Good day bookies! Stand by for news and comment.
Winter has made a brief comeback in West Tennessee, with cold temps and wetness galore. Here's hoping sanity (and warmth) prevail soon.
*** This just in: one Congressman has brains enough to try and amend the idiocy of the law banning children's books because of their lead content. Please let your Congressperson know if you agree that Congress should at least attempt to show some brains once in a while and amend this law. If you feel strongly, though, you should not email them; most will ignore it. One bookseller thought his Rep., Barney Frank, would be appalled by this, but it seems they discovered he is all in for this nonsense. Such representatives need to know if their constituents want this law amended to show at least a modicum of common sense.
One Congressman, at least, gets it
And a further explanation
*** Sadly, John Hope Franklin has died at age 94. For those who don't know, Franklin was a famed black historian who more or less was the Civil Rights Movement. I met him at the Southern Festival of Books here in Memphis in 2006, when the mayor did not bother to even notice that he was in town, and his indifference helped Memphis lose the festival back to Nashville. Franklin was frail but kindly, signed anything anyone put in front of him, including my posters. A good man, I'm sorry he's gone.
*** Being an Anthony Bourdain fan I found this short interview entertaining, if a bit tame. It's like he's become the Lou Reed of Food TV, edgy but not over the edge, whereas he used to be Iggy Pop. But they are both great in their own way, as so is Bourdain.
Or maybe I have fond memories of the early internet days, when he was a regular poster on the Old AOL 'Hardboiled' board, during the time when Gone Bamboo was fresh on the stands. Those were certainly good times for your friendly neighborhood bookseller.
Tony Bourdain lays it out
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Not this year
Good day bookies! Stand by for news and comment.
This past weekend was MidSouthCon, the now fairly large annual SFF convention here in the Memphis area. I have attended almost every year that I can remember. But not this year.
It's not the economy, either. As many of you know, (actually, you should all know, since I've said it often enough) I have been selling off large chunks of my personal book collection for the past year. The reasons for this are partly political and reflect my views on what I expect to happen in the next few years, but largely because I was running out of space. You reach a point, I think, where too much stuff becomes a burden.
Anyway, this year I skipped MidSouthCon because there just wasn't anyone there I was anxious to meet enough to make a long drive during the NCAA tourney. Also, the last few years the line for signings of the more popular authors and illustrators have been so long that the convention placed a limit on the number of items you could get signed. I understand the need, of course, but it still leaves a sour taste when you spend (as I did) 9 hours on a sunny Saturday in March waiting for Terry Pratchett to sign your books, only to come away with one signature.
So, I didn't go. And, truth to tell, I'm feeling guilty. So today's blog is cathartic. I feel like such a bad person.
This past weekend was MidSouthCon, the now fairly large annual SFF convention here in the Memphis area. I have attended almost every year that I can remember. But not this year.
It's not the economy, either. As many of you know, (actually, you should all know, since I've said it often enough) I have been selling off large chunks of my personal book collection for the past year. The reasons for this are partly political and reflect my views on what I expect to happen in the next few years, but largely because I was running out of space. You reach a point, I think, where too much stuff becomes a burden.
Anyway, this year I skipped MidSouthCon because there just wasn't anyone there I was anxious to meet enough to make a long drive during the NCAA tourney. Also, the last few years the line for signings of the more popular authors and illustrators have been so long that the convention placed a limit on the number of items you could get signed. I understand the need, of course, but it still leaves a sour taste when you spend (as I did) 9 hours on a sunny Saturday in March waiting for Terry Pratchett to sign your books, only to come away with one signature.
So, I didn't go. And, truth to tell, I'm feeling guilty. So today's blog is cathartic. I feel like such a bad person.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Long time gone
Good day bookies! Stand by for news and comment.
First of all, I know it's been a while since the last entry. Apologies, but all of those pesky realities of life are still leeching away at my time. I'm dancing as fast as I can!
*** Government, again. We seem to be entering an era where governments of all kinds feel it their inherent duty to throw as many obstacles as possible into the life of those who make a living through ecommerce. First the lunacy of the ink-in-lead issue, which appears to have gone sadly un-protested by the sheeple, and now the state government of Kentucky. That's right, a new law in Kentucky may force those trying to sell a used microwave on Craigslist to buy some groceries to have an auctioneers' license.
We've seen this sort of thing before, by the way. Usually the bots in the legislature in question have the good sense not to knuckle under to the auctioneer lobby and vote for something that would likely get them booted out of office. But not always. The requisites for holding public office these days seems to be that you A) always vote to expand government power to encroach on people's lives, and B) be too stupid to know or care about how your actions affect your constituents. Of course, those in favor of this bill say it would have no effect on online activities. And, if you choose to believe them, that's your business. But given the track record of government actions on small business people, I wouldn't bet my livelihood on them being right, and that's exactly what you would be doing.
