Booklist Online: Book Reviews from the American Library Association

On the off chance that you missed it, here’s the interview I did last night:

Given the problems in publishing, this line, from Nicholas Rankin’s review of Valerie Holman’s Print for Victory (British Library), is provocative. From the Times Literary Supplement:
Even though book publication was halved in the war, book sales doubled and booksellers made money.
(Or was that too wordy?)

From The Guardian, a noteworthy tale of self-publishing (”Widow self-publishes ‘recreation’ of Philip K Dick’s final novel,” by Alison Flood). Tessa Dick, the “fifth and final wife” of Philip K. Dick, “has reworked the novel the legendary science fiction author was working on when he died in 1982.” It’s not at all clear how much [...]

And what a week it was. All right, fine: weeks. A few miscellaneous links I can’t delete without sharing . . . .
The editorial board of the New York Times makes a good point (”Banning Books in Miami“):
The Miami-Dade School Board’s decision is not only unconstitutional, it is counterproductive. If the board wants to oppose [...]

A new, old idea. The old part: books by subscription. The new part: limited editions based on the number of subscribers. Tiny (but scrappy) Chicago publisher featherproof now has its first imprint, paper egg. (Bring back uppercase letters, say I . . . wait a minute . . . bring back copyeditors who enforce consistent [...]

(My digital to-read stack may not be cluttering my physical desktop, but it sure feels heavy all the same . . .  )
Ready to think about the future of books? These days, I can hardly stand to do anything else. Join me!
In January, in Time (”Books Gone Wild: The Digital Age Reshapes Literature“) Lev Grossman wrote that [...]

An update on David Carnoy’s Knife Music: just before New Year’s, I noticed a review of the book in Kirkus Discoveries. The review praises the pacing and prose, and sums up by calling it a ”gripping thriller debut that is just what the doctor ordered.” A review almost any writer would kill for–and which any writer can apply [...]

Not to be outdone, Dick Cheney is writing a book, too (Galleycat):
In an interview with Sean Hannity, he explained that he had “a few scores to settle,” and hoped the book could top off his legacy.
But the consensus seems to be that the best writer to occupy the White House in modern times–well, he’ll be [...]

Tom Tomorrow tackles the memory crisis (”This Modern World,” Salon).
A bunch of publishing types speculate on how much money Barack Obama will earn for his memoirs (”How Much Will Obama Get for His Memoirs?” New York). Funny, funny, funny:
Larry Kirshbaum, agent and former CEO, Time Warner Books:
“With Dow 9,000 as a base, if it’s at [...]

On NPR, Rick Kleffel talks to Victoria Blake of Underland Press about a new form of fiction: the “wovel” (”The Wovel: Literary Alternative to Browsing Blogs“). Basically, it’s a serial novel with a Choose Your Own Adventure twist at the end of each installment–the readers vote on what should happen next.
Voting is open from Monday to [...]