Is the print book coming to an end? From http://www.thebookseller.com/news/print-book-sales-continue-fall.html:
"Book sales slipped for the fourth week in a row last week, and were down more than £3.3m on last year, according to Nielsen BookScan data.
A total of £24.2m was spent on printed books at UK retail outlets in the seven days to 26th March, down 2.9% (£735,000) on the previous week, and down 12% on the same week last year.
It is the 10th week of 12 in 2011 thus far that BookScan has reported a drop in year-on-year book sales, as the trade struggles to match a particularly poor start to 2010 when inclement weather resulted in sales falling 6% (£23m) in the first three months of the year on 2009."
I had blogged earlier about wondering whether to get a Kindle or Amazon or the like. I still haven't gotten one, as I don't really have a need for it. I don't travel enough for it to make a whole lot of sense for me. I would never, ever read an ebook at home. I prefer actual hard copy books. But will there come a point when I will have no choice?
I have a hard time seeing a time when hard copy books will become obsolete; but I think things will change. You used to see music stores in every mall. Not anymore. It's much easier and often cheaper to buy music online. But you can still go to Target and buy a CD if you want one. In that same vein, I am sure those who want actual books will still be able to get them. But I also predict that the trend discussed in the above-mentioned article will continue. However, it does make me a little bit sad.
29 March 2011
24 March 2011
C-Span's Book TV -- "Andrew Johnson" by Annette Gordon-Reed
I am a big fan of C-Span's Book TV. Every weekend, C-Span2 airs programs about books. These may be interviews with authors, book readings, programs from book fairs around the country, and presentations by authors. This last is my favorite to watch. Each week I look at the listings for the coming weekend and often set my DVR to record one or more shows. I currently have a backlog!
Yesterday, I watched a presentation by Annette Gordon-Reed, who wrote a biography of President Andrew Johnson for the American Presidents series. You may recall that I recently reviewed the biography of Chester Arthur from that series. Ms. Gordon Reed apparently normally focuses on slavery issues (she is African American), and stated in her presentation that she typically avoids the period of Reconstruction because it's very emotional for her. However, she was asked by friends to write this biography for the series and she agreed to do so.
I enjoyed listening to her talk about the process of doing the research and how her feelings about the era influenced her writing. I also learned quite a bit about Johnson from the presentation. Many of us, myself included, know little more than that Johnson was impeached (but escaped conviction by only one vote) and that he is considered among the worst presidents we've had. Ms. Gordon-Reed talked about Johnson's viewpoints regarding society at the time, such as his opinion that whites should always be above blacks, and that he really wan't that in favor of abolishing slavery. Therefore, that colored his view of how to reincorporate the South into the Union, and may have extended the racial issues that didn't even begin to get resolved until the mid 20th Century.
I am very interested to get this book to add to the editions I already have from the series.
If you'd like to view the presentation, it can be found on C-Span's Book TV website at http://www.booktv.org/Program/12207/Andrew+Johnson.aspx
Yesterday, I watched a presentation by Annette Gordon-Reed, who wrote a biography of President Andrew Johnson for the American Presidents series. You may recall that I recently reviewed the biography of Chester Arthur from that series. Ms. Gordon Reed apparently normally focuses on slavery issues (she is African American), and stated in her presentation that she typically avoids the period of Reconstruction because it's very emotional for her. However, she was asked by friends to write this biography for the series and she agreed to do so.
I enjoyed listening to her talk about the process of doing the research and how her feelings about the era influenced her writing. I also learned quite a bit about Johnson from the presentation. Many of us, myself included, know little more than that Johnson was impeached (but escaped conviction by only one vote) and that he is considered among the worst presidents we've had. Ms. Gordon-Reed talked about Johnson's viewpoints regarding society at the time, such as his opinion that whites should always be above blacks, and that he really wan't that in favor of abolishing slavery. Therefore, that colored his view of how to reincorporate the South into the Union, and may have extended the racial issues that didn't even begin to get resolved until the mid 20th Century.
I am very interested to get this book to add to the editions I already have from the series.
If you'd like to view the presentation, it can be found on C-Span's Book TV website at http://www.booktv.org/Program/12207/Andrew+Johnson.aspx
21 March 2011
Book List -- Trying to Catch Up!
