Amazon Tightening Its Grip on the Book World

Last month, in his post "The End of Indie," Richard Nash proclaimed: "Indie doesn’t mean anything anymore. It’s dead. Which is OK, because it won...So now the phase of indie is over, now that the monopoly on the production and distribution of knowledge, culture and opinion has been broken, what next, a new phase..."A week later Amazon released their updated terms of service which essentially, forces the hand of the many websites and companies that use their API to provide data to their users. The gist of the new terms is that if you use Amazon's data, then you must...

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A Hollywood Ending for Highland Park Library

A Michigan library closed since 2002 has a chance to be revived courtesy of Hollywood.In a unique resuscitation of yet another public library drowning in a sea of red ink, a filmmaker's inspiration may accomplish what a city could not. The saga of the McGregor Public Library in Highland Park, a suburb of Detroit, captured the imagination of writer-director-producer Andrew Meieran when he learned of it while surfing the web. The library began as a grand symbol of the industry, prosperity, and culture of a community. The village of Highland Park was incorporated as a city in 1918 to protect...

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London Review of Books Personal Ads, Redux: The Hits Just Keep On Comin’!

It’s September and, apparently, the season in Great Britain for love-lorn book lovers to sharpen their pencils and post some of the wittiest, most imaginative personal ads yet seen in a single issue of the London Review of Books:Without my grandfather’s contribution to agricultural reforms in 1912, this nation would currently have to import its turnips. While you think about that I shall remove my clothes. Man. 55.I have a dream. And that dream is to try on every pair of shoes in the world. That’s where you come in: brusque, butch fem cobbler to 55 with expansive collection of...

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What Books Are The Denver Broncos’ Cheerleaders Currently Reading?

Yes, I’ve been wondering, too, and it’s been keeping me up at night: Just what are the ladies of the 2009 Denver Broncos Cheerleading squad reading these days? What books inspire somersaults, leaps, fight songs, and heavy pom-pom action?Thanks to the Denver Broncos Cheerleaders website, we know.Serita Archuleta: I am reading Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I admire the fact that she followed her heart and took a risk in life to find happiness. It has inspired me to get out of my comfort zone more often.Brianne Bateman: Twilight Series [by Stephanie Meyer]....Edward Cullen and I are buddies!Tara Battiato:...

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Osama Bin Laden’s Book Club: 3 Must Reads for America

The latest purported communique from Osama Bin Laden,“An Address to the American People,” includes mention of 3 books that Bin Laden feels will help us Americans better understand his plight.The three titles are:The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy" by Stephen M. WaltPalestine: Peace Not Apartheid by former President Jimmy CarterThe Apology of a Hired Killer - a book that doesn't exist though one analyst suggests he was referring to Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John PerkinsHmm, here we are 8 years out from 9/11 and Bin Laden decides to talk books. Something is just not right about...

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