So, all you Kentucky Bonanzlers and Ebayers, got a spare thou for that auctioneer's license laying around?
Kentucky wants blood
*** Had I been around during WW2 and destined to fight, I think the most frightening job would have been as a merchant mariner. Swabbing the deck on a tramp freighter might not seem like something dangerous, boring, maybe, but not dangerous, but it was. Lurking out there were submarines waiting to sink you. Ships in the Pacific weren't in so much danger. Japanese official policy was for submarines to seek out US warships, not attack the US supply lines. Few allied ships were sunk by Japanese submarines.
German U-Boats, however, were a different story. If your ship went down in the Atlantic you might have a long wait until rescue. Even as part of a convoy, torpedoed ships could not be guarded, they had to be left behind at the mercy of the submarines. Sometimes, the U-Boat captain would give them food and coordinates, sometimes the sub would machine gun the survivors, but mostly they would just sail off and leave them to the mercy of the Atlantic.
A new book Merchant Mariners at War: An Oral History of World War II by George Billy, gives the men who manned these most vital ships a chance to tell their story.
All hail the Merchant Marine
*** Ebay. Seriously, I don't think I could make this up if I tried. After a year of John Donohoe's inane 'disuptive innovation', of screwing up anything and everything that was ever good about the site, of alienating and insulting every honest seller the site ever had, ebay has decided that it's future market is to be...the ebay of old. That's right, abandoning their quest to become an Amazon clone, ebay has decided that it needs to be ebay.
I'm not kidding.
A year ago their stock was around $34. Today, it's around $12, and flirted with $10 for a few days. It might do so again. And for this the moron heading the company is being paid millions and millions. Which just goes to show that it's not what you know, it's not who you know, it's not even whether you are competent or not. No. It goes to show that PT Barnum was right, there's a sucker born every minute, and some of them comprise the ebay board of directors who hired this clown.
ebay: everything bad is good again
*** There was a time when books were special. You just didn't see them every day, they were expensive objects of art, cherished and handed down as heirlooms. And some few of the most special eventually wind up in museums, where they may be enjoyed by any and all.
A grand home for a rare treasure
*** In the never ending pantheon of books concerning the Nazis and World War II comes yet another in the newest sub-genre, which I have dubbed 'German Angst.' Nuremberg was and is not one of Germany's biggest cities, but where the Nazis are concerned it may be the most recognizable. So how, after the war, did those Nurembergers deal with the sudden juxtaposition of their status, from favored city of the Nazis to outcast by the Allies? A new books seeks to explain that very question. Haunted City: Nuremberg and the Nazi Past by Neil Gregory Yale does a seemingly fine job of looking at how a people and a city dealt with a history that befriended and gave succor to evil.
Nuremberg and the Nazis
First of all, I know it's been a while since the last entry. Apologies, but all of those pesky realities of life are still leeching away at my time. I'm dancing as fast as I can!
*** Government, again. We seem to be entering an era where governments of all kinds feel it their inherent duty to throw as many obstacles as possible into the life of those who make a living through ecommerce. First the lunacy of the ink-in-lead issue, which appears to have gone sadly un-protested by the sheeple, and now the state government of Kentucky. That's right, a new law in Kentucky may force those trying to sell a used microwave on Craigslist to buy some groceries to have an auctioneers' license.
We've seen this sort of thing before, by the way. Usually the bots in the legislature in question have the good sense not to knuckle under to the auctioneer lobby and vote for something that would likely get them booted out of office. But not always. The requisites for holding public office these days seems to be that you A) always vote to expand government power to encroach on people's lives, and B) be too stupid to know or care about how your actions affect your constituents. Of course, those in favor of this bill say it would have no effect on online activities. And, if you choose to believe them, that's your business. But given the track record of government actions on small business people, I wouldn't bet my livelihood on them being right, and that's exactly what you would be doing.
So, all you Kentucky Bonanzlers and Ebayers, got a spare thou for that auctioneer's license laying around?
Kentucky wants blood
*** Had I been around during WW2 and destined to fight, I think the most frightening job would have been as a merchant mariner. Swabbing the deck on a tramp freighter might not seem like something dangerous, boring, maybe, but not dangerous, but it was. Lurking out there were submarines waiting to sink you. Ships in the Pacific weren't in so much danger. Japanese official policy was for submarines to seek out US warships, not attack the US supply lines. Few allied ships were sunk by Japanese submarines.
