The Written Nerd

It's been tough to find blogging time around here lately. With meetings both business and social, I feel like I'm only home to eat and sleep (and debrief with the ALP). So I'm instituting a new little feature that I hope will be interesting -- and importantly, that I can almost do in my sleep. It's called The Handsell , and it's basically the bookseller's job distilled. Not quite a review, this is more like the 30-second version of my experience reading the book, pitched toward the kind of reader I think might enjoy it. It's what we do when a customer asks for a recommendation, and what we do when writing staff picks for displays. I think it's perfectly suited to the blog format. So, you'll be seeing more of them around here, in between longer and more in-depth posts. I've got a serious backlog of books I've read this year, so it will be a while before I catch up to my current reads. Hope you find these interesting -- maybe you'll...

Listening to NPR this morning I had a little jolt: they were talking about the intersection of the internet and books, but not from a book industry point of view. As part of an ongoing series on the effects the internet has had on the culture of China, this piece highlights the growth of Chinese online publishing : chapters selling for a few cents each. It's not political writing, but mysteries and romance that are breaking out of the traditional, party-run publishing mold. And it's mostly young writers, as you'd expect. The kicker? All those kids publishing online really just want to get into print. There is some good news for people who like actual books made of paper. Fu and most other Chinese writers still want to see their books in print. Happily for them, publishers increasingly look to the Internet to find the most popular books. City of Books, Shanghai's largest book store, takes up six stories, and more and more, books that first showed up on the Internet ...

My coworker and buddy Dustin has a hilarious post on our new McNally Robinson blog, The Common Reader , about an activity he seems to have invented (or at least named): the Booknap . Check it out for a full explanation of the technicalities of the form, along with illuminating pictures of Dustin in various booknappish poses, and getting his eye poked by William Vollmann. I feel Dustin would hate the word whimsical to describe anything he's written, but it's given me that sort of delight on a random Tuesday afternoon.

My buddy David Del Vecchio is rocking it at his brand new bookstore in Chelsea: Idlewild Books ! Not only did the store get a shout out in Boing Boing (the pinnacle of blog fame), it's hosting some fantastic events , and recently got a Book Buddies analysis from NAIBA , which proved what I suspected: David's already doing a lot of things right. I haven't gotten a chance to visit the store since it was in the buildout phase -- can't wait to stop in. Go by, say hi to David, and shop! Also, I heard a rumor that DARE Books in Fort Greene is closing. Their online site doesn't say anything -- anyone know the deal here? And at McNally Robinson tonight, I get the rare treat of hosting an author whose book I read and loved: Toby Barlow with Sharp Teeth . As I've mentioned , it's one of the few books the ALP and I both enjoyed (too bad he has to miss the reading tonight, but a Deacon's work is never done). The reading is at 7 -- join me if you can for all ...

It's one of those crazy days for me today (as opposed to all of the totally sane days that happen at other times, to other people... who am I kidding?) But as promised, I want to recap the ABA Day of Education, particularly the Green portions. It will be short, though. There was so much on offer at the DOE this year, and I wish I'd gotten to more. During one session I was serving on my own Graphic Novels Panel. I started out at the "Managing Blockbuster Events" panel, but was made unable to take it in by a migraine-grade headache (brought on by too much coffee, too little water, and too much hotel air conditioning, I think). I came back for the Loss Control panel, which was useful, but mostly stuff we've figured out (if not implemented) at my store already. Which leaves the Green Retailing panel. Luckily, intrepid reporter Karen Schechner has written up the whole thing for Bookselling This Week - so you can read her capable recap instead of mine. But there ...

Okay, I'm totally cheating with today's post on Emerging Leaders activities at BEA. But since Jenn Northington already gathered our copious notes into a coherent email update, why reinvent the wheel? The eight of us (minus Caroline, whose participation fell victim to some phone call incompetence on our part) sat around a table on Wednesday for about four hours, hashing out where we want to take this organization that's done so much so far. I was totally inspired by the energy and creativity of my fellow council members, and we did everything we set out to do: revisit our goals, make concrete plans, and assign tasks. Here's the email we just sent to our the EL mailing list with the recap (italics are my additions) * * * After a rousing Council meeting (not to mention a killer party - see pics at the bottom! ) at BEA, Emerging Leaders is back on track! With a revamped Mission and some new Council Members, we couldn't wait to share our plans with you. Introducing ou...

Some good ideas only work if people are aware of them. Two examples, wildly differing in importance: 1) Stimulating Reading is still in effect - click here for my explanation of the project, by which you translate the controversial "stimulus payments" into real economic impact by helping me to create a local independent bookstore. I know lots of us haven't gotten our stimulus checks yet -- and in this economic climate we may be needing them for necessities. But if you've got some to spare -- or, if you've got time and link love to spare in spreading the word -- well, support ! You'll be rewarded with good swag, and the irreplaceable feeling of doing something good in the world. 2) Indra Sinha , the author of the well-reviewed novel Animal's People about a chemical disaster in Bhopal, is putting his money where his mouth is. Dow Chemical, which owns the pesticide plant where a toxic gas leak killed thousands and continues to contaminate water and k...