Three large trucks crashed yesterday morning in Turlock, Calif., in the Central Valley near Modesto, killing one driver, according to CBS-13. One of the trucks was carrying Ingram freight, all of which was destroyed in the crash.
Ingram said that orders have been reshipped and should arrive two days later than originally scheduled.
---
James Patterson is the first author to exceed one million sales in electronic book delivery, according to his publisher, Hachette Book Group. The
Associated Press reported that Patterson "has moved 1.14 million units of his books for devices like Kindle and the iPad." The top seller is his most recent novel
I, Alex Cross. Patterson's physical books have sold more than 205 million copies worldwide.
"If e-books get people who might otherwise not be reading to pick up a book, then that makes me happy, " Patterson said.
---
Borders Group launched its
e-bookstore yesterday, with titles provided by Kobo, the e-book and e-reader retailer in which Borders has a stake. The
Wall Street Journal observed that for consumers, "the entrance of Borders into the e-book marketplace may mean lower prices on some titles. Although five of the six major book publishers have converted to an 'agency' pricing model, setting their own retail prices, Bertelsmann AG's Random House publishing group and many smaller publishers still employ the traditional wholesale model--meaning Borders could choose to discount some titles aggressively from these publishers in a bid to drive traffic to its website."
"Borders is late, but not too late, because this is an emerging market. As a publisher, this is one more outlet for us," said Jane Friedman, CEO of Open Road Integrated Media. "It's going to mean more choice for readers, and an opportunity for Borders to build loyalty with their customers."
---
Yesterday's launch of the new Borders eBook Store is "a sure sign of the future," observed
Fast Company, which noted that "the writing is on the wall for Amazon and the future of e-publishing. It's difficult for bookstores to compete with Amazon's physical book sales network, as the company's business model and reduced costs mean it's often more convenient for today's book enthusiasts to shop this way. But when books go digital, it's a whole new paradigm, with everybody--including Apple, which is playing along too with its iBook store--having pretty similar chances for success. Since Amazon's Kindle ecosystem is the only one that's limited to consuming only its own content, the e-book consumer of tomorrow looks like they're going to have a lot of choice available to them. Voracious readers, dig in."
---
Chris Morrow, general manager of the
Northshire Bookstore, Manchester Center, Vt., posed a few questions on the bookshop's
blog regarding e-books and indies in the wake of a recent sales floor incident in which a customer solicited staff recommendations with the apparent intent of ordering e-books online. Morrow's questions:
What is the role of a bookstore in the digital age?
Is there a role for a bookstore in the digital age?
Is it obvious that if many fewer people buy books here, that their resource for good book ideas will disappear?
Or should we try to find a skillful way to make this connection in people’s minds?
Until or unless we can sell e-books, do we have a leg to stand on in this conversation?
What is the sound of one hand clapping?
---
Michele Filgate, events coordinator at
RiverRun Bookstore, Portsmouth, N.H., shared some of her favorite summer reads with
New Hampshire Public Radio listeners.
---
Amazon.com's books editors selected their
Best Books of the Year... So Far, with 10 picks each in fiction, nonfiction, and books for kids and teens.
---
"With so many business books spilling from the shelves, we’re often asked for a comprehensive list of recommendations,"
Bloomberg noted as it presented an updated list of 50 top titles published since January 1, 2009.
---
Book trailer of the day:
Super Sad True Love Story: A Novel by Gary Shteyngart (Random House, July 27 release)
---
If there's one thing booklovers can't resist, it's the temptation of a little
Bookshelf Porn.
---
In Canada, chain retailer Indigo Books & Music "is branching into photography and will sell its own branded gift items to third-party retailers to offset a global slide in book sales at traditional specialty book retail stores," the
Financial Post reported. Customers will be able to bring in digital files "to print photographs, create photo books and keepsakes, or have their photographs taken in a studio by an on-staff portrait photographer. Indigo will also sell photographs as art."
---
Another chapter in the ongoing saga of Toronto's troubled indie
This Ain’t the Rosedale Library (
Shelf Awareness, June 24, 2010) occurred this week when Book Madam Julie Wilson and Invisible Publishing’s Nic Boshart "hosted an al fresco reading" outside the shuttered bookshop,
Quill & Quire reported. The event had been scheduled as a stop on Jeff Miller’s author tour for
Ghost Pine: All Stories True, but "the reading became a celebration of the bookstore instead."
