News & Notes is a weekly Saturday post featuring book- and publishing-related news, links to interesting articles and opinion pieces, giveaways on this and other blogs, and other cool stuff.
Books & Ebooks in the News:
- With Father’s Day coming up, join the #DadsRead campaign hosted by Zoobean and The Good Men Project to encourage dads (and grandpas!) to read aloud to their kids.
- Fair Use – Second Circuit Court upheld lower court ruling in HathiTrust library digitization case (Andrew Albanese, Publishers Weekly)
- And the Authors Guild responds (Andrew Albanese, Publishers Weekly)
- Meanwhile, the judge in the ebook price-fixing case will allow ebook retailers to sue Apple and the Big Five for harming their business by forcing the agency model on all retailers. (Andrew Albanese, Publishers Weekly)
- “Ebooks on course to outsell print books in UK by 2018” (The Guardian) Assuming the industry doesn’t experience a slowdown, of course.
- Self-published book sales are up 79% in the UK over last year’s sales. (Alison Flood, The Guardian)
- The new US Ambassador to Switzerland and Lichtenstein was sworn in on a Kindle. Seriously. (Brian Fung, Washington Post)
- Want to be killed off in the next George R. R. Martin novel? All you have to do is donate $20,000 to a charity drive he’s holding on behalf of The Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary and The Food Depot.
Worth Reading/Watching:
- “Hachette vs. Amazon: Show Me the Money” is a clear-eyed piece on the Amazon-Hachette dispute. No demonizing here, and no glorifying either. (Maggie Boyd, All About Romance). Another balanced piece is Calvin Reid’s “Is Amazon Really the Devil?” (Publishers Weekly)
- Word of mouth sells books. Just ask bookstore owner and PW blogger Elizabeth Bluemle.
- If there’s a recent grad in your life, ‘How to Adult’ has some great recommendations for books on surviving adulthood, from finances to cooking to learning new skills. (How to Adult, on YouTube)
For Writers & Bloggers:
- Opportunities for Writers: July & August (Aerogramme Writers’ Studio)
- “To a Future Writer: The Fantasy of the Perfect Writer” (Louise Kendrick, NaNoWriMo blog)
Literary Losses:
- Eric Hill, author/illustrator of the beloved Where’s Spot? and other children’s books featuring Spot the puppy, died Friday, June 6, 2014, at the age of 86. His books inspired an animated TV series for toddlers, The Adventures of Spot, which my daughter enjoyed when she was little. He will be missed. (Obituaries: Los Angeles Times; The Guardian)
Book Announcements:
- There’s a new Hercule Poirot mystery coming in September. The Christie family has authorized a new novel, written by mystery author Sophie Hannah. I’m torn between excitement and apprehension.
- Rick Riordan’s recent blog post has a number of updates, including a forthcoming Percy Jackson/Kane Chronicles crossover story, release dates for Blood of Heroes, the final book in the Heroes of Olympus series, the Lost Heroes graphic novel, and Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods (the latter is written in Percy’s voice, snark, funny chapter titles, and all!) And in case you missed the previous announcements, Riordan’s next series will tackle Norse mythology. Should be fun.
Free & Bargain books:
- SYNC free audiobook titles for 6/12 to 6/18/14: Code Name Verity (Elizabeth Wein) and The Hiding Place (Corrie ten Boom)
- SYNC titles for 6/19 to 6/25 will be I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You (Ally Carter) and Anne of Green Gables (L. M. Montgomery)
Awesome lists:
- In honor of the World Cup, the best books about soccer (BookRiot)
- 55 Thoughts for English Teachers (Nick Ripatrazone, The Millions)
- The Anti-Anti-YA Book List — compiled and alphabetized by title. “Complex, rewarding young adult reads no one should be ashamed of reading and enjoying.” (Scroll down; the list is below some commentary.)
Really cool:
- From way back in 1988(!), Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett discuss Pratchett’s Discworld novel, Sourcery, for ICA Talks.
- Really great book stuff. Robert McCloskey onesies, Great Gatsby tees — but what I really want is the Book Seat. Great for reading while lying on your side, or for knitting while reading. (via BookRiot)
- The History of Publishing Logos, an infographic by Alia Almeida of World Book Night (via Penguin Press tumblr) (Click link to see a larger version)
Just for fun:
- Quiz: Identify the book from its map. (The Guardian)
Bookish Quotes:
That’s it for this week!
I’m always on the lookout for interesting articles, lists, and links for News & Notes, so please let me know if you see (or write!) anything that might be good for this feature. You can leave me a comment or send me an email — my address is on the About/Review Policy/Contact page.
abibliophilesstyle
Oh my goodness, what an amazing post! I’m a new follower, so I haven’t seen this feature before. I can’t even imagine the work that goes into compiling all this information!
I agree with you about the new Poirot story. It could be amazing, but . . .
Lark @ The Bookwyrm's Hoard
I noticed you were following on Bloglovin – thank you so much! I have fun putting these posts together.
Bea
That is so cool about using a Kindle for swearing it but it was inevitable that ebooks would be used sooner or later. The book seat is nice, an updated version of lap desks and book pillows. I love that quote about running to the library. 😀
Lark @ The Bookwyrm's Hoard
Apparently it’s not the first time an ebook was used — some firemen used an ebook Bible for taking their oaths recently, and someone in city government also. But I think it’s the first time a national official has used one. And I’m glad you like the quote!
Katherine P
I hadn’t seen that about Eric Hill. So sad. I loved his books. The Hiding Place is an amazing book. A friend kept pushing it on me but I kept putting off reading it but once I did it was one of those books I couldn’t shut up about.
I saw that about the new Poirot. I have mixed feelings as well. I’m guessing it will have to pre-date Curtain. Very curious to see how it turns out.
Lark @ The Bookwyrm's Hoard
I have been meaning to read The Hiding Place for decades — at least 20 years. It’s one of those books I keep putting off for no good reason. I’m hoping that the audiobook will spur me to finally get to it.
The Poirot is apparently set in the 1920s or possibly 30s, so closer to Poirot’s first book than his last. I hope it’s good! (fingers crossed)
Jan @ Notes from a Readerholic
I like the publisher infographic. I think because Penguin and Simon and Shuster kept pretty much the same logos through the years those are the logos I most remember. And I’m like you…a little worried about the new Hercule Poirot, but also some anticipation.
I think the Kindle swearing in is kind of strange. The Kindle isn’t the device I would pick–even though I love my Kindle. Great news, Lark, as always!
Alise
These are some really great links! I like how varied they are. My favorite mention has got to be the infographic, though. I love stuff like that. I think it’s amazing to see how things change to fit a current trend and such. The Hachette/Amazon thing makes me kind of mad. Great post!
kimbacaffeinate
I saw the article on the swearing in on a kindle and it made me giggle..times they are a changing!