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Tag: Miscellany

Published September 29, 2008

Monday Miscellany Sept 29, 08

James Bridle of booktwo.org puts his money where his mouth is and launches the entirely print-on-demand, web-based publisher Bookkake: “Bookkake is a project born… of my desire to see publishing move with technology and survive as the guardian and helpmate of literature.”

Faber Books’ on Flickr: “We’re gradually uploading some of our favourite covers, photos and various other ephemera from our archive. Our archivist uncovers new material every day – we hope you enjoy his discoveries as much as we do!”

The 7 Sentence Online Marketing Plan and 4 Myths About Internet Marketing from Monique Trottier of So Misguided and Boxcar Marketing.

Five Ways Amazon Can Improve the Kindle from Gadget Lab on Wired.com: “The rumblings in the ground are pointing to an imminent Kindle 2.0, a successor to Amazon’s loved but flawed e-book reader.” Lots and lots of comments. (Is planned obsolescence going to be a problem for the e-book reader in the long-term? Anyone?)

The Muxtape story – or how the music industry is conspiring to alienate fans and kill itself? There’s almost certainly a lesson for the book industry in there somewhere…

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Published September 22, 2008

Monday Miscellany

My favourite response to  New York Magazine’s gossipy  hit-job on the current state of publishing ‘The End’ came from author Jeff Gomez: “even though I wrote a book called Print is Dead, even I don’t think that publishing is over.”

Are book jacket designs more conservative in the UK than in the US? The Bookseller takes a look: “UK designers are saying their creativity is being stifled by commercial concerns. Designers can only attempt new, more daring things if they are given the space to do so, but in the current climate this does not appear to be happening.”

Author Jeanette Winterson wishes all bookstores could be like Shakespeare & Company in The Times:  “[B]ookshops have, or should have, a special place in our culture. We need books, and books are best browsed in the energetic peace of a small store where the owner loves reading, just like we do.”

Variety examines the Kindle: “Amazon’s Kindle is the big kid on the block. With a few improvements, the gadget, which Amazon introduced in November, could well be a game-changer.” Or not.

And finally, there’s a lovely line from comedian Ricky Gervais in this interview with the Globe and Mail’s Joanna Schneller published at the weekend: “I always think, ‘Just aim a bit higher.’ Because even if you fail, you’ve still landed a little bit higher. Aiming low and not quite making it… that’s what I couldn’t stand.” A lesson for all of us  there I think…

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