I am woefully behind on my book reviews. I keep having good intentions to get caught up, and then I finish another book and fall farther behind. Therefore, I'm just going to give you short reviews of the books I've read recently, and I'll start up with regular reviews with the next book. So, in the couple of months I've read:
#3 -- "First Family: Abigail and John" by Joseph J. Ellis (2010). I'm a big John Adams fan so I was excited to read this book. It was strange after reading "Founding Brothers" immediately before this, because much of the John Adams chapter from "Brothers" is repeated verbatim here. The book didn't present much that I didn't already know, but by now that would be hard to go given all the Adams books I've read. For someone new to the Adams relationship, this book would be a great start. 3 stars out of 5.
#4 -- "American Original: The Life and Constitution of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia" by Joan Buskupic (2009). I'm not on Justice Scalia's end of the political spectrum, but I find him fascinating to listen to or to read his opinions. He's a very interesting character. Therefore, I found this book to be very interesting and I learned a lot about Scalia that I didn't know. The book does focus on a lot of the cases he's been involved in, and it was interesting to read about his role in cases I studied in law school. However, I wonder whether someone without a legal background would find the book a little too academic. I thought it was great. 4.5 stars out of 5.
#5 -- "Quentins" by Maeve Binchy (2002). I'm not a big fiction reader, but if I'm in the mood, Maeve Binchy is always a good bet. I've got a few of her books on my shelf. This book is a bit of a mystery surrounding a restaurant in Ireland. All the main characters have some sort of connection to the restaurant. The mystery has to do with a Madoff-esque scheme whereby a man steals money from people and flees to Spain when he's about to get caught. As usual, a very good book by Binchy. 4 stars out of 5.
#6 -- "Chester Alan Arthur" by Zachary Karabell (2004). This book is part of a series of presidential biographies. I have six of them and I hope to obtain them all. They're very short books -- this one was 144 pages -- so they do not go into a whole lot of depth; but I'm not sure there'd be much to say about Arthur anyway. He only served one term, and came to the Presidency only upon the death of President Garfield. I really knew nothing about him so found the book interesting. Arthur comes across as an ethical man and politician in an era marked with corruption. He never wanted to be President, and isn't marked as one of our best; but he made it through without scandal, which was really all that was needed at the time. 3 stars out of 5.
Let's hope I can bet back on track with book #7 for the year!
#3 -- "First Family: Abigail and John" by Joseph J. Ellis (2010). I'm a big John Adams fan so I was excited to read this book. It was strange after reading "Founding Brothers" immediately before this, because much of the John Adams chapter from "Brothers" is repeated verbatim here. The book didn't present much that I didn't already know, but by now that would be hard to go given all the Adams books I've read. For someone new to the Adams relationship, this book would be a great start. 3 stars out of 5.
#4 -- "American Original: The Life and Constitution of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia" by Joan Buskupic (2009). I'm not on Justice Scalia's end of the political spectrum, but I find him fascinating to listen to or to read his opinions. He's a very interesting character. Therefore, I found this book to be very interesting and I learned a lot about Scalia that I didn't know. The book does focus on a lot of the cases he's been involved in, and it was interesting to read about his role in cases I studied in law school. However, I wonder whether someone without a legal background would find the book a little too academic. I thought it was great. 4.5 stars out of 5.
#5 -- "Quentins" by Maeve Binchy (2002). I'm not a big fiction reader, but if I'm in the mood, Maeve Binchy is always a good bet. I've got a few of her books on my shelf. This book is a bit of a mystery surrounding a restaurant in Ireland. All the main characters have some sort of connection to the restaurant. The mystery has to do with a Madoff-esque scheme whereby a man steals money from people and flees to Spain when he's about to get caught. As usual, a very good book by Binchy. 4 stars out of 5.
#6 -- "Chester Alan Arthur" by Zachary Karabell (2004). This book is part of a series of presidential biographies. I have six of them and I hope to obtain them all. They're very short books -- this one was 144 pages -- so they do not go into a whole lot of depth; but I'm not sure there'd be much to say about Arthur anyway. He only served one term, and came to the Presidency only upon the death of President Garfield. I really knew nothing about him so found the book interesting. Arthur comes across as an ethical man and politician in an era marked with corruption. He never wanted to be President, and isn't marked as one of our best; but he made it through without scandal, which was really all that was needed at the time. 3 stars out of 5.
Let's hope I can bet back on track with book #7 for the year!
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