Man Booker Big List

Posted by trav in Book Talk, News      No comments

Jul
29

Judges have cut the 112 entries for the 2008 man Booker Prize down to just 13 titles. The judging panel is made up of a Cabinet Minister, novelist, magazine editor, and a bookstore owner turned TV personality. The Book Shortlist will be announced September 9th and the winner October 14th.

Today’s 13 titles are listed below…

read more

Newspapers need to learn quick

Posted by trav in Birmingham, News      No comments

Jul
25

I just read about the LA Times dropping their dedicated books coverage and eliminating staff. Not 10 minutes later I read about The Birmingham News and its plans to trim staff (which is a much nicer buyout deal than handing out pink slips).

I understand the competition and strain that newspapers are under. Plus, your larger news organizations are not the most nimble when it comes to redirecting content and adopting “new media” techniques. But they have to learn, and quick. Trained professional journalists are too valuable. I read a ton of blogs and websites. Most of them are good. But I still depend on the professional filters that journalists provide. There is too much noise and it’s nice to know that some folks are out there sorting through it for us.

At a minimum, I think every new organization that lets a reporter go should host them a blog for as long as they want to write. That seems fair to me! Think of all the extra traffic they’d get from content that they don’t have to pay for (except for the $5 in annual hosting fees).Plus, it would be a good way for them to get their feet wet in the digital age. I just don’t want all these skilled book reviewers and news hounds to go away. If they are over 50 and still doing their jobs it’s because they love and are good at it.

Why would you throw that away? New media or traditional print?

So that’s my contribution to the world this week. Give everyone a blog. Everything should be much better now.

Randy Pausch passes on

Posted by trav in On the Web      No comments

Jul
25

Pausch, author of The Last Lecture, died of pancreatic cancer today. I’m not one for touchy feely anything. That includes motivational books too. Don’t know why. They just never resonate with me. But this book, this video, are the exception (here is a shorter WSJ recap of the video). He is right on. Every word of it. It’s common sense. It’s practical. It’s hope. It’s love. I’m glad he was a teacher. People like Pausch need to be in a place where they can pass along their attitudes and knowledge.

Twitterati Literati

Posted by trav in Book Talk, On the Web, Publishers      No comments

Jul
25

I just started following Yale Univeristy Press on Twitter. Are there other cool publishers that I’m missing? Please pass along if you know of any.

It’s interesting to follow publishers as they move into new areas. It seems most are hesitant to explore things like Facebook, Twitter, Plurk, etc. So I’m glad to see some trying it out and doing a good job at it. And by good job, I mean sending stuff out other than “get 20% off book x this week”.

Press releases are ok, but if I’m following a publishers feed or engaging them via social media it’s because I’m interested in them on a topical level. So far Yale University Press‘ feed is doing that.

Review: Blood Kin

Posted by trav in Book Reviews, On the Web      No comments

Jul
23

My review of Ceridwen Dovey’s first book Blood Kin is up at LibraryThing.

National Book Festival Podcasts

Posted by trav in Authors, Book Talk, Events, On the Web      1 comment

Jul
21

This September 27, nearly 70 authors will swarm the mall in D.C. for the National Book Festival. Organizers are getting the word out about who will be there and already have started posting podcasts with some of the notable names and authors involved. They promise more podcasts soon with authors and famous faces.

Are you kidding me?

Posted by trav in Book Talk, On the Web      No comments

Jul
18

Following a Twitter link, from rgriner (who blogs here), led me to this list of “The 100 Best Reads from 1983 to 2008″ as selected by Entertainment Weekly. It made me sad. Sad, sad, sad.

They call them the new classics with Cormac McCarthy’s The Road at #1 and Jon Stewart’s America at #100. No doubt, every book on this list was a BIG seller. Was that their only criteria? But Potter was pushed to #2, so something else must have weighed in on their calculations. But what?

I agree that most of these titles should be on a list like this, but certainly not stacked this way. We may have to develop our own list. Hmmmmmm…

New reads to read

Posted by trav in Book Talk      No comments

Jul
18

I’ve been looking for a couple more “summer fiction” titles to cram in before the Fall gets here. You know the type… beach-worthy titles that just push you through a quick story.

Well, I found them over at BookChase. His latest review sold me Dan Ronco’s two books. Thank goodness for the blogoshpere. I was spending waaaaaaay too much time looking for some good mind candy.

New Birmingham-area Book Blogger

Posted by trav in Birmingham, Book Talk, On the Web      No comments

Jul
15

I was cruising through the AL.com Book Forum last night and ran across a new book blog in town, Breaking the Spine. I have to say I enjoyed flipping through all the posts and reading all the questions she poses to her readers. Might be fun to keep up with this one!

Typecon 2008

Posted by trav in Events      No comments

Jul
15

If I could be anywhere this week it would be up in Buffalo, New York, at this year’s Typecon. It kicked off yesterday and runs through the 20th. I really need to plan my summer vacations better… maybe next year. I mean surely some of the knowledge and skills of these guys would rub off, right? Well, until then I’ll just have to follow their Twitter feed to get my Typecon fix.

Let me know if you guys find anyplace that has bloggers there or is posting podcasts/video.