All posts by trav

At the heart of it all, I’m a fan. A fan of books and bookstores. A fan of fiction and non-fiction. A fan of authors and publishers. And most of all I’m a fan of great conversations sparked by books. All that to say - I really need more bookshelves.

Librarians get in GABBS for free

GABBS logoAnyone heard of this? Or going? It’s on August 1-2 and sounds really cool and seems like book bargains could be found, especially since they are still in start-up mode. I think it’s only the second year for the Great American Bargain Book Show, which is aimed at libraries and book sellers. It’s also good to see these types of expos down in our corner of the country.

It popped up on my radar because I saw where they are letting librarians in for free. I’m not a librarian. I just like to keep up with all the cool kids! The rest of us have to pay the $60 fee ($50 if you pre-register).

So your Amy Tan doesn’t tan

Now, I’ve seen it all. The bookbrella almost makes sense… but I really think I’d just feel silly sitting on the beach with one of these.

book umbrella

{via book patrol}

Why the Blook indeed

The uber-popular blog DailyCandy has a new book out. The kick-off party spawned this post, about the blog-to-book movement, from CNET’s Caroline McCarthy. Nothing earth shattering in the post, but through the article and comments you can glean some titles of some recent blook hits and misses, if you’re following those kinds of things.

It all just seems to be marketing driven to me. You tell a sales/marketing person, in any industry, “here’s a group of engaged like-minded folks”, then they are going to try and sell them something. I haven’t found a blog-to-book I liked yet, but there are a few more that I’m willing to give a shot.

{via Joe Wikert} (note: Wikert’s blog is a good read and highly recommended to folks trying to keep up with the evolving book industry.)

Natta in the news

Andre NattaBham Terminal founder Andre Natta has a swank write-up in one of Birmingham’s local papers (the pics aren’t bad either). Congrats to Christina Crowe on the well-written peek into what makes Andre tick. He deserves to be in the spotlight, after all this time of trying to cast the spotlight on others around town.

Also, take note of the mention of a Wordcamp in Birmingham this September!!! It’s going to be a blast!