German U-Boats, however, were a different story. If your ship went down in the Atlantic you might have a long wait until rescue. Even as part of a convoy, torpedoed ships could not be guarded, they had to be left behind at the mercy of the submarines. Sometimes, the U-Boat captain would give them food and coordinates, sometimes the sub would machine gun the survivors, but mostly they would just sail off and leave them to the mercy of the Atlantic.
A new book Merchant Mariners at War: An Oral History of World War II by George Billy, gives the men who manned these most vital ships a chance to tell their story.
All hail the Merchant Marine
*** Ebay. Seriously, I don't think I could make this up if I tried. After a year of John Donohoe's inane 'disuptive innovation', of screwing up anything and everything that was ever good about the site, of alienating and insulting every honest seller the site ever had, ebay has decided that it's future market is to be...the ebay of old. That's right, abandoning their quest to become an Amazon clone, ebay has decided that it needs to be ebay.
I'm not kidding.
A year ago their stock was around $34. Today, it's around $12, and flirted with $10 for a few days. It might do so again. And for this the moron heading the company is being paid millions and millions. Which just goes to show that it's not what you know, it's not who you know, it's not even whether you are competent or not. No. It goes to show that PT Barnum was right, there's a sucker born every minute, and some of them comprise the ebay board of directors who hired this clown.
ebay: everything bad is good again
*** There was a time when books were special. You just didn't see them every day, they were expensive objects of art, cherished and handed down as heirlooms. And some few of the most special eventually wind up in museums, where they may be enjoyed by any and all.
A grand home for a rare treasure
*** In the never ending pantheon of books concerning the Nazis and World War II comes yet another in the newest sub-genre, which I have dubbed 'German Angst.' Nuremberg was and is not one of Germany's biggest cities, but where the Nazis are concerned it may be the most recognizable. So how, after the war, did those Nurembergers deal with the sudden juxtaposition of their status, from favored city of the Nazis to outcast by the Allies? A new books seeks to explain that very question. Haunted City: Nuremberg and the Nazi Past by Neil Gregory Yale does a seemingly fine job of looking at how a people and a city dealt with a history that befriended and gave succor to evil.
Nuremberg and the Nazis
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Short takes
Good morning bookies! Stand by for news and comment.
*** Birthdays today include Barbara Feldon who is 76. Who could forget Agent 99 from TV's 'Get Smart?' Writer Cal Hiaasen is 56. If you haven't read his first four books you are missing out on classic Florida crime caper books, they are fabulous. After that his work becomes bitter and spotty.
*** In 1938 Germany invaded and annexed Austria in the Anschluss. This event was a major pre-requisite for World War II. For those not aware, Austria was divided between those who wanted to remain an independent nation, a remnant of the once-great Austro-Hungarian Empire, and those who felt that Austria was and should be part of Germany. Hitler, being Austrian, had worked for years to subvert the Austrian government and incorporate his native land into the German Reich. This came to a head in 1938 when German troops marched into Austria. No one knew if the Austrian Army would fight or welcome the Germans. As it turned out, they welcomed them with open arms, which was smart since they would have lost a war anyway.
*** A shout-out thank you to Bobbi for the description of what John Donohoe has done to ebay. You probably know that he calls it disruptive innovation. The concept, which is such a scam that it's breath-taking, is to screw everything up, change things and see what works. Sort of a Calvin & Hobbes approach to business which Bobbi has dubbed 'deceptive innovation.' Ha! Well done.
*** Birthdays today include Barbara Feldon who is 76. Who could forget Agent 99 from TV's 'Get Smart?' Writer Cal Hiaasen is 56. If you haven't read his first four books you are missing out on classic Florida crime caper books, they are fabulous. After that his work becomes bitter and spotty.
*** In 1938 Germany invaded and annexed Austria in the Anschluss. This event was a major pre-requisite for World War II. For those not aware, Austria was divided between those who wanted to remain an independent nation, a remnant of the once-great Austro-Hungarian Empire, and those who felt that Austria was and should be part of Germany. Hitler, being Austrian, had worked for years to subvert the Austrian government and incorporate his native land into the German Reich. This came to a head in 1938 when German troops marched into Austria. No one knew if the Austrian Army would fight or welcome the Germans. As it turned out, they welcomed them with open arms, which was smart since they would have lost a war anyway.
*** A shout-out thank you to Bobbi for the description of what John Donohoe has done to ebay. You probably know that he calls it disruptive innovation. The concept, which is such a scam that it's breath-taking, is to screw everything up, change things and see what works. Sort of a Calvin & Hobbes approach to business which Bobbi has dubbed 'deceptive innovation.' Ha! Well done.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Rage Against the Machine
Good morning bookies. Your friendly neighborhood bookseller is irritated today.
