Just a few years ago Amazon revolutionized the way the public reads when they launched their Kindle tablet, increasing the sales and popularity of e-books.  (Side note – one thing I learned interning today is that Kindle was NOT the first e-Reader.  The first official e-Reader was distributed by Sony…yet when it was launched it fell flat on his face.  Seriously, who screwed that one up?)  Point being, Amazon’s digital movement was embraced by most readers and engaged a lot of publishing professionals when it was released, yet now that they are moving towards publishing paper and hard backs everyone is up in arms.

Is this really fair? I agree with most when they say that Amazon opening physical store locations throughout the country would most likely fall flat on its face, but would it actually monopolize the book selling industry?  Certainly one can’t argue that Amazon DOES limit content to their audiences and encourages complete exclusivity with some of their clients.  But Apple does the same thing…try playing your iTunes music on any device other than an iPod. (yeah, it doesn’t work).  This is just the nature of business, and in my opinion due to the increase of digital media and online content the business of publishing has become a bit of a melee.  It’s fair to want to protect your assets and your business by rejecting collaborative efforts with a potential competitor, but is it fair to be this vitriolic in the press?  Amazon had a great idea with the Kindle and e-books and it’s natural to want to expand on that idea and include audiences that might not have jumped on the tablet bandwagon.  The objective of business is to continue to generate revenue and a wider audience, and Amazon is doing just that.

It’s important, especially in today’s world, to be a conscientious consumer.  If people are willing to research and engage in political discussion when electing a President or Senator, they should be just as willing to come up with their own opinion of how and from where they are purchasing.  I think a lot of the book sellers, especially the smaller independent ones, played a little bit of follow the leader when B&N made their public decision without really thinking in-depth about the choice.

Time will tell how all of these decisions will effect the market of book selling and from where people are likely to get their books…but in the mean time keep posted and and do a little digging around the Internet before you shake your finger at Amazon.

P.S. The one laughing all the way to the bank in this episode is not necessarily Amazon – while all of this mudslinging was going on Houghton Mifflin Harcourt signed to be the first distributor of content outside of Amazon.com…a potentially very profitable move.  Will it spark a different game of follow the leader?

Firstly, the Kindle v. Nook battle. Well, the Kindle v. Nook v. iPad battle, I should say.The different devices have some fundamental distinctions. The iPad seems to come out the overall winner, as Apple products tend to do, with the ability to e-read (can you verb that?) and so so much more. But just looking at the [much cheaper than the iPad] basic e-readers, the Nook beat out the Kindle by Consumer Reports ratings. And yet, it would seem that the Kindle is less expensive, has a larger library with cheaper ebooks and has more apps and such available. The Nook? Has more RAM, more memory, a larger screen and is more lightweight.  The choice is yours. It’s still unclear which is doing better sales-wise.

Secondly, B&N’s patent-infringement case with Microsoft. Word on the street is, Microsoft demands that B&N pay exorbitant licensing fees for the Microsoft Android technology used in the Nook. Bloomberg News thinks B&N will win out, but Microsoft says Amazon pays the same demanded fees for the Android tech in their Kindle Fire. Eek.

Thirdly, and most dramatically (yes, the B&N entanglements with Amazon can get still worse…), B&N made a “declaration of war” stating that they will not stock Amazon published books in their stores (though they will sell them online) in protest of Amazon’s “exclusivity” with publishers, “undermining the industry as a whole,” claiming that Amazon has “prevented millions of customers from having access to content.” Sadly for B&N, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has not such qualms with Amazon and has agreed to distribute its books in print. So, while B&N sticks their principles, Amazon still wins out in this battle and HMH snags the deal.

