Happy September, bookworms. I survived Hurricane Earl! But more importantly, my books survive Hurricane Earl. And that’s a good thing, since I got this crazy urge this week to do nothing but read all weekend long. Unfortunately, I already have other plans, but rest assured – reading will happen anyway. In the meantime, here’s this week’s book news:
- It seems nothing is safe from the far-reaching arms of the Internet. As Oxford University Press continues to prepare for the third edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (considered by many to be THE English dictionary), there was some suggestion that the OED wouldn’t be available in print version. While those fears are – for now, allayed – the issue is still unresolved. I wish people would stop jumping on the digital bandwagon and take a slower approach. If paper books are really supposed to disappear, they will. Let’s not make any hasty decisions here.
- First, it was an online dating site. Now, a bookstore in Brooklyn is taking the idea of matching people up via their literary tastes one step further. Word Bookstore now has a matchmaking bulletin board, giving readers and customers the chance to check out a fellow bookworm. The store even held a literary prom for the newly matched book lovers. A novel idea, indeed.
- The hullabaloo over the Humble, TX Teen Lit Festival has come to a disappointing end: the officials have decided to cancel the event outright, saying too many authors withdrew to justify continuing with the festival. It’s unfortunate it came to this – as I wrote earlier this week, it just didn’t seem like there was one right solution for any of the authors to take. The festival organizers, however, didn’t have to cancel the event. Surely instead of going to extremes and cancelling the event they could have found some kind of common ground or compromise, right?
- Well, that’s one way of doing it: the Three Lives & Co. Bookstore in Manhattan has managed to stay alive – and even profitable – despite the economic downturn. How? By not changing with the times, apparently. The store is essentially the same as it was when it opened in 1968. Most of the staff members have worked there for several years and there’s very little adornment or advertising. Though the store does have a website, it also simply does one thing really well: sell books.
- The newest cast of Dancing with the Stars was announced this week and, as YA author Ally Carter rightly pointed out, there are – once again – no authors included in the line-up. Now, I’m not really a fan of the show and I don’t watch, but if a wack-job politician’s daughter can get on the show, why can’t some authors? I personally would be much more interested in watching with I could see Stephen King fight it out against J.K. Rowling or Libba Bray.
As always, bookworms, happy reading.