See, he thought that, while the whole issue of destroying kids books because of some illusory and ridiculous worry about lead in their ink was a huge waste of time, he also thought that, eventually, common sense would win out, the books would be declared treasures instead of dangers and we could all go back to read our original copies of The Bobbsey Twins.
Foolish bookseller. This is the government we're talking about. Since when does common sense come into play with the government.
What we now have is completely codified nonsense. If you wish to read through the government legalese at this link, be my guest. http://www.cpsc.gov/businfo/frnotices/fr09/determination.pdf In essence, what it says is that the commission might like to grant exemptions to the idiocy of the CPSIA, but that the law is so worded that it cannot be done. Therefore, all of those delightful kiddie books you owned growning up are CONTRABAND. That's right, ditch 'em. No, wait, don't ditch them, then the evil lead that might be in their ink will leech into the ground water. Burn them instead, maybe pretend you're a Nazi. Wear black, hold a comb under your nose and pretend to be Hitler; the issue is identical, burning books because they may cause harm, one for their ideas, the other because someone wrote legislation and brought into play the Law of Unintended Consequences. So, burn away and have fun!
Hold on! Don't do that either. Then you're putting all of that lead into the air. So what are you supposed to do with them?
Who knows? The government doesn't solve your problems for you, it simply lets you know what is and what is not a problem, how you solve it is your business. Just make sure it's okay with them, even if they cannot tell you what is and isn't okay. But whatever you do, don't let a kid anywhere near those kid books. After all, if there could possibly be any lead in their ink, just imagine what sort of horrible message they might contain.
And just so you know, it appears that passing those beloved books on as heirlooms is also illegal.
Aren't bureaucrats cute? You do have to wonder, though, as all of those precious books are being destroyed, whether or not just a few of those who voted for this horror aren't silently delighted that such subversive drivel as Beatrix Potter is being obliterated. Smiling at the thought. Maybe with a black comb held under their nose.
See, he thought that, while the whole issue of destroying kids books because of some illusory and ridiculous worry about lead in their ink was a huge waste of time, he also thought that, eventually, common sense would win out, the books would be declared treasures instead of dangers and we could all go back to read our original copies of The Bobbsey Twins.
Foolish bookseller. This is the government we're talking about. Since when does common sense come into play with the government.
What we now have is completely codified nonsense. If you wish to read through the government legalese at this link, be my guest. http://www.cpsc.gov/businfo/frnotices/fr09/determination.pdf In essence, what it says is that the commission might like to grant exemptions to the idiocy of the CPSIA, but that the law is so worded that it cannot be done. Therefore, all of those delightful kiddie books you owned growning up are CONTRABAND. That's right, ditch 'em. No, wait, don't ditch them, then the evil lead that might be in their ink will leech into the ground water. Burn them instead, maybe pretend you're a Nazi. Wear black, hold a comb under your nose and pretend to be Hitler; the issue is identical, burning books because they may cause harm, one for their ideas, the other because someone wrote legislation and brought into play the Law of Unintended Consequences. So, burn away and have fun!
Hold on! Don't do that either. Then you're putting all of that lead into the air. So what are you supposed to do with them?
Who knows? The government doesn't solve your problems for you, it simply lets you know what is and what is not a problem, how you solve it is your business. Just make sure it's okay with them, even if they cannot tell you what is and isn't okay. But whatever you do, don't let a kid anywhere near those kid books. After all, if there could possibly be any lead in their ink, just imagine what sort of horrible message they might contain.
And just so you know, it appears that passing those beloved books on as heirlooms is also illegal.
Aren't bureaucrats cute? You do have to wonder, though, as all of those precious books are being destroyed, whether or not just a few of those who voted for this horror aren't silently delighted that such subversive drivel as Beatrix Potter is being obliterated. Smiling at the thought. Maybe with a black comb held under their nose.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Short note for a Monday
Good Monday morning bookies!
This is more of a quick note than a blog entry. Yesterday this blog set a new record both for page views and visitors. Yea! And thanks. If you want to subscribe, I won't stop you. I'm not sure, but I think the number of subscribers bumps you up Google's blog list somehow. Anyway, this blog is where I post these days, mostly, excepting a certain sports forum, and it's nice to know that someone, somewhere, sees some value in something you wrote.