Barnes and Noble still stands as the world’s largest bookstore, but for how long? With Borders gone, B&N should be reaping the benefits, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. What would the world look like without B&N and with Amazon as reigning champion? I hope it does not come to this. I respect the world’s right to ebooks, but the idea that print will cease to exist is incomprehensible. Maybe print will go “underground” and become the medium of rebels and revolutionaries, oppressed by the “conventionals” with their heads in the iCloud. That’s actually a neat idea for some future-dystopia story a la Clockwork Orange or 1984, but I’d rather it not come to that.

Stay strong, B&N. Don’t leave us.

Your New Beau. 

I only wonder this today as Shelf Awareness alerts me to the existence of some “Fresh Takes” on Louisa Mae Alcott’s classic Little Women. Much like the bizarre mini-series Lost in Austen, Emily March falls into the story of Little Women and becomes the “Middle March” (ha, George Eliot joke!) in Little Women and Me. She endeavors to find out why Laurie ends up with Amy instead of Jo (sorry, spoiler…) and decides she wants him for herself instead! ….Well, could be fun, I suppose…

I began research for some kind of “why” to explain how this kind of reimagining happens. Instead all I found were more and more examples, including sequels, prequels, new points of view (My procrastinating self went on Google and all I got were these lousy search results).  So, we could go with the “Dante and Shakespeare divide the world between them- there is no third” excuse (thank you, T.S. Eliot). Perhaps it is just some cyclic cultural phenomenon; we are stuck in a mire of retellings until a new classic emerges to then fall subject to its own various degradations.

Can some insight be gleaned from specific examples? Let me count the ways:

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Seth Grahame-Smith

Uses 85% of the original text and intersperses Zombie scenes into the narrative. Given “A” ratings by some, called a defamation and “100% terrible” by others. A gimmicky attempt to mesh a popular modern fad (zombies) with a popular classic novel (P&P). Double the popularity=double the money?

The Wind Done Gone, Alice Randall

A parody of Gone with the Wind, in which the original is retold from the perspective of a mixed-race plantation owner’s daughter, who is Scarlett O’Hara’s half-sister. The novel almost wasn’t published, due to accusations of copyright infringement. Social commentary?

Mary Riley, Valerie Martin

Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, retold from the perspective of the doctor’s maid, Mary Reilly, who falls in love with the dichotomous doctor. Julia Roberts starred in the movie. I read this in high school. No comment.

Mrs. DeWinter, Susan Hill; Pemberley, Emma Tennant

Sequels to Rebecca and Pride & Prejudice, respectively. Fan-fiction?

So, what “whys” have we? Money. Commentary. Self-indulgence. Well, the second reason seems noble and amusing enough. As for the rest…I do not really like to generalize. Some of these books, I’m sure, have their own merits. I can’t say I’ve never read one of the sort. Truth be told, I’m reading one right now (not telling). But whatever the reason for them, Kristen Bell always has a fresh perspective.

Though inconclusive, still as ever,

Your new Beau.

As I set out to write my second blog, I referred back to what I wrote last week on technological innovation and how it has transformed us as a society, in some ways detrimentally.  Snowballing off of that, I find it striking how many contemporary works of American fiction have started incorporating tech themes into their narratives.  A Visit from the Goon Squad had an entire chapter told via a PowerPoint presentation.  Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon is about how easily identities are swiped over the Internet.  Lisbeth Salander embezzles millions by computer hacking in the Millennium Trilogy.

Perhaps without consciously taking into account my opinion on the insidiousness of technology, one of the best books I read last year was Don DeLillo’s The Angel Esmeralda.  The book, a collection of nine short stories touching upon a multitude of themes, is entirely removed from the tech trends – so much so that reading on an eReader almost detracted from the ambiance of the book.  While it has mostly been excluded from Pulitzer prediction lists and best of short-lists, I hope that it is not left unnoticed.  Each story can be revisited over again, and even the earliest written story is relatable.  The themes of loneliness, isolation, sexuality, intimacy, anger, and youth make for an engaging read.  While no story is alike, a mysterious atmosphere permeates throughout the collection.

