Latham, a bookseller for 35 years, has put together a heady mix of history, philosophy, anecdotes and entertaining factsWhat most people know about the American librarian Melvil Dewey is his phenomenal classification technique, the Dewey decimal system, which is still used in 135 countries. Less well known is how he liked to classify people, too. In a chapter entitled “Dubious Dewey”, Martin Latham describes how the great librarian created groups from A to D, banning all in the D group – Jews, African-Americans, Cubans and the “new rich” – from his Lake Placid resort. He was also a prolific groper of women. Latham speculates that Dewey’s hypocrisy, and his “obsessively domineering persona”, were what caused his lifelong constipation and piles.This is a book that is down on banning, rigidity, abuse of power and all kinds of snobbery, bookish and otherwise. It celebrates stories, scribbling in margins and the collecting, cherishing and even kissing of books – something done with surprising frequency, apparently. Latham, a bookseller for 35 years, currently runs Waterstones Canterbury, where he proudly filed the biggest petty cash claim in the chain’s history to pay for the excavation of a Roman bath house under its floor. But this is not one of those funny “anecdotes from a bookshop” books that have recently been popular – though anecdotes there are aplenty. It is rather a history and celebration of all things bookish, from Alexander the Great’s unusual habit of reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2020-12-19 09:00:45 UTC ]
White Nights, the author’s 1848 novella, sounds an unlikely candidate to go viral, but the story of lovelorn loneliness is now a favourite among TikTok and Instagram usersBeing popular on TikTok can make just about anything fly off the shelves, from beauty products to cucumbers, which became one... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-12-17 17:45:43 UTC ]
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The Bookseller has selected six books for their 46th annual Diagram Prize shortlist for The Oddest Book Title of the Year, a prize they’ve been awarding since 1978. (According to Sarah Lyall, the prize began “as a way for Bruce Robertson, co-founder of the Diagram Group, an information and... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-11-18 19:09:25 UTC ]
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Chefs, writers, editors and a bookseller gathered to debate — and decide — which titles have most changed the way we cook and eat. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2024-11-15 10:03:24 UTC ]
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Artificial intelligence makers have faced a mountain of criticism for borrowing from the work of others to train its models. Now the world’s largest publishing house is taking steps to ensure its authors don’t have their work plagiarized in the name of progress. The Bookseller reports that... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2024-10-18 21:04:36 UTC ]
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LeasesTD Bank expands with SL GreenAddress: 125 Park Ave., ManhattanLandlord: SL GreenTenant: TD BankLease size: 130,057 square feetLease length: 10 yearsAsset type: OfficeBrokers: CBRE's Robert Alexander, Ryan Alexander, Matthew Saker and Nicole Marshall represented the tenant. Newmark's Brian... Continue reading at Crains New York
[ Crains New York | 2024-10-07 17:24:22 UTC ]
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Booksellers gathered at the home of the Rose Bowl for the California Independent Booksellers Alliance’s Fall Fest 2024, which took place September 17–18. Of 177 bookseller members from across the Golden State, 83 were first-time attendees; 46 exhibitor organizations and 36 authors also came to... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-09-19 04:00:00 UTC ]
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A sweetly situated bookstore and its bookseller in France leads Richard Charkin to speculate on job titles in publishing. The post Richard Charkin in France: What’s in a Name? appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2024-08-30 19:45:11 UTC ]
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Leonard Riggio, a brash, self-styled underdog who transformed the publishing industry by building Barnes & Noble into the country’s most powerful bookseller but later saw his company overtaken by the rise of Amazon Continue reading at ABC News
[ ABC News | 2024-08-27 20:22:22 UTC ]
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The national bookseller is continuing its comeback this year, with the most openings in a single year since at least 2009. In a news environment filled with gloomy stories about the decline of brick-and-mortar retail, we’ll take the wins where we can get them. Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2024-08-16 20:13:57 UTC ]
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For some regional bookseller associations, joint trade shows are a winning formula. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-08-16 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Sourcebooks is expanding its reach into the indie bookseller sales channel by replacing commission reps with an in-house sales team. The Chicagoland-based publisher has poached Courtney Payne from Chronicle Books to lead the team as director of indie retail sales. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-07-23 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Over 500 industry professionals sign open letter to bookseller after employee’s post about ‘tearing up books’ by Christina DalcherMore than 500 authors and book industry professionals have signed an open letter calling on Waterstones to reverse a decision to dismiss an employee who said she... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-07-11 10:31:48 UTC ]
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Samuel Roth was the sort of bookseller whose wares came wrapped in brown paper. Titles like Gershon Legman’s The Sexual Conduct of Men and Women, Maxwell Bodenheim’s My Life and Loves in Greenwich Village, and most notoriously his anthologized periodical of high-brow smut, American Aphrodite: A... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-07-03 08:56:41 UTC ]
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The future of the Australian online bookseller has grown more uncertain with the appointment of a firm to undertake “an urgent assessment of Booktopia’s business.” Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-07-03 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Today's links include the continued rise in independent bookstores, a master bookseller on bookselling, and more. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-05-24 19:41:49 UTC ]
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In “Reading the Room,” Paul Yamazaki, the chief buyer for City Lights Booksellers, calls this “one of the richest and most rewarding times” to be a literature fan. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2024-05-23 09:00:58 UTC ]
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The management of Chicago's Seminary Co-op and and 57th Street Books has voluntarily recognized a union formed by bookseller employees of the member-owned cooperative. SCBU IU 660 is a branch of the Industrial Workers of the World. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-05-21 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The second day of Sharjah Bookseller Conference featured commentary on family-owned retail companies and technology. The post Sharjah’s Third Booksellers Conference: ‘Acumen and Dynamism’ appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2024-05-01 18:16:19 UTC ]
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Seminary Co-op booksellers and friends have held a number of conversations with legendary bookseller Paul Yamazaki throughout the past two years, in the intoxicating stacks of City Lights, perambulating the streets of San Francisco, and over whiskey tumblers deep into the night. With Paul we’ve... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-04-19 08:59:44 UTC ]
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