I used to post on a lot of different message boards and forums. Most of those have either dried up and blown away, or have changed somehow. My longest-time board I quit late last year when one of the participants knowingly posted a political message they knew would anger me. I had said repeatedly that if it happened again I was gone; it did, I am. Which is why I do not want this blog to be political, unless the government does something which directly affects the publishing industry, such as the latest idiocy with the kid's books. Nothing is more divisive than politics. Nothing. Not even religion.
This is more of a quick note than a blog entry. Yesterday this blog set a new record both for page views and visitors. Yea! And thanks. If you want to subscribe, I won't stop you. I'm not sure, but I think the number of subscribers bumps you up Google's blog list somehow. Anyway, this blog is where I post these days, mostly, excepting a certain sports forum, and it's nice to know that someone, somewhere, sees some value in something you wrote.
I used to post on a lot of different message boards and forums. Most of those have either dried up and blown away, or have changed somehow. My longest-time board I quit late last year when one of the participants knowingly posted a political message they knew would anger me. I had said repeatedly that if it happened again I was gone; it did, I am. Which is why I do not want this blog to be political, unless the government does something which directly affects the publishing industry, such as the latest idiocy with the kid's books. Nothing is more divisive than politics. Nothing. Not even religion.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Sundays morsels
Good morning bookies! Stand by for news and comment.
*** Crime writer Barbara Parker died yesterday, aged 62. I never had the pleasure of meeting her, but from everything other writers have said about her, that's my loss. I'm always sad when I learn of such events, I know she was beloved by writers that I knew and respect and they are feeling the loss today. What a shame. 62 is too damned young. The obit was written by Oline Cogdill, well known crime reviewer, who probably knew her as well as any newspaper columnist.
Barbara Parker RIP
*** Ha! I love a good Top Ten list, and this one's better than most. What are the Top Ten books people lie about reading? What a great idea. What's weird is that I actually have read 3 of the books on the list. I've read Orwell's 1984 (and I'm living it right now), Hawkings' A Brief History of Time (technically, I listened to this on unabridged audio, but I think that counts) and The Bible. I have also more or less read War and Peace, although I'm not 100% sure I've read it completely through.
Top Ten books you probably haven't read, but say you have
*** I note with regret that I once more missed the Dublin Book Festival this weekend. Great city with some great bookstores.
*** Let's file this under the category of: Building Inspectors Are A Good Idea. The Historical Archive of Cologne, Germany, collapsed last Tuesday, burying 1,000 years of priceless historical documents under tons of rubble, probably killing two people and leaving archivists wondering if anything can be salvaged.
So how does a building like this just collapse without notice? Or, were there warnings that were ignored? Does Germany have building inspectors? Considering how over-regulated Europe is these days one assumes that Germany has lots and lots of building inspectors. It boggles, it really does.
So much for the history
*** Crime writer Barbara Parker died yesterday, aged 62. I never had the pleasure of meeting her, but from everything other writers have said about her, that's my loss. I'm always sad when I learn of such events, I know she was beloved by writers that I knew and respect and they are feeling the loss today. What a shame. 62 is too damned young. The obit was written by Oline Cogdill, well known crime reviewer, who probably knew her as well as any newspaper columnist.
Barbara Parker RIP
*** Ha! I love a good Top Ten list, and this one's better than most. What are the Top Ten books people lie about reading? What a great idea. What's weird is that I actually have read 3 of the books on the list. I've read Orwell's 1984 (and I'm living it right now), Hawkings' A Brief History of Time (technically, I listened to this on unabridged audio, but I think that counts) and The Bible. I have also more or less read War and Peace, although I'm not 100% sure I've read it completely through.
Top Ten books you probably haven't read, but say you have
*** I note with regret that I once more missed the Dublin Book Festival this weekend. Great city with some great bookstores.
*** Let's file this under the category of: Building Inspectors Are A Good Idea. The Historical Archive of Cologne, Germany, collapsed last Tuesday, burying 1,000 years of priceless historical documents under tons of rubble, probably killing two people and leaving archivists wondering if anything can be salvaged.
So how does a building like this just collapse without notice? Or, were there warnings that were ignored? Does Germany have building inspectors? Considering how over-regulated Europe is these days one assumes that Germany has lots and lots of building inspectors. It boggles, it really does.
So much for the history
Saturday, March 7, 2009
A short take
Good day bookies! Stand by for news and comment.
The issue of ILAM is posted and, since you cannot possibly read a crime novel without first consulting the brilliant reviewers there, me included, I strongly suggest you skedaddle over there right now and get to reading.
