In this electronic age, books still matter. Such is the message of this story written by Karen Long in the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “In 2006, Americans bought more than 3.1 billion books, generating $35.69 billion in sales, up 3.2 percent over 2005’s total, according to […]

I recently saw an in-depth interview with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Susan Faludi about her latest book, The Terror Dream. Her comments widened my thinking about how national self-identity always affects our response to national tragedy. It’s there as a starting point almost, in that your […]

In a recent issue of CJR, there is a good summary article about the decline of book coverage in major media outlets. “That book coverage is disappearing is not news,” writes Steve Wasserman. “What is news is the current pace of the erosion in coverage, […]

It’s not anything that writers don’t already know. The writing life isn’t as glamorus as most people (who don’t do it for a living) think it is. An interesting column from British publication, The Guardian: “By all means, write, if you enjoy it,” writes columnist […]

Beth Webb has a good bolg entry at The Guardian considering the pros and cons of publishing. She asks, “Why bother to go through all the heartache and hassle of fighting to get your precious memories or thoughts into mainstream publication? Your own PC, printer […]

I think these shelves look like a great way for a reader to decorate their walls and move some books out of the way at the same time. I certainly have a need for them on both counts. I have a birthday coming up … […]

The Christian Science Monitor has a story about private libraries. This sounds rather nice: “The Boston Athenaeum, dating back to 1807, is the country’s largest such institution, with 600,000 volumes (in addition to more than 500 pieces of art) and 5,000 members. Stepping through its […]

Every December, many critics and writers pick their favorite books of the year. A few lists have been published: a few holiday picks from independent booksellers featured at NPR; the New York Times 10 Best Books of 2006; and the Washington Post’s Best of 2006. […]

Margaret Atwood has a review of Richard Powers’ The Echo Maker in the Dec. 21 issue of the New York Review of Books. She writes, ” there are books you read once and there are other books you read more than once because they are […]