ARTIFACTUAL FICTIONS: The Auction Catalog as Graphic Novel

Hindsight might entice the reader of Leanne Shapton's bittersweet graphic novel IMPORTANT ARTIFACTS AND PERSONAL PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF LENORE DOOLAN AND HAROLD MORRIS,... ( Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2009) to ponder that inevitable moment when an author might appropriate the form of the auction catalog to tell a story. It makes such perfect sense. Auction catalogs and bookseller's catalogs, especially those dedicated to the dispersal of a single collection, always tell a story. That story is told through the objects collected and why; often it is the story of an entire life shaped by consuming passions, even disturbing...

Continue Reading →

More From John Marshall

John Marshall, at center, in this image from the Daily BeastFormer Seattle P-I book critic John Marshall follows up his final P-I story with a piece at the Daily Beast."There are many things that I will miss about being the book guy at the Seattle P-I and one of the most sorely missed will be the chance to give a boost to a book and an author who truly deserved it. During these difficult days for the printed word, they need all the help they can get."

Continue Reading →

The Madness of the CPSIA and How Google and Amazon Might Benefit

Photo via mike.julianne on FlickrLast summer Congress passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA). While well intentioned, being primarily a result of the toys being made with in China with lead paint scare that swept the country, CPSIA has potential catastrophic consequences for the book world. What's the problem? Any book printed before 1986 becomes illegal in the hands of children.Author David Niall Wilson sums it up nicely in his post, Burning Books for Consumer Safety:Under this law...very strict testing is imposed on every children’s book published before 1985 (It really did start in 1984 Mr. Orwell…right...

Continue Reading →