*** So, the lunacy of the government's war on plot to kill off our kids using the uber-dangerous children's books printed before 1985 shows no sign of letting up. Isn't it nice to know these dolts are on the job, making sure that your copy of Bambi doesn't rear up and shove it down some toddlers throat? Of course, the fear of choking isn't what motivates them, no, it's the well known and totally undocumented danger of the lead in the ink (that might or might not be there) that drives these champions of stupidity forward. A pox on all of them.
If you're wondering what the hub-bub is about, here's one pretty clear and objective article I found dealing with this. There's plenty of others out there, this was one of the least hysterical.
Government morons protecting kids from non-dangers
The issue of ILAM is posted and, since you cannot possibly read a crime novel without first consulting the brilliant reviewers there, me included, I strongly suggest you skedaddle over there right now and get to reading.
*** So, the lunacy of the government's war on plot to kill off our kids using the uber-dangerous children's books printed before 1985 shows no sign of letting up. Isn't it nice to know these dolts are on the job, making sure that your copy of Bambi doesn't rear up and shove it down some toddlers throat? Of course, the fear of choking isn't what motivates them, no, it's the well known and totally undocumented danger of the lead in the ink (that might or might not be there) that drives these champions of stupidity forward. A pox on all of them.
If you're wondering what the hub-bub is about, here's one pretty clear and objective article I found dealing with this. There's plenty of others out there, this was one of the least hysterical.
Government morons protecting kids from non-dangers
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Scammers, scanners and other unsavory characters
Good morning bookies!
So today a fellow writes to return a book I sent him. He asked previously whether or not the book had a remainder mark, I checked and it did not, I informed him, he bought it. In an email today he claimed that it did. I told him to keep it and sent him his money.
See, this is an old scam. Maybe I should not tell you about it, but I will anyway. In such a case the customer has a book they don't want. They then order a superior copy of that same book, claim it's not as represented and return it. Only they return the copy they already had, not the one they bought. And that's why I didn't want whatever copy this customer already had. Who knows where it's been, I don't want it around. Better to lose a few dollars, and that's all we're talking about here, a few dollars, than deal with such people or handle such books. What motivates someone to go to this much trouble for such an inexpensive item is beyond me, but it almost has to be a compulsion, as there is no real monetary gain involved.
As for the scanners, a better title would be Attack of the Scanner People. You know who they are, I'm sure. If you go to a library sale, or even sometimes an estate sale or a thrift store, they are the 'booksellers' holding a small electronic device that scans the bar codes of books and tells these 'dealers' whether the book has value or not.
Let's first be clear about this: these people don't give a whit about the books. They could just as easily be selling breakfast cereal, corrugated boxes or organic compost. It doesn't matter to them. They don't know anything about books and they don't want to know anything about books. All they want to know is whether a given paperback is worth fifty cents or a dollar.
From my standpoint, I usually find them amusing. But a sub-set of these creepy scanner people are the Hoarders. They aren't funny at all. This mutant life form goes up to tables of books, scoops them all into boxes until they have a huge pile, then crawl into the corner and scan them for value, returning at least half (usually) to the sale. The problem, of course, is that by the time they return those books, most of the customers are gone and the books don't get sold to benefit whoever is holding the sale. Why are scanners and their users allowed at sales? Heck if I know.
There are plenty of funny stories about them, though. At one sale, a really spooky scanner person picked up a book, scanned it, sneered and put it back. See, the scanner only tells you the lowest common denominator. It doesn't tell you if the book is signed, or a first edition, or any of that stuff. In this case, the book was both signed AND a first edition. Of Cold Mountain. Which I promptly bought. Poor scanner person. That book alone was worth more than the box full of crap they had picked out.
I mention all of this because there are plenty of frustrations with book selling and I know that you, my loyal readers, just can't wait to read about them.
So today a fellow writes to return a book I sent him. He asked previously whether or not the book had a remainder mark, I checked and it did not, I informed him, he bought it. In an email today he claimed that it did. I told him to keep it and sent him his money.
See, this is an old scam. Maybe I should not tell you about it, but I will anyway. In such a case the customer has a book they don't want. They then order a superior copy of that same book, claim it's not as represented and return it. Only they return the copy they already had, not the one they bought. And that's why I didn't want whatever copy this customer already had. Who knows where it's been, I don't want it around. Better to lose a few dollars, and that's all we're talking about here, a few dollars, than deal with such people or handle such books. What motivates someone to go to this much trouble for such an inexpensive item is beyond me, but it almost has to be a compulsion, as there is no real monetary gain involved.
As for the scanners, a better title would be Attack of the Scanner People. You know who they are, I'm sure. If you go to a library sale, or even sometimes an estate sale or a thrift store, they are the 'booksellers' holding a small electronic device that scans the bar codes of books and tells these 'dealers' whether the book has value or not.
