Via the Internet, the Guardian
in the U.K. reported on the "appearance" at the New York City bookstore
McNally-Robinson of Canadian Margaret Atwood, who from London signed
books with the LongPen "robotic arm," created by a company she founded
for the purpose.
By way of explanation, she told the Guardian, "You're talking to the person who was heading for Los Angeles when they had that earthquake, was heading for New York on the morning of 9/11, and set out to do a book tour in Japan when the SARS episode hit. I'm the person whose limousine broke down on the New York freeway, green stuff and smoke came out of it, and I hitched. I was actually rescued by the marines." Atwood also said she believes the invention will allow authors to "appear" in bookstores in towns authors on tour don't usually visit.
But like so many demonstrations of new technology, the inaugural use of the LongPen encountered a glitch, and the ink did not flow from London to New York.
---
Cool idea of the day: Book Soup, Los Angeles, Calif., has its own MySpace page. Check out the store's "personality," likes and dislikes and more at www.myspace.com/booksoup.
[Thanks to Jeff Yamaguchi, Web guru at HarperCollins and "blog guide" for Carl Lennertz!]
---
The Wild, which opened last October in Noblesville, Ind., is moving and expanding as of April 1, according to the Noblesville Ledger. Co-owner Jane Mills told that paper that in the "larger, more visible" location, the children's bookstore will have more space for author signings, special events, pre-school Spanish classes and specialty offerings.
---
Using the University of Wisconsin's College Library in Madison as an example, the Capital Times checks out trends in college libraries, particularly the removal of books to create more space for comfortable spaces where students study, read, work in groups, hang out and even sleep; the opening of cafes in libraries; and the proliferation of computers, both fixed terminals and laptops lent to students.
---
Not your developer's developer. The Seattle Times profiles the effort by Ron Sher, owner of Third Place Books, co-owner of Elliott Bay Book Co. and a major developer, to add apartments to the Crossroads mall in Bellevue.
---
Different kind of 'Crash.' On Friday, a car driven by a 75-year-old woman who mistook the gas pedal for the brake drove into the front window of Maxey's Discount Bookstore in Saginaw, Mich., according to the Saginaw News. This time the categories crushed were--of all things--health, self-help and religion. Luckily no one was injured.
---
Thriller reading. Boston Globe columnist Alex Beam notes that Harvard Business School professor John Deighton has updated his James Patterson case study and chronicles some of Patterson's unusual approaches to the business of writing and marketing his own titles.
---
Paul Haskins, who worked at Village Books, Bellingham, Wash., for 17 years and was a trade book buyer, has founded Adventures NW Publishing, which is publishing the first issue of Adventures NW, a free quarterly outdoor adventure magazine. Adventures NW aims to provide "individuals and families--nature-lovers, novice or elite racers, serious outdoor enthusiasts, and even armchair adventurers--with inspiration to get outside, be active, explore and have new and exciting experiences."
Free copies will be distributed in the region at outdoor retailers, libraries, parks departments, bookstores, restaurants, visitor centers, financial institutions, newsstands and coffeeshops. It's also available by paid subscription.
For more information, go to www.AdventuresNWmagazine.com.
By way of explanation, she told the Guardian, "You're talking to the person who was heading for Los Angeles when they had that earthquake, was heading for New York on the morning of 9/11, and set out to do a book tour in Japan when the SARS episode hit. I'm the person whose limousine broke down on the New York freeway, green stuff and smoke came out of it, and I hitched. I was actually rescued by the marines." Atwood also said she believes the invention will allow authors to "appear" in bookstores in towns authors on tour don't usually visit.
But like so many demonstrations of new technology, the inaugural use of the LongPen encountered a glitch, and the ink did not flow from London to New York.
---
Cool idea of the day: Book Soup, Los Angeles, Calif., has its own MySpace page. Check out the store's "personality," likes and dislikes and more at www.myspace.com/booksoup.
[Thanks to Jeff Yamaguchi, Web guru at HarperCollins and "blog guide" for Carl Lennertz!]
---
The Wild, which opened last October in Noblesville, Ind., is moving and expanding as of April 1, according to the Noblesville Ledger. Co-owner Jane Mills told that paper that in the "larger, more visible" location, the children's bookstore will have more space for author signings, special events, pre-school Spanish classes and specialty offerings.
---
Using the University of Wisconsin's College Library in Madison as an example, the Capital Times checks out trends in college libraries, particularly the removal of books to create more space for comfortable spaces where students study, read, work in groups, hang out and even sleep; the opening of cafes in libraries; and the proliferation of computers, both fixed terminals and laptops lent to students.
---
Not your developer's developer. The Seattle Times profiles the effort by Ron Sher, owner of Third Place Books, co-owner of Elliott Bay Book Co. and a major developer, to add apartments to the Crossroads mall in Bellevue.
---
Different kind of 'Crash.' On Friday, a car driven by a 75-year-old woman who mistook the gas pedal for the brake drove into the front window of Maxey's Discount Bookstore in Saginaw, Mich., according to the Saginaw News. This time the categories crushed were--of all things--health, self-help and religion. Luckily no one was injured.
---
Thriller reading. Boston Globe columnist Alex Beam notes that Harvard Business School professor John Deighton has updated his James Patterson case study and chronicles some of Patterson's unusual approaches to the business of writing and marketing his own titles.
---
Paul Haskins, who worked at Village Books, Bellingham, Wash., for 17 years and was a trade book buyer, has founded Adventures NW Publishing, which is publishing the first issue of Adventures NW, a free quarterly outdoor adventure magazine. Adventures NW aims to provide "individuals and families--nature-lovers, novice or elite racers, serious outdoor enthusiasts, and even armchair adventurers--with inspiration to get outside, be active, explore and have new and exciting experiences."
Free copies will be distributed in the region at outdoor retailers, libraries, parks departments, bookstores, restaurants, visitor centers, financial institutions, newsstands and coffeeshops. It's also available by paid subscription.
For more information, go to www.AdventuresNWmagazine.com.