My favorite story is “Human Moments in World War III,” a futuristic depiction of two young men in orbit aimlessly (and mindlessly) firing at “targets” on Earth during a cataclysmic period of war.  They have a collection of “human moments” with them in their vessel – photographs, trophies, clothing, etc. to remind them of their past, and probably of their humanity.  Without any sense of time or place the characters rely on their languor to estimate the day of the week.  When they believe to hear a human voice crackle through their transmission, the doubt and confusion they feel is eerie to read.  The thought of human culture being so far removed compared with the isolating experiences of the two boys is so powerful, I thought about the story for hours after despite its mere 15 or odd pages in length.

The book stands out not only in the oeuvre of DeLillo’s work but in the array of books released last year because of the human moments – and I’m not necessarily talking about the one story.  If I am right, and fiction indeed can help us reflect upon and relate to each other, one need not look further than this book.  I promise you, the intimacy is in every paragraph and punctuation mark.  It reminded me how important, frightening, moving, and exhilarating relationships can be at times.   Not to beat a dead horse, but it really is remarkable how different relationships were when we relied not so heavily on technologically supported interaction but on human interaction.

Basically, if I’m ever stuck with a stranger in a spaceship sometime in the future launching missiles into the atmosphere, one of my “human moments” would definitely be this book.

- BB

One of the daily tasks that I have been performing for the past month and change is to track marketing updates for most of our authors.  One name that floods into my inbox morning after morning is Gary Shapiro, CEO of CEA (hehe).  For weeks now I have been perusing and filing away news articles Gary has written about SOPA and PIPA, which at first simply had my Spanish speaking mind thinking of soups and pipes.  After about 50 more articles over the course of a month I figured I should know what I was reading about and, evidently, what everyone else was talking about.

The Stop Online Piracy Act and Protect Intellectual Property Act have elicited some strong responses from Senators and Congressmen to bloggers and your everyday Google searcher.  On Wednesday, major websites like Wikipedia and Word Press shut their digital doors.  Google even prompted visitors with a petition to send to Congress.  The day of darkness forced everyone to imagine a world without Internet (or a trip down memory lane to the pre-Apple days).  While most are against intellectual property theft and multimedia piracy, both acts just do not provide enough protection against false accusations with potential for abuse of the legislation to become out of control.  In one of his most recent articles for Fox, Gary even declares victory for the American people, whose collective voice was too resounding to ignore.  Essentially, we all told Congress to put that in their PIPA and smoke it.

Now that most of us are breathing a collective sigh of relief, we undoubtedly have spent some since this bill hit the floor thinking about how the Internet has become a crutch for contemporary society.  Increase of social networking has also increased our desire for anonymity and arguably decreased our interpersonal social networking.  I’m not saying we should regress to the days of carrier pigeons – but remember when we didn’t text?  Remember I invited you to my birthday over the phone instead of a Facebook event?  Now thanks to the Internet, I no longer have to trek down to Tompkins Square Park to check out my books from the library I can just get them online and have them delivered to my Kindle in seconds! Cool, but sad.  The Internet has proven how malleable we are by consistently changing the way we communicate with each other and by the toll it is has taken on many businesses, not just publishing.

For now, the Internet still remains as powerful as the public chooses to make it.  We have avoided possibly catastrophic consequences by preventing SOPA and PIPA.  Instead of wiping our brows and muttering thanks to the Congress gods before moving on to the next best thing, we should start remembering how we survived without the Internet in ye olde days.  I know I still go to the library, still buy physical books, and still call you to invite you to my birthday party.

George may have been a few decades off, but maybe it’s a matter of time until Big Brother really is watching you.

Just a thought, albeit a creepy one.

