Do you care what the political persuasion of the bookstore you buy from is? “Does it make the decision easier for you to know that 98% of B&N’s corporate political donations went to the Democrats, while 61% of Amazon’s went to the Republicans? Or maybe you’ll be encouraged to get offline entirely and shop at an old–fashioned brick and mortar store upon hearing the news that Borders gave 100% or its donations to Democrats?”
Blog
Random House Considers Selling Online
Publishing giant Random House says it is considering selling its wares directly to the public online. This would put the publisher in competition with e-tailers such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble. “Among factors driving such talk are sluggish sales in the industry overall and a role reversal at Barnes & Noble, which publishes more and more books under its own name. B&N has released literary classics, histories and novelty books, vying with traditional publishers for reader dollars.”
Artist Agnes Martin, 92
Agnes Martin died this morning (Dec. 16) at approximately 6 a.m. at her home in Taos. Details about her death have not been released. “Martin apparently wished to have no obituary written about her, nor any memorial services.”
US Reverses Embargo On Publishing Cubans, Iranians
The US has changed a policy that had banned American publishers from working with dissident authors in certain counries. “The rule change by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control comes after Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi sued the United States because its economic embargo on Iran blocked U.S. publication of her memoirs. The new rule allows U.S. publishers to engage in ‘most ordinary publishing activities’ with people in Cuba, Iran and Sudan, while maintaining restrictions on interactions with government officials and agents of those countries.”
Minorities Still Underrepresented On American TV
American TV networks are still bad at presenting minority characters on TV says a new study. “Among the 16 shows set in New York, Hispanics and Asian- Americans made up a combined 9 percent of regular characters, researchers found – while the city’s population is 27 percent Hispanic and nearly 10 percent Asian-American.”
Theatres Vs. Cell Phones
Theatres and concert halls are going to greater and great lengths to try to get audiences to turn off their cell phones during performances. How about this pitch in a San Francisco theatre: “Dinner for two before the show: $60. Parking for the evening: $18. Ninety minutes of live entertainment without the annoyance of ringing cell phones, beeping pagers or chatty neighbors: priceless. Thank you and enjoy the show.”
Beijing’s National Theatre Faces Money Woes
Beijing’s controversial National Theatre is under construction but facing budget problems. “Shaped like a tear drop, the silvery theater — made of glass and titanium — once sparked controversy on whether such an modern design was appropriate for the center of Beijing. The project met numerous obstacles before finally gaining approval — now it faces budget troubles.”
FCC’s Making Us Look Like Boobs
So why isn’t the FCC investigating some of the truly wretched TV fare out there, asks Tim Goodman. Ifr they have to investigate, go after stuff that’s just plain bad. But the Olympics? Really? We’ll be a laughing stock… “The Greeks did something, um, “arty” in the Opening Ceremonies to annoy prudish “guns-not-boobs” America. That’s how it’ll read to the rest of the world as the story gets media play. Of course, it does provide you with more fodder for counter-intelligence. Yes, you can rise up again, or for the first time even. Because you don’t need a lusty interpretive dance to tell you this nonsense is nowhere near over.”
A Dictionary You Can Add To
The new Collins Online gives readers an opportunity to suggest words for inclusion, as well as debate whether they should be included. “This is a completely new concept which will provide direct contact between the people who compile dictionaries and the end users. It allows us to open up the process of suggesting and selecting words.”
The Depressing Business Of Selling Books
“Anyone who really cares about books is bound to find the way in which they are sold and marketed deeply depressing. To walk into the average high street bookstore at this time of year is to beinstantly assailed by a riot of three-for-two promotions, Christmas catalogues packed out with what Victorian scholars used to call biblia abiblia (“books that are not books”), Robbie Williams, the two motor-cycling actors, and cookery gurus. A glance at this week’s Bookseller chart, meanwhile, discloses that of the country’s 50 bestselling titles, exactly two might possess some kind of literary merit.”