Saving books from rising floodwaters became a labor of love, speed, and efficiency for bibliophiles last week. The Des Moines Register
reported that there was a "snaking line going up the steps of the Main
Library at the University of Iowa on the banks of the flooding Iowa
River. Hand over hand; all man's ideas were handed. Philosophy and
theatre, science and religion. Books rising from the basement to a
higher level."
Librarians had been moving manuscripts and theses
out of the basement all week, but they asked for help when it became
clear that the river was going to rise higher than anticipated
"All
of the sudden, 'whoosh' all these people showed up," said Nancy Baker,
university librarian. "This is where it shows up for people, library
books. They are very powerful for people. Many things can be replaced
but not some of these books."
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OutLoud Bookstore, Nashville, Tenn., has been put up for sale by co-owners Ted Jensen and Kevin Medley, according to Out & About.
"Kevin
and I are both having significant health problems now that are
preventing us from continuing to operate the store," Jensen said. "We
hope that we can find a person or group, such as a community co-op, who
could continue and grow what we have started."
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New York State has asked Overstock.com to combine its lawsuit with Amazon.com's, according to the Albany Business Review. Both companies are challenging New York's law requiring them to collect sales tax on purchases made to people in New York.
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The Wall Street Journal surveys the ups and downs of three recent books by entrepreneurs, two of which are familiar to booksellers who attended the last ABA Winter Institute: Stirring It Up by Gary Hirshberg, head of Stonyfield Farm, and Setting the Table by New York City restaurateur Danny Meyer. Both authors have taken to the lecture circuit and bolstered sales that way. Meyer's book is now in paperback with 90,000 copies in print after 14 printings. He said the title has helped raise the profile of his already well-known group of restaurants, setting the table for increased business.
Stirring It Up has 37,000 copies in print but Nielsen BookScan sales of only 4,000. Hirshberg said that he has sold at least 4,000 on tour. The book may benefit from a title change when the paperback is released next April: reflecting current trends, the book will be redubbed Green Your Business: How to Turn Conventional Wisdom on Its Head, Make Money, and Save the World.
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"Bookstores near great bodies of water" were polled by the Contra Costa Times
"to discover what the hottest books are for the hot weather." Among the
bookshops making beach read recommendations were Kona Stories,
Kainaliu, Hawaii; Laguna Beach Books, Laguna Beach, Calif.; Bookshop
Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, Calif.; Gallery Bookshop & Bookwinkle's
Children's Books, Mendocino, Calif.; Griffin Bay Bookstore, Friday
Harbor, Wash.; Maine Coast Bookshop and Café, Damariscotta, Maine;
Nantucket Bookworks, Nantucket, Mass.; and Books & Books, Miami
Beach, Fla.
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"A phenomenon of daytime telly has killed the literary snob. And about time, too," suggested the Times
in an article about the Richard & Judy Book Club's new summer
reading list and the dynamic book duo's impact upon U.K. readers and
publishers.
The R&J Book Club "accounts for 26% of the
sales of the top 100 books in the U.K., and Amanda Ross, the club's
creator and book selector, is the most powerful player in British
publishing," the Times wrote.
Concerning literary
versus commercial fiction, Ross said, "I don't know what 'literary'
means. I got really slagged off for that. But you shouldn't be made to
feel you have to be a certain type of person, with a certain level of
education, to read a certain type of book. We have inspired people to
read different kinds of books, and the sole criterion is that they are
enjoyable.”
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The only known copy of the first phone book and Copernicus' On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres (printed in 1543) are among the 300-plus books to be auctioned Tuesday by Christie's in New York, according to the Associated Press. The Copernicus volume is expected to fetch the highest price, between $900,000 and $1.2 million.
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What
would William Boyd read in Los Angeles? Julian Barnes in Sicily? Dave
Eggers in Chicago? David Mitchell in Japan? Caryl Phillips in the
Caribbean? These and other authors recommend "perfect literary
travelling companions" for your summer holiday in the Guardian.
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Once you have a book, a chair and a light, you're ready to attempt an exercise that may seem increasingly archaic to some. But Variety
offered help for 21st century neophytes with an instruction manual,
"How to Read a Book," by Twentieth Century Fox acquisitions executive
Tony Safford.
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Captain Kirk engages warp drive. The Dallas Morning News expressed awe at Up Till Now
author William Shatner's ability to sign "an astounding 260 books in 25
minutes, leaving the assembled publicists slack-jawed" at BookExpo in
Los Angeles.
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Tired of just reading them? The Fort Wayne News-Sentinel offered "ways to display and decorate with books," including:
- Books as wallpaper: Invest in a large number of leather-bound books in the same shade to create a wall of color.
- A spot of color: Have a monotone room? Pick out a few books in a striking color to add dimension.
- Books as furniture: Use a book, or a stack of books, to create end tables, coffee tables and pedestals.
- Augment with books: Try hanging books over the rungs of a ladder, or lining the edges of a room with books.
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And even more book design ideas were offered by the Associated Press (via the Indianapolis Star's
Home & Garden section). Under the headline "Turn a page in design
to reorganize your books," booklovers were cautioned that "reading
books can be an unrivaled pleasure. Staring at them in piles around
your home, not so much."
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Sometime next spring, Barnes & Noble plans to open a store in Mishawaka, Ind., in the University Park Mall at 6501 North Grape Road. The day before the new store opens, B&N will close its current store at 4601 Grape Road. Mishawaka is near South Bend.
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Ingram Publisher Services is now distributing the following publihsers to the trade:
- VanitaBooks, which publishes books for children ages 4-8 that are short tales teaching a moral or value. Each book presents a dilemma or fear that a child may have and resolves those issues through the guidance of a parent or the plot of the story itself. VanitaBooks donates profits to charities where "people help people help themselves."
- The Museum of Jewish Heritage--A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, in Lower Manhattan in New York City, tells the story of 20th century Jewish life through first-person narrative. It is called a living memorial because it honors the memory of those who perished in the Holocaust and celebrates the legacy of survivors, using their stories to teach others. Their books are supplemental volumes to exhibitions, expanding on the stories of those who experienced this history for themselves.
- Arnica Publishing, Portland, Ore. Family-owned, Arnica aims to make "a positive difference in the world through publishing books of fine quality."