Perhaps I underestimate the power of the internet (I do). E-books and kindles and Nooks and such are enjoying great success in the modern age. And if that’s your preference, I stand in no one’s way. I only mean to say that I don’t believe e-books mean the end of print. One might point to such events as the closing of Borders or the downsizing of many print newspapers as evidence of the demise of print. Yes, print has taken a hit, but it is far from gone. Besides, I always wonder about how the ever-growing ether of the internet has given rise to this mass transfer of our whole lives into an intangible sphere, and what happens when the internet just explodes? Where do our whole internet lives go? This is why I love paper. Remember when everyone stocked up on food and supplies in fear of Y2K? That was funny.

Anywho! Print/e-book debate aside, one of my main interests is promoting literacy (thus, my interest in publishing and shaping new books to put on the shelves!). I want everyone to love reading as much as I do! So, here’s an event I just learned about that seems totally awesome! World Book Night! Sounds cool, right? I know. The idea is that on April 23, 2012, across the nation, 50,000 volunteers will be handing out a total of 1 million free books to anyone and everyone that will take them. The volunteers are being called “book givers” and they will be handing out one of 30 popular titles (listed on the website), like print-superheroes mysteriously emerging from the shadows in the night to revive the secret pleasure of falling into a good book. So cool.

Until next time,

Your New Beau.

When something comes to an end, one immediately reflects on the beginning.  My Beau-nafide Bird’s-Eye-View concludes today, as does my internship with this collaborative, progressive, and supportive company. I would like to share with you the success I have found here, most usually in the “common hours,” and all the sweeter for that.

Inspiration: Jennifer Pharr Davis and her husband, Brew.  Through Jen’s book Becoming Odyssa, and through the soon-to-be released diary of her record-breaking trek, 46 Days, I was able to learn from Jen’s determination to beat both the female and male thru-hike records on the Appalachian Trail. This resonated with me as a woman, one who is sometimes hesitant to take risks because of the risk of failure. She truly inspired me, and will inspire you, too. She’ll help you not only to go after your dream, but also to take each step with confidence.  But what touched me most was hearing about Brew.  He was her “first mate,” her partner on the trail who carried her supplies and took care of her every mile of the way. This was a growing experience in love. The further south these two traveled, the more they inspired all who knew them:  go after your love in life and go there with all of your heart.

Determination:  Barbara Gordon’s re-released I’m Dancing as Fast as I Can with new cover and preface.  In today’s world, anxiety, depression, wearing oneself thin–they are all experiences which would seem to have obvious, cycle-of-life-type recovery steps.  Barbara was hoping for just that when instead, her doctor wrote her a prescription for disaster.  The reason the aforementioned stressors  have sensible remedies today is due in large part to Barbara’s experience; that is, her experience helped discover the truth about Valium. Its numerous side effects have come to light since her struggle, and it has also prompted people to question the philosophy behind taking a little pill that “promises to solve it all.”  Her determination to scream about this wrong-doing at the top of her lungs made me reflect back on how lucky and blessed my life is.  If she could recover and come back from being, no joke, at rock bottom, then there is absolutely no reason why any of us should give up.

Confidence: Debra Beck and My Feet Aren’t Ugly. Think back to when you were a child, an emerging teen now called a “tween,” and fill in this blank: My ________ is so ugly! The point is, we all can fill in that blank; we all had something that, for no rhyme or reason, we hated about ourselves. These type of thoughts lead to low-self esteem and low self-confidence, always hoping that no one would notice an imperfection and make fun because of it. Debra’s life mission is to empower teens to love themselves, and it all stemmed from her childhood hatred of her feet.  Her young adult self-help book opens the doors of communication. It also struck a chord with me, having once been a teacher who taught because I wanted to help children accept their weaknesses, work toward their strengths, and support others who were doing the same. Though my hang-up wasn’t worrying about “ugly” feet, I’d always had anxiety about not living my dream life and feeling that I wouldn’t be able to rest until my life was the way I envisioned it. Until I saw this book, that is. After working extensively with Debra, I realized something: each “common” hour is an “uncommon” one—each is special. (Especially if you’re surrounded by all the people here at Beaufort!)

