What’s most effective in selling a book? Word of mouth – personal recommendations. “Publishers often stand accused of becoming ever more sophisticated and cynical in their pursuit of creating instant author brands, when ultimately it is as likely to be good old-fashioned personal recommendation that really sells.”
Tag: 03.04.05
Dan What’s-His-Name And That Leonardo Book Take “Most Popular” Title
What’s the most popular book club book? “After nearly 13,000 votes, we can announce the winner is Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code, followed by Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog… and Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. A longlist of more than 50 was based on the suggestions from book clubs from across the UK who sent in their nominations to the Magazine last week.”
How Is It “World” Music If World Doesn’t Listen?
As musicians and music execs gather in Gateshead for this year’s World Music Awards, one wonders: the “world” music celebrated in the West isn’t necissarily the music played in the countries of origin. So do the nominations “represent the cream of the world’s music or simply the tastes and interests of a group of self-appointed Western experts?” And does it matter?
Does “Popularity” Disqualify New Music From Concert Halls?
Why is it that new music that gets to be popular with audiences is so seldom programmed in concert halls, asks Julian Lloyd-Webber. “Sadly, the impression persists that new compositions which have proved attractive to audiences are considered too populist by certain powerful figures in the classical music world.”
Kiev’s Battling Museums
One of the Ukraine’s richest men wants to build a museum of contemporay art. But the country’s new president wants to build a historical museum on the same site. “Whether the government’s actions are motivated by animus for the controversial Pinchuk, or whether this is simply an honest misunderstanding and conflict between opposing visions, the government should reverse tack and let the businessman build his museum. First of all, Kyiv needs a museum of forward-looking contemporary art more than it needs a historical-cultural museum that, valuable as it may be, will inevitably be backward-looking.”
Extortionist Uses Da Vinci Code To Blackmail Company
An extortionist in Australia used the Vigenere Code – made famous recently by the best-selling novel The Da Vinci Code – to blackmail a construction company. The blackmailer used newspaper classified ads to send his messages to the company, theatening to kill crane drivers unless he was paid the ransom by Tuesday.