Let's first be clear about this: these people don't give a whit about the books. They could just as easily be selling breakfast cereal, corrugated boxes or organic compost. It doesn't matter to them. They don't know anything about books and they don't want to know anything about books. All they want to know is whether a given paperback is worth fifty cents or a dollar.
From my standpoint, I usually find them amusing. But a sub-set of these creepy scanner people are the Hoarders. They aren't funny at all. This mutant life form goes up to tables of books, scoops them all into boxes until they have a huge pile, then crawl into the corner and scan them for value, returning at least half (usually) to the sale. The problem, of course, is that by the time they return those books, most of the customers are gone and the books don't get sold to benefit whoever is holding the sale. Why are scanners and their users allowed at sales? Heck if I know.
There are plenty of funny stories about them, though. At one sale, a really spooky scanner person picked up a book, scanned it, sneered and put it back. See, the scanner only tells you the lowest common denominator. It doesn't tell you if the book is signed, or a first edition, or any of that stuff. In this case, the book was both signed AND a first edition. Of Cold Mountain. Which I promptly bought. Poor scanner person. That book alone was worth more than the box full of crap they had picked out.
I mention all of this because there are plenty of frustrations with book selling and I know that you, my loyal readers, just can't wait to read about them.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Scattershots
Good morning bookies! Stand by for news and comment.
*** Famed New York artist Richard Prince is donating his immense and unique collection of rare books and memorabilia to the Morgan Library in New York. Prince has made a fortune by plagiarizing magazine ads and turning them into art. Very expensive art. Art so expensive that dropping $175k on the only known copy of Dashiel Hammett's The Glass Key with the dust jacket is just another day at the office. His collection centers around "sex, drugs, Beat [poets], hippies, punks – and great reads,” he says. Works for me.
Artist cashes out as collecting becomes a burden
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article5821921.ece
*** A $300 million dollar book? What? That's more than the GNP of some nations. So one suspects this is a mis-print, or a mis-statement, from the Indian Institute for Astrophysics. Granted, an original, 400 yer old work by Johannes Kepler would be a valuable book, quite valuable, in fact, but $300 million? One has to suspect they mean $300,000.
Kepler work isn't worth a penny more than $250 million, if you ask me
http://www.topnews.in/kepler-bibliophile-s-delight-2133369
*** Yesterday, your friendly neighborhood bookseller officially lost his first sale due to the insane law from our government that prevents sellers like me from selling children's books printed before 1985. It wasn't an expensive book and the gentleman who tried to buy it wanted it because it contained a story he remembered from his childhood. Sounds innocent enough, right? Well, not to our confused, muddled and completely out-of-control Congress. By the terms of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, this man cannot legally be conveyed this book by any means, because the ink might, MIGHT contain traces of lead. It doesn't matter that he is an adult and that it won't be near children, some fool legislator thinks they are protecting children with this over-the-top nonsense. As I've said before, this blog is non-political, except when politicians stick their moronic and unwanted noses in the book business. Since they have now done so, you have to wonder how long it will be before they start telling you what content your books may have. And still people keep electing these buffoons.
Let's be clear here: nobody wants children exposed to lead. What we want is politicians who are smart enough to write protective laws that don't wipe out entire industries. Is that too much to ask?
Government idiocy, redux
http://www.publishersweekly.com/index.asp?layout=talkbackCommentsFull&talk_back_header_id=6578488&articleid=CA6627969
*** Jonathan Littell's novel about a remorseless Waffen SS officer is coming to the US. The Kindly Ones was bought for a cool million bucks, so someone thinks the American public is clamoring for a book about an SS man who takes part in the Holocaust, has incest wiht his sister, might have killed his parents and is, in general, a pretty unlikeable chap. One can only wonder, can't one?
Guts and gore, coming soon to a bookstore near you. Here's a link to one review from the UK, where it is already in print.
Waffen SS gore, anyone?
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/the-kindly-ones-by-jonathan-littell-translated-by-charlotte-mandell-1632969.html
*** Famed New York artist Richard Prince is donating his immense and unique collection of rare books and memorabilia to the Morgan Library in New York. Prince has made a fortune by plagiarizing magazine ads and turning them into art. Very expensive art. Art so expensive that dropping $175k on the only known copy of Dashiel Hammett's The Glass Key with the dust jacket is just another day at the office. His collection centers around "sex, drugs, Beat [poets], hippies, punks – and great reads,” he says. Works for me.
