Gawker has compiled a pretty exaustive list of blogger book deals. It’s pretty interesting. Even with “less than stellar sales”, it’s amazing how many publishers keep coming back to the trough. They must just have money to burn.

I’m a huge fan of blogs and books. But I tend to think that blogs fill a niche need for readers and that these readers are satisfied with that, so they don’t buy the book. Plus, I think publishers let their eyes glaze over when their marketing people tell them how many hits a blog gets and they think that number translates directly into potential sales. So they do a sub-par job with the book “to get it out while it’s still relevant” and put a less than stellar book on the market.

Just my two cents.

Oh yeah, happy Banned Book Week! And here’s Google’s Banned Book initiative.

Here’s the official site.

Here’s the list, with links to the books and the publishers:

Desai, Kiran The Inheritance of Loss – Hamish Hamilton
Grenville, Kate The Secret River – Canongate
Hyland, M.J. Carry Me Down – Canongate
Matar, Hisham In the Country of Men – Viking
St Aubyn, Edward Mother’s Milk – Picador
Waters, Sarah The Night Watch – Virago