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.
News, On the Web

New online bookservice

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There’s a new book “lending” service in town… PaperSpine.com

It’s just like Netflix, except for books. That’s right. The monthly plans start at $9.95, you click which books you want to read, they mail them to you, you read and return, then they mail you the next one on your list.

It’s sounds a lot like a library, except this one you pay for. I guess there are some places in the country that have limited access to books, but I find it hard to believe that this new business will actually make any money. It just seems like a really bad idea. Some of this discussion has already crept up on PaperSpine’s blog.

Libraries, local bookstores, Amazon, chain bookstores, etc. they have a pretty good track record for getting books, cheaply into people’s hands. I just don’t see the “it worked for Netflix and movies, so it’ll work here” argument holding any water.

{via GalleyCat}

Birmingham, On the Web

I’m over there too

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For the month of December, I’ll also be posting over at The Bham Terminal. It’s a hyper-local site that’s gaining steam here in Birmingham, AL and across the Southeastern U.S.

It looks like my bookish banter will fall in the Timetable section. I haven’t decided if I’ll cross-post or what. We’ll just have to see how it goes.

So check it out, before I do something wrong and cause that cool site to crash (though I’ll try not too)! There’s a lot of good info to crawl through for folks who live around these here parts.

Gifts for Book Lovers, On the Web

Paper & prose for the nose

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smell.jpgHere’s one for the Gift List this season. It’s a scent from CB Experience called “In the Library”.

Here is the description of the fragrance, from the manufacturer’s site:

“English Novel taken from a Signed First Edition of one of my very favorite novels, Russian & Moroccan leather bindings, worn cloth and a hint of wood polish”

What’s really cool is that we all know exactly what they are talking about. If you’ve spent anytime in a used bookstore, you know that nice comforting aged paper smell they are referring to. I sure do wish there was a way to sample the goods over the internet.

Now, if they can just get the smell of a fresh batch of bluelines or color print proofs in a bottle… but maybe that’s just me.

(via Books, Inq.)

Media, News

Are you kidding me?

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While folks all over the blogosphere are debating the merits of Amazon’s Kindle, Japan has evidentially moved on. This just seems unbelievable to me, but…

“This week the 2007 bestseller list, published by Japan’s biggest book distributor, Tohan, revealed that five of the year’s most successful novels, including the top three, were first written for downloading on mobile phones before being republished in book form.”

That just doesn’t seem possible. I mean sure I can see some books getting their start on mobile media, but bestsellers? Has anyone ever tried to read a novel on a cellphone screen? I can’t imagine it.

This news tidbit came from the London Times Online and it’s a great little article looking into this trend. I can’t imagine this spreading beyond Japan, but I guess when you grow up text messaging your friends (like the new generation seems to be able to do in their sleep, or while walking down the mall, or sidewalk, or driving Birmingham’s highways) then reading Dickens on the phone is no big deal.

Maybe I’m just getting old.