Category Archives: Publishers

The Blookers

Lulu.com has announced this year’s shortlist. Fifteen books total. Six fiction, six nonfiction and three comics titles. I didn’t know that web-comic sites were eligible. I’m going to have to pick up a copy of a Lulu book someday to see if they really are just as good as books vetted by publishing pros. Though the panel of judges this year seem to know a lot about content and power blogging.

I guess I’ve just been brainwashed, but I really do like knowing that someone has edited and thoughtfully published the book I’m considering buying and not just formatted a bunch of ramblings. But then I haven’t read one, so I could be way off base. We’ll just have to see who wins this year.

War and New Piece

Every year, Tolstoy’s War and Peace makes it as one of the top-ten best novels every written. So what does publisher Harper Collins want to do to honor this distinction? Put the 1500 page classic on a diet and change the ending, of course!

That’s right, the new edition coming out this year will be half as long and characters who were previously killed will live and others that lived will die. Why?

Harper Collins says…

Continue reading War and New Piece

Potter and Paper

July 21, 2007 has been flagged for the release of the final Harry Potter book. I know tons of people that read the book and I may be the only person on LibraryThing that has never read/owned an HP book. Though I have not missed a release date!

The last two releases were quite fun. Most of the bookstores in the city stay open through midnight to try and cash in on the hype. It’s fun to drive around town visiting all your favorite bookstores, checking out all the fans’ costumes, play a few games and eat some free snacks.

Then there is other side of a new Potter book coming out…

Continue reading Potter and Paper

1986

According to the booktrade gurus, 1986 was the year that “hardback books began selling like paperbacks”. I honestly had previously wondered when the publishing industry started down the road of ordering up millions of first run hardbacks, all set to sell at hardback prices.

Apparently it all started when Stephen King, Danielle Steele and Tom Clancy, started to put pen to paper, churning out books at a regular schedule.

All this is from a pretty interesting piece in the Telegraph today.