It was bound to happen.Word from the London Book Fair is that Google is going into the book business. By year's end they will launch two book related initiatives that will further alter the book landscape.What's in store:A book rental program that will let you rent the content of a book on a weekly basis.andA book retail program that will allow users lifetime access to the texts they purchase.They are not attaching the cursed e-book tag to either project.Michael Cairnes, who was at the Google sessions at the London Book Fair, has the scoop in his blog post titled "Google...
Don’t "Get Caught Reading"
Right on the heels of National Poetry Month which included National Library Week we welcome Get Caught Reading Month.Since 1999 the beautiful month of May has been home to this literary concoction. The celebration was devised by former Congresswoman Pat Schroeder through the Association of American Publishers (AAP), where she is the President and CEO.Its goal: "to spread the word about the joys of reading through an industry-supported literacy campaign."I am not sure if this was created to give her a job after her political life but this is basically a political action committee for the publishers. This is the...
Getting to the End
This is how Heather McElhatton got to her debut novel Pretty Little Mistakes that hits stores today . You see it's a "Do-Over Novel" and she came up with 150 unique scenarios. Yep 150! "One Beginning 150 Endings: The Choice is Yours."Of course I am exhausted just thinking about it but the originality alone merits a peek. If you are fresh out of high school and ready to hit the world then it is closer to a must read.You just graduated from high school and you got a couple of choices. You either "go to college to get ahead or...
The Book Review Shuffle
The Book Review sections of all major newspapers are under intense pressure these days.The National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) campaign to Save the Book Review is a noble effort and one I fully support but the problem is not in saving the Book Review sections it is about reinventing them.It is about widening the scope of their missions. The book landscape has changes dramatically in the last 10 years while the book review sections, for the most part, have barely moved.It is about serving all the different types of book lovers that exist in our communities not simply covering newly...
A Novel Way For a Writer to Get Paid
The government of Ireland has hatched a plan that will pay authors a royalty for their books that are checked out at the local library.Here is how it works:"authors will be conferred with an exclusive right to allow the lending of their works in public libraries...in return the authors would receive a royalty payment for the lending of their work."The program will be publicly funded and will not cost the library user anything.I have often thought that this arrangement should also apply in the used book market.There is no reason an author shouldn't be compensated for a sale of a...