Admiration:  Susan Biali and the Sabbatical Sisters, Live a Life You Love and Reboot Your Life.  These five ladies practice what they preach, so-to-speak, by rebooting their lives with a sabbatical in order to ultimately live a life they love.  I admire people who take these types of risks: who follow their hearts, who find success in that. And who wanted to come to Beaufort to share their stories.  How can one not admire another being for taking a chance to better themselves, ever? After reading their books and dabbling in email conversations with these ladies, it became evident that they’ve gone after what they want, and they continue to dream up more future successes.

Precision: William B. Bradshaw and The Big Ten of Grammar. For gurus of our English language, when you hold this book and soak in the “there-their-they’re” and “lie vs. lay” chapters word-for-word, it’s like Christmas come early on every page! (Lucky for us, it is the holidays now!) Nevertheless, the Big Ten earned a permanent home on my desk, and whenever a friend or coworker would ask for my “expert editing,” I’d hand them Bradshaw’s publication. Being precise, writing accurately and taking the time to reference the experts really goes a long way.  Dreams tend to be precise, but the journey to achieving them usually is not. The precision of this book translates to being precise in life in order to keep us on track, ever focused on the dreams we hold so close.

Adventure: Margery Gray and Sheldon Harnick and The Outdoor Museum.  This new title, full of images of New York that I had never seen before, completely captured all of us here at Beaufort. From  the angles and beauty of the shots by Margery to the poetic rhymes that Sheldon created for each photo, there was a regular feast to be had for the imagination.  In seeing these, I saw the city in a whole new way, a way that I had to get out there and see for myself.  Last night, a month after my sense of adventure was ignited by this book, my coworker and I turned the corner and nearly tumbled over one of the thousands of possible pictures to be included in the book: “The Grilled Chicken” painted plywood mascot. This seemed bittersweet in that it was one of the photos that we all had never seen in our lives but always wondered about. And then on my last night in the city, we ran right into it. With so many more pictures to find and take myself, Beaufort awakened my sense of adventure in this gorgeous city.

Camaraderie: The Beaufort Team. This past summer, I embarked on pursuing my dreams of a career in publishing by applying anywhere that there was an opening, and Beaufort was the one who called. From being here, I’ve learned exactly how this well-oiled machine works. These titles are precisely picked for its readers, and no detail goes unturned. In pursuing my dream, my unexpected success came in the form of teamwork, working towards everyone’s strengths, and staying on task to get things done. When you are an intern, you are “a person who works as an apprentice or trainee in an occupation or profession to gain practical experience” (so says dictionary.com),  but it also means you are in charge of the running around, of tying up loose ends, of making copies, and sending books out, among other things.  Here, it was not only practical experience:  it was also a humbling, unexpected one.  It’s because of Beaufort, because of their support and their guidance,  that I was able to find my first job in publishing.

From the outside looking in, if I could give you one insight into this company, I’d say this: passion. Each book is a milestone, a piece of a dream for both the author and Beaufort, and a piece of success. Here, every person who works with Beaufort will meet success unexpectedly in the “common hours,” and none will ever be the same again.

Experience the trek with Jen and Brew as they battle shin splints and a stomach scare that threatens to end the attempt early, encounter wildlife at every turn, and meet the colorful cast of characters that help Jen complete her journey. 46 Days also includes an introduction and afterword by Jennifer with first-hand reflections on her life-changing voyage.

About the Author: Brew Davis, Jennifer Pharr Davis

ISBN: 978-08253-3067-85

$12.95  Paperback

Publication Date:  December 12, 2011

About the Authors: Margie Harnick, Sheldon Harnick

ISBN: 9780825306754

$29.95  Hardcover

Publication Date: May 1, 2012

About the Authors:  Gary R. Casselman and Timothy C. Daughtry

ISBN: 978-0-8253-0617-4

Category: Political Science: Government/ National

Publication: March 1, 2012

Size: 6″ x 9″

Price: $24.99