October 2014

In his Search/Research blog, Google’s research scientist Daniel Russell has this to say about using all the research tools at your disposal, the most important of which just may be the humble library card.

“One of the more powerful research tools you can have is a library card.

I’ve written about why libraries are great before, but this is worth repeating: A library card is instant access to a world of resources. Both offline AND online.

That might surprise you, but here are 5 reasons why you want a library card to be a great researcher.”

Peter Mendelsund estimates he’s designed “somewhere between 600 and 1,000 book covers,” ranging from Crime and Punishment to Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. But the self-taught, sought-after designer says he spends a lot of time reading, too.

“It’s always surprising to people when they come to my office or they walk by my door and they see me with my feet kicked up with a manuscript,” he tells Fresh Air’s Dave Davies. “But I read constantly from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to sleep.”

Now Mendelsund has designed the covers for two new books of his own. Cover is a collection of hundreds of his book covers, including many that were rejected, along with commentaries on his technique. What We See When We Read is about how words give rise to images in our minds.

Full piece here:
http://www.npr.org/2014/10/16/345548582/the-jacket-designers-challenge-to-capture-a-book-by-its-cover

Book Publishers Sweep Video Site for a New Wave of Authors

Publishers seeking the next hit author have a new hunting ground: YouTube.

A wave of titles written by YouTube personalities is hitting the shelves this month as book publishers bet on the power of online media. They made a similar bet several years ago on books by popular food bloggers, such as Ree Drummond and Julie Powell.

http://online.wsj.com/articles/from-youtube-stars-literary-lions-1413150001?mod=WSJ_TechWSJD_NeedToKnow

There has been a lot of conversation lately about the differences between wholesale pricing and agency pricing for ebooks and about what constitutes a “fair” division of revenue between publishers and retailers. Since the economics of bookstores have been generally misunderstood for years, it is not surprising that the understanding of what changes make sense as we switch to digital have also been misunderstood. A better grounding in the print book economic realities might enable a more informed discussion of what makes sense for digital.

Let me ‘splain… no, there is too much. let me sum up.

Actor Cary Elwes, best known for his dashing performance as the heroic farm boy Westley in The Princess Bride, has a new book out, full of memories from the cast of the cult classic.

Full piece on NPR

The Copyright Wars: Three Centuries of Trans-Atlantic Battle

Today’s copyright wars can seem unprecedented. Sparked by the digital revolution that has made copyright–and its violation–a part of everyday life, fights over intellectual property have pitted creators, Hollywood, and governments against consumers, pirates, Silicon Valley, and open-access advocates. But while the digital generation can be forgiven for thinking the dispute between, for example, the publishing industry and Google is completely new, the copyright wars in fact stretch back three centuries–and their history is essential to understanding today’s battles. The Copyright Wars–the first major trans-Atlantic history of copyright from its origins to today–tells this important story.

The Copyright Wars: Three Centuries of Trans-Atlantic Battle

Today’s copyright wars can seem unprecedented. Sparked by the digital revolution that has made copyright–and its violation–a part of everyday life, fights over intellectual property have pitted creators, Hollywood, and governments against consumers, pirates, Silicon Valley, and open-access advocates. But while the digital generation can be forgiven for thinking the dispute between, for example, the publishing industry and Google is completely new, the copyright wars in fact stretch back three centuries–and their history is essential to understanding today’s battles. The Copyright Wars–the first major trans-Atlantic history of copyright from its origins to today–tells this important story.

Peter Baldwin explains why the copyright wars have always been driven by a fundamental tension. Should copyright assure authors and rights holders lasting claims, much like conventional property rights, as in Continental Europe? Or should copyright be primarily concerned with giving consumers cheap and easy access to a shared culture, as in Britain and America? The Copyright Wars describes how the Continental approach triumphed, dramatically increasing the claims of rights holders. The book also tells the widely forgotten story of how America went from being a leading copyright opponent and pirate in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to become the world’s intellectual property policeman in the late twentieth. As it became a net cultural exporter and its content industries saw their advantage in the Continental ideology of strong authors’ rights, the United States reversed position on copyright, weakening its commitment to the ideal of universal enlightenment–a history that reveals that today’s open-access advocates are heirs of a venerable American tradition.

Compelling and wide-ranging, The Copyright Wars is indispensable for understanding a crucial economic, cultural, and political conflict that has reignited in our own time.

Amazon, the giant Internet retailer, is taking a step into the physical world with plans to open a brick-and-mortar store in New York City.

Full piece here.