---
Ria Bleumer, former manager of Vancouver's now-closed Duthie Books, plans to open Sitka Books & Art in August "as an answer to what she describes as a backlash towards corporate book retailers,"
Quill & Quire reported.
"Independent bookstores are representative of culture," she said. "If we didn’t have them and only had big box stores that have some books and art, we would water down our culture."
---
On
Twelve's website, Christopher Hitchens, who was forced to cut short his tour for
Hitch-22 last week after being diagnosed with cancer, said, "I have been advised by my physician that I must undergo a course of chemotherapy on my esophagus. This advice seems persuasive to me. I regret having had to cancel so many engagements at such short notice."
---
HarperCollins, which will use
NetGalley to deliver galleys, promotional materials and other content digitally, rolled out the new program yesterday at
ThrillerFest with
Judgment and Wrath by Matt Hilton (Morrow).
Books and promotional materials featured at launch will include titles from HarperCollins imprints Avon, William Morrow and Eos. Eos will be utilizing NetGalley to distribute
The Eos Reader, a sampling of introductory chapters and other exclusive content of forthcoming SFF and urban fantasy titles, at
Comic-Con International in San Diego (July 22-25); and romance fans will be able to sample Marjorie M. Liu's Avon debut,
In the Dark of Dreams, at the forthcoming
Romance Writers of America conference in Orlando (July 30).
"Using NetGalley helps streamline the distribution process, cut costs, and increase the reach of our marketing and publicity campaigns," said Debbie Mercer, HarperCollins director of advertising and promotion.
Other launch titles include
Passions of a Wicked Earl by Lorraine Heath (Avon),
Pleasures of a Notorious Gentleman by Lorraine Heath (Avon),
The Reckless Bride by Stephanie Laurens (Avon),
Crown of Crystal Flame by C.L. Wilson (Avon),
Ten Ways to Be Adored When Landing a Lord by Sarah MacLean (Avon),
His Darkest Embrace by Juliana Stone (Avon) and
First Love Cookie Club by Lori Wilde (Avon).
---
Charlesbridge Publishing has acquired
Imagine Publishing, which publishes books for children and adults and includes the Peter Yarrow Books imprint.
Imagine was founded last year by father and son Charles and Jeremy Nurnberg. Charles Nurnberg, longtime CEO of Sterling Publishing, becomes v-p and publisher of the Imagine imprint at Charlesbridge. Jeremy Nurnberg, former v-p, trade and institutional sales, at Sterling, becomes v-p of sales for Charlesbridge.
Brent Farmer, president of Charlesbridge, which is a children's book publisher, commented: "With the addition of Imagine we significantly increase our list and range. We look forward to enhancing the enduring relationships established over the years with children's booksellers, wholesalers, librarians and teachers, and creating new relationships in the general trade arena."
"Charlesbridge has the full range of promotional and distribution capabilities that Imagine needs," Charles Nurnberg said.
takes place the second Tuesday of every month at Bryant Lake Bowl theater, making it the largest and loosest book club in the Twin Cities."
As the cards are being shuffled at the annual World Series of Poker in
Las Vegas, David Sklansky, two-time event winner and a veteran for more
than 25 consecutive years, deals his DUCY? Exploits, Advice, and Ideas
of the Renowned Strategist (Two Plus Two Publishing). Written with Alan
Schoonmaker, the book reveals the secrets and logic to his
continued success at the poker table and in life.
I gaze across the veranda, beyond the rows of yachts and sailboats bobbing in the Porte de Monaco toward the sparkling Mediterranean waters. To my right, the shoreline curves inward before jutting out to sea again at La Condamine, the cluster of tall gleaming buildings that rise against the steep, rocky hillside. A drop of perspiration runs down the glass carafe of water that sits before me and seeps into the white linen cloth. From the dozen or so other tables around mine comes the quiet murmur of conversation, mingled with spoons clinking against teacups and the gentle rustling of morning newspapers. 
