Audio book sales are down a whopping 47% according to publishers. This makes me wonder if e-book sales are eating into the sale of audio books or if all those free audio book downloads local libraries make available are the real culprits.
One national charity's "blue boxes" seeking book donations are crippling local library books sales across the country. Good or bad? You decide.
On the pleasure of re-reading favorite books - "The point of reading outward, widely, has always been to find the books I want to re-read and then to re-read them. In part, that’s an admission of defeat, an acknowledgement that no matter how long and how widely I read, I will only ever make my way through a tiny portion of the world’s literature." Verlyn Klinkenborg in the New York Times
Declining Book Sales Cast Gloom at an Expo - and the beat goes on. I don't think a 1.5% overall decline in book sales means it's time to push the panic button. After all, the industry still sold over 3 billion books and, thanks to higher prices, net revenues actually rose by 1%.
The ever-brilliant Hugo Chavez is distributing 2.5 million copies of three books to the poor of Venezuela although they would probably much prefer something more appropriate, like food or clothing. The subject of the books will not be much of a surprise to those who regularly follow the antics of this bozo.
An unusual friendship and letter exchange creates a brand new little reader
President and Mrs. Obama to host National Book Festival in September. Thank you very much, Laura Bush.
British textbook risks angering Muslims with its take on Islam's attitude toward women. I am so sick of this kind of thing and wish that publishers and booksellers would stop treating Islam any differently than they treat Christianity and other relgions. Giving in to threats from thugs is like paying money to blackmailers - it never ends.
Are comic books turning into soap operas? Well, I agree with Archie; I would have chosen Veronica, too.
How to bind a book. Who knew it was a 36-part process?
Why e-books aren't cheaper. It's all about fixed costs - and Tina Brown (as I saw on Book TV yesterday) is already ticked off that Amazon sells them for as little as $9.99.
Taking a book vacation - cheap, relaxing, instructive - the perfect vacation for those who can't leave home
Books still rule at Book Expo 2009, as indicated by this article Searching for eBooks at Book Expo 2009. Let's hope the book industry doesn't destroy itself the way that the music industry did itself by ignoring all this new technology.
Great pot pourri. And Yay for Veronica! But boo for that picture that now has me TOTALLY craving donuts!!! :--)
ReplyDeleteSunday mornings are just perfect for books and donuts. :-)
ReplyDeleteI have to admit I am suddenly craving a donut.
ReplyDeleteAs an audiobook reader who seldom purchases audiobooks I will add my 2 cents here. While I generally borrow books on CD from the library, I have also tried downloading (always more of a headache) either through the library's subscription or through Audible.com. The thing with audios, though is that they aren't the sort of things I want to sit on my bookshelves with my books. So, I don't really have any motivation to purchase and audiobook for myself.
I have actually purchased audiobooks for my father (who can't handle the technology of downloading an audio despite all his high tech gadgets and who doesn't own a library card.) Still, I see after he had listened to the audios he doesn't seem to know what to do with the audios. They are sitting in a pile in his spare bedroom.
Good point, Alyssa. They are very expensive when compared to books and they are not the kind of thing that will get much more than one "read." That really makes them an expensive alternative to reading.
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