BookWise: Book Club or Book Cult

Last March I did a piece on a company called BookWise titled BookWise: The Book Worlds First Pyramid Scheme. Out of the 400+ Book Patrol posts in 2007 none garnered the reaction that this one did. The comments received for the post were disproportionate compared to all other posts and they were all negative. Just recently I received this comment on the post:"just by using the phrase "pyramid scheme" proves you really don't know what you are saying some people live free, others live as slaves. I've made my choice"From Wikipedia: A pyramid scheme is a non-sustainable business model that...

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Book Covers You Can Laugh At

Minimal blood loss guaranteed, 12 easy steps, using household items.‘Wouldn't it be funny if you were sitting on the subway reading a book and the cover said something like, How to Murder a Complete Stranger and Get Away With It?' And yeah, I mean, just imagine what people around you would think -- especially when you finished it."The quote above came from Michelle Watters' husband and was the spark that got the ball rolling for Flapart a "company that could create, develop, print and sell covers that would make people laugh and have fun!"They currently have over have over 20...

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Books Thriving: Online and Off

A new study released from Nielsen touts that 41% of all internet purchases worldwide were for books, an increase of 7% in the last two years and the number of people who shop online has grown 40% in the same two years.“Some of the biggest buyers of books on the Internet are from developing countries—China, Brazil, Vietnam and Egypt—indicating massive growth potential for online retailers that can specifically target these fast-growing markets" says Jonathan Carson of Nielsen Online.Here at home books made up 38% of all online purchases.While sales climb online sales at brick and mortar bookstores were up in...

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The Visual Rage of Emory Douglas

From the 1967 until the early 1980's when the Black Panther Party disbanded Emory Douglas was their Minister of Culture. During that time he produced hundreds of pieces of graphic art to accompany the Panther message.The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), Los Angeles is hosting an exhibition of Douglas's work titled Black Panther: The Revolutionary Art of Emory Douglas. The exhibit, curated by Sam Durant with MOCA Chief Curator Paul Schimmel, presents almost 150 examples of Emory Douglas’s work.From the Press Release:"At a time when political unrest, war protests, and social inequality have again reached a boiling point, but where...

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