants to invade the high street. What’s in it for them?In December, Amazon US released its 2015 in-house all-format all-category bestseller list, and then the newspaper USA Today came out with its own industry-wide all-sources version. What was the difference? Two words: The Martian (good movie, but the book was better). It was a huge seller, number 4 on USA Today’s list, but nowhere on Amazon’s. There were other titles in the same anomalous situation. Why?Because, even now, for most books and most people most of the time, the biggest spur to purchase is actually seeing an actual book in a physical place. Because for most people most of the time, reading is a take-it-or-yawn-leave-it activity. Books are not quite distress purchases, but neither are they exciting enough for enthusiastic online hunting. (Again, for most people most of the time, which I’ll stop repeating now, but only if the e-fanboys agree to discuss the real world, not their pretend version. Deal?) Related: Seattle bookstores face new threat from Amazon: a brick-and-mortar location Related: Amazon begins a new chapter with opening of first physical bookstore Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2016-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]

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The Week in Libraries: October 6, 2023

Among the week's headlines: ALA executive director Tracie D. Hall resigns; how a new 'harmful to minors' rule is playing out in Missouri; and 'USA Today' reports on the website fueling book bans across the nation. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-10-06 04:00:00 UTC ]
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USA Today is bringing back its bestseller list—with some improvements.

As most people reading this website are aware, the literary media has been in steady decline for the last two decades. So in December 2022, when USA Today announced it was putting its bestseller list “on hiatus”—internet parlance for “dead and gone forever”—most of us saw it as one more nail in... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-06-28 14:05:30 UTC ]
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USA Today resumes its bestseller list for books after monthslong hiatus

USA Today’s weekly list of bestselling books returned Wednesday, ending a monthslong hiatus Continue reading at ABC News

[ ABC News | 2023-06-28 14:02:03 UTC ]
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Twitter is reportedly struggling to break even as advertisers continue to flee

Twitter’s ad business is reeling, with its daily revenue reportedly falling by 40 percent from a year ago. According to The Information, over 500 of the company’s top advertisers have paused spending on the platform since Elon Musk’s October takeover. Despite that, Twitter is still attracting... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-01-18 18:54:25 UTC ]
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'USA Today' Pauses Bestseller List, Lays Off Presiding Editor

A spokesperson told the Associated Press that the list will go on "hiatus for the remainder of the year.” Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-12-13 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Publisher of USA Today, other papers axes staff to cut costs

Newspaper publisher Gannett Co. confirmed Friday that it’s laying off some of its newsroom staff as part of a cost-cutting effort to lower its expenses as its revenue crumbles amid a downturn in ad sales and customer subscriptions Continue reading at ABC News

[ ABC News | 2022-08-12 21:45:49 UTC ]
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What it means to get the election wrong

Yesterday morning, the New York Times asked, in a headline, “Can Biden still win?” The story made clear that he could, but as FiveThirtyEight’s Nate Silver pointed out, the question seemed backward, since President Trump seemed to be facing the thinner path to victory. That the Times framed the... Continue reading at Columbia Journalism Review

[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2020-11-05 13:00:02 UTC ]
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Why the survival of bookshops must matter to us all

Bookshops have been a bellwether measure during this crisis.  The media hunger for information on the recovery of bookshops has been insatiable, and the outpouring of affection for bookshops as they re-open extremely moving.  Bookshops stand as emblems for the prospects for the high street as we... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-12 12:14:23 UTC ]
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Shrewsbury's Button & Bear children's bookshop to close

Children's bookshop Button & Bear in Shrewsbury is to close blaming the "fickle" high street and customer expectations on price. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-08 23:59:54 UTC ]
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Waterstones will emerge from crisis despite shopper caution, Daunt tells IPG

Shoppers will be cautious about returning to the high street but Waterstones will emerge from the coronavirus crisis and eventually have a wider range of shops, the firm's c.e.o. James Daunt has said. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-02 12:12:46 UTC ]
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Gannett Names Former We Company, Time Warner Executive as Chief Financial Officer

Gannett, the owner of USA TODAY and more than 260 other daily publications, appointed a new chief financial officer as Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2020-04-08 17:34:12 UTC ]
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Booksellers call for clarity from Johnson as coronavirus hits business

Booksellers have called for clarity from Boris Johnson’s government as measures to tackle the coronavirus outbreak hit the high street.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-17 08:20:02 UTC ]
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'It's time to pull together', BA urges trade to support high street bookselling

The Booksellers Association is calling on customers and the trade to rally behind retailers and support bookshops, as the coronavirus outbreak hits the high street.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-17 03:39:11 UTC ]
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Budget set to grant temporary business rates relief for high street

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is expected to announce temporary relief from business rates for high-street shops at his first Budget today. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-11 06:20:53 UTC ]
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Johnson to pledge to cut business rates in bid to revive high street

The government will announce cuts to business rates in the Queen’s Speech today (19th December) in a bid to revive the high street. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-19 04:26:38 UTC ]
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After Its Merger, Gannett Will Be the Largest Newspaper Publisher in the U.S.

Shareholders approved a deal to combine GateHouse Media, which has received SoftBank funding, with the publisher of USA Today. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2019-11-14 20:26:07 UTC ]
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USA Today is repackaging video to create streaming series

The legacy news publisher is closing in on 10 billion video views this year. And thanks to a focus on its owned and operated properties, plus a stable of OTT partnerships, less than half of those views will come from Facebook. The post USA Today is repackaging video to create streaming series... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2019-11-04 05:01:40 UTC ]
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Real Simple and Parents Get New EICs in Meredith Shakeup | People on the Move

[caption id="attachment_120384" align="alignright" width="150"] LIz Vaccariello[/caption] On Wednesday, Meredith Corp. announced several moves within its National Media Group, concurrent with the shuttering of 87 year-old Family Circle, which it had owned since 2005. "These promotions and... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2019-10-17 21:22:45 UTC ]
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Is USA Today’s Print Edition Headed for the Sunset as GateHouse and Gannett Merge? Signs Point to Yes.

After a nearly 40-year run, USA Today and its digital sites are about to undergo a major restructuring that will Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2019-10-17 17:15:40 UTC ]
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W H Smith's Pete Selby says lack of diversity means book industry is ‘failing’ children

Pete Selby, head of books for W H Smith, has called on the book industry to make the high street more diverse and inclusive for young readers, saying that diversity is going to become a "significant" part of WHS' strategy. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-09-22 19:12:13 UTC ]
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