Notes: Bibliophile Turns Bookseller; Samurai Huggins
Michael Sharpe's Rare & Antiquarian Books, Pasadena, Calif., a
recently opened bookshop, offers a glimpse into the soul of a
bibliophile. The Whittier Daily News reported
that Sharpe's personal library includes "works of science, philosophy,
medicine, exploration, religion, literature and mathematics, all
classified as being in superb condition and worth about $25 million."
Approximately
20% of that collection is now available for sale. "It was a little bit
of a wrench," Sharpe said. "I decided to keep history and science over
literature. I love them all, but it can take six to eight years to
build up an inventory." Among the literary gems are an edition of Frankenstein for $18,500 and a copy of Jane Eyre for $125,000.
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Some lines from a full-page ad for the new Borat book from Flying Dolphin Press that appears in today's New York Times:
- "2 BOOKS IN 1! (this intentional and NOT error of KAZAKH printings facility)."
- Guide to delicious Americans food, including cake made of mashed cow, cheese (from cow) and small potato 'peanuts.'
- Good price--less moneys than new wife!
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A
rapidly expanding market for Spanish-language books and translated
works has helped fuel increased business for South Florida's publishers
and booksellers, according to the Miami Herald,
which also noted that the 2007 Miami Book Fair International will host
a one-day forum on the translation market for industry executives,
international authors and editors.
''Miami is the biggest
market for our books in the country and the area where we can find the
most skilled professionals--editors, translators, sales people, all
kinds of professionals, and everybody speaks Spanish,'' said Silvia
Matute, director of the general books division for Santillana USA.
''Spanish as a language has become more acceptable and fashionable.
It's cooler to speak two languages. That, and immigrants are keeping
their language much more than 20 or so years ago. Immigrants have some
pride in speaking Spanish, which results in more book sales in
Spanish.''
Matute said that translations ''in both directions"
have grown in recent years: "Top-selling translations can only help
build the business overall. If The Secret becomes a bestseller and everyone is reading it in Spanish, they see the rest of the books in the store. It helps all of us.''
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Free Books! Jenny Hamilton and Emile Snyder, co-owners of the Rogue Book Exchange, Medford, Ore., were profiled by the Mail Tribune,
which described the bookstore as a place "where the books are free and
the store pays the rent with donations and by selling some of the
donated books online."
Hamilton called the store "an
idealistic vision" and said she hopes to "help 'save the planet'
by recycling the books many people might otherwise toss out."
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When I Was a Loser: True Stories of (Barely) Surviving High School
edited by John McNally (Free Press, $15, 9781416532446/1416532447), a
compilation of essays by writers about "their own awful teenage years,"
has been in effect banned at Cumberland High School in Rhode Island,
the Pawtucket Times reported.
Several parents at a school committee meeting last week objected to
profanity and descriptions of sexual acts with animals contained in
Will Clarke's eight-page contribution to the book called "How to Kill a
Boy That Nobody Likes," which a high school teacher had assigned
students in her class. The school committee said that the story will
not be assigned again.
The paper added: "The title of the story was also brought into question
despite the fact it is in reference to the story's narrator, who tries
to 'kill' his image or former unpopular self through campaigning for
class office and, therefore, changing his social status within high
school."
For its part, the publisher said that Clarke's story "offers the male
perspective" of high school unpopularity and includes "an outrageously
detailed list of people [that Clarke who calls himself the Will-tard]
would eagerly disembowel if he happened upon them on the street today.
But the Will-tard ultimately finds empowerment in the unlikely form of
a book about subliminal advertising. When Will camouflages the word
'sex' in his campaign posters for school treasurer, he actually wins .
. . and thus, the Will-tard is vanquished forever."
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On the Road off the shelf: the Miami Herald writes that "according to the Economist, On the Road [by Jack Kerouac] is one of the most shoplifted books in the English-speaking world."
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Tim Huggins, who founded Newtonville Books, Newton, Mass., in 1998 and sold it earlier this year (Shelf Awareness,
February 6, 2007), has put out his shingle and is doing business
consulting. Under the name Samurai for Hire, the venture is, he wrote,
"my ongoing effort for discovering and nurturing passions in life while
making significant contributions to people and organizations I admire.
My goal is to use my experience and ingenuity as an entrepreneur and
business owner to guide and counsel organizations and businesses.
"My strengths and focus are helping with strategic thinking for
marketing and operating efforts, project management, financial
analysis, projections, and improved financial and accounting systems.
Over the past several months, I've worked on short term and larger,
ongoing projects ranging from publishing, retail, nonprofit and fair
trade."
The samurai may be reached at tim@samuraiforhire.net or 617-290-6619.
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Effective immediately, National Book Network is distributing:
- Paradoxal Press, Redmond, Wash., which was founded in 2004 by Sebastien and Nicole St.-Laurent. The press publishes computer graphics, video game development and computer science titles.
- Stardate Publishing, Carrolton, Tex., which publishes African-American books, including A Search of African American Life, Achievement and Culture, which chronicles the accomplishments, courage and struggles of African Americans during the past 500 years.
- Black Widow Press, Boston, Mass., a publisher of poetry books whose authors have had an impact on the cultural, literary and artistic thought of the 20th and 21st centuries.
- Don't Eat Any Bugs, Tehachapi, Calif., which publishes graphic novels and craft books by Ray Friesen, a cartoonist whose latest book is a humorous graphic novel entitled YARG! and Other Stories.
- Garrett County Press, New Orleans, La., which publishes social science, humor, pop culture, fiction and nonfiction in partnership with New Mouth from the Dirty South. Its titles include Letters from New Orleans and The George W. Bush Coloring Book.
In the interest of full disclosure, I must begin this review with a confession: I have read every word of Pierre Bayard's provocative and charming book. Indeed, I've even underlined many of his epigrammatic sentences with a yellow highlighter. Thus, I've willfully chosen to ignore the admonition of Oscar Wilde, Bayard's ideal critic: "I never read a book I must review; it prejudices you so."