Artist cashes out as collecting becomes a burden
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article5821921.ece
*** A $300 million dollar book? What? That's more than the GNP of some nations. So one suspects this is a mis-print, or a mis-statement, from the Indian Institute for Astrophysics. Granted, an original, 400 yer old work by Johannes Kepler would be a valuable book, quite valuable, in fact, but $300 million? One has to suspect they mean $300,000.
Kepler work isn't worth a penny more than $250 million, if you ask me
http://www.topnews.in/kepler-bibliophile-s-delight-2133369
*** Yesterday, your friendly neighborhood bookseller officially lost his first sale due to the insane law from our government that prevents sellers like me from selling children's books printed before 1985. It wasn't an expensive book and the gentleman who tried to buy it wanted it because it contained a story he remembered from his childhood. Sounds innocent enough, right? Well, not to our confused, muddled and completely out-of-control Congress. By the terms of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, this man cannot legally be conveyed this book by any means, because the ink might, MIGHT contain traces of lead. It doesn't matter that he is an adult and that it won't be near children, some fool legislator thinks they are protecting children with this over-the-top nonsense. As I've said before, this blog is non-political, except when politicians stick their moronic and unwanted noses in the book business. Since they have now done so, you have to wonder how long it will be before they start telling you what content your books may have. And still people keep electing these buffoons.
Let's be clear here: nobody wants children exposed to lead. What we want is politicians who are smart enough to write protective laws that don't wipe out entire industries. Is that too much to ask?
Government idiocy, redux
http://www.publishersweekly.com/index.asp?layout=talkbackCommentsFull&talk_back_header_id=6578488&articleid=CA6627969
*** Jonathan Littell's novel about a remorseless Waffen SS officer is coming to the US. The Kindly Ones was bought for a cool million bucks, so someone thinks the American public is clamoring for a book about an SS man who takes part in the Holocaust, has incest wiht his sister, might have killed his parents and is, in general, a pretty unlikeable chap. One can only wonder, can't one?
Guts and gore, coming soon to a bookstore near you. Here's a link to one review from the UK, where it is already in print.
Waffen SS gore, anyone?
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/the-kindly-ones-by-jonathan-littell-translated-by-charlotte-mandell-1632969.html
Sunday, March 1, 2009
So long, Mr. Harvey
Good morning bookies. Stand by for news.
By now you have no doubt learned that we lost Paul Harvey yesterday at age 90. It's hard to describe the vacuum that your friendly neighborhood bookseller feels because of this. Growing up in the days before talk radio was prevalent, Paul Harvey was the one radio newsman I can remember from my youth. He was a calming influence and I knew that as long as he was around, everything would turn out alright. Even to this day I have his web site bookmarked and listen to his daily newscasts whenever I have the time. 'The Rest of the Story' was and is one of my favorite programs. Damn, I'm going to miss him.
The photo above is looking out my office window. About midnight last night you would have thought we were in Alaska, the snow was pouring down, wind blowing, about as close to a blizzard as West Tennessee is ever likely to come. But, in typical West Tennessee fashion, it will all be gone quickly. This weekend it's supposed to hit the 70's. Let's hope it stays there.
*** One of the more forgotten chapters in World War II is the contribution made by women, specifically, nurses. World War II Front Line Nurse by Mildred Radawiec MacGregor seeks to rectify that a bit, giving the experience of one such lady from Michigan.
World War II Front Line Nurse
*** Boy, talk about a book that's right up my alley. The Lost City of Z by David Grann seems like something I would love to read, even without a visit to the author's website. However, given that the site is ultra-nifty, this might just be one that BBG has to go out and find for himself. Dark, foreboding jungle, a lost expedition for a city of gold, mysterious diaries...Indiana Jones at his best and truest.
DavidGrann.com
*** Finally, your friendly neighborhood bookseller attended a book signing last week given by David Kidd Books and featuring t.Jefferson Parker. I had never seen Parker before and he seemed like quite a nice guy. He spoke for about 30 minutes about how and why he writes, his day begins at 6:30 am and ends at 5 pm, Monday-Friday, no holidays. Like many authors he chose not to read from the book he was touring to support, The Renegades, and personally I prefer it this way. I mean, if you're going to read the book anyway, then why do you need the author to read it to you? But that leaves the author needing material for the obligatory talk, so I understand also why they do sometimes choose to read. Anyway, Parker didn't have anything particularly revealing to say, but I liked his explanation of why he chose to write The Renegades. The plot centers around the shipping of money from the north, aka The United States, south to Mexico. He liked this idea because normally books about the drug trade are about smuggling drugs into the US, not smuggling the money they are sold for out of the country. Nice idea. I don't usually read his stuff but I might make an exception.
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