Books

“Well, this theory that I have — that is to say, which is mine — …is mine.”

Books, Comics, IT is not magic pixie dust, Life under Capitalism
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I absolutely, totally, fail to see the point of the e-reader, except as a way of making yet more money from the consumer by introducing more hardware and more formats (not to mention more intrusive control by the publisher over what is ostensibly the consumer’s property).

Seems to me, sitting here looking at my little netbook, that if I could unclip the LCD screen a la Snap on Tools, and if it were fitted with scroll buttons and a wifi transmitter, well, then I’d have a perfectly good built in e-reader.

After all an e-reader is a tablet pc in all but name, isn’t it? So why has no major manufacturer done it yet? Oh duh, I answered my own question already. Money.

Still, I think it’s a good idea and if indeed no-one’s yet come up with the same idea , it’s MINE.

I Hate Myself For Finding This Hilarious

Books, Funny
Published on 1 Comment on I Hate Myself For Finding This Hilarious

It was an unfortunate mistake. I shouldn’t laugh. No really, I shouldn’t. From the Evening Standard:

WHSmith sorry for Josef Fritzl Father’s Day promotion
Amar Singh

19.06.09

High street chain WH Smith apologised today after promoting a book on cellar rapist Josef Fritzl as a Father’s Day gift.

Shoppers at the Lewisham branch were shocked to see a non-fiction book on the Austrian, who kept his daughter captive for 24 years, in a “Top 50 Books for Dad” display.

Full story

Recession blues: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt stops buying books

Books, Economy
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Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, one of the larger American publishers, especially of educational titles announced yesterday it would “temporarily” stop buying books:

Josef Blumenfeld, v-p of communications for HMH, confirmed that the publisher has “temporarily stopped acquiring manuscripts” across its trade and reference divisions. The directive was given verbally to a handful of executives and, according to Blumenfeld, is “not a permanent change.” Blumenfeld, who hedged on when the ban might be lifted, said that the right project could still go to the editorial review board. He also maintained that the the decision is less about taking drastic measures than conducting good business.

“In this case, it’s a symbol of doing things smarter; it’s not an indicator of the end of literature,” he said. “We have turned off the spigot, but we have a very robust pipeline.” The action by the highly leveraged HMH may also be as much about the company’s need to cut costs in a tight credit market.as about the current economic slowdown.