Who killed the bookstore?

Panoramic view of Plaza Books in Las Vegas (Photo by Patrick Morgan)

Jill Olsen, of the Antiquarian Book Lounge, posted a link on her facebook page that piqued my interest. Written by Jeremy Paul, dean of the School of Law at University of Connecticut, the article asked the same question as the title of this post: Who killed the bookstore, "After which he inserted a colon and added, "After all, it was you and me."

The theme of the article focused on the fact that as consumers we failed to support bookstores by searching for cheaper prices, thus supplanting a lifestyle that combines consumption and philanthropy.

It's the first part of that statement I found annoying and incorrect. To hell with lifestyle; if I can find a book I want at a cheaper price at Walmart, I'm using the extra money to buy another book! So, no, I did not kill the bookstore; I actually saved money, contributed to the economy, supported the print industry (now referred to as pBooks), and gave myself hours of entertainment and information.

Meanwhile, I also posted a comment on Dean Paul's blog: "Maybe Barnes and Noble and Borders killed the bookstore!"

BTW, I'm getting a little tired of the media blitz about the death of the bookstore and hoping someone more creative and innovative than I will stop rehashing this story and find solutions to saving an institution I think is worth saving.

Related articles

• Where Have All The Bookstores Gone? (hilarytopper.com)
• Take Your Child to A Bookstore Day (natashawing.wordpress.com)
• Is It Time To Say Goodbye To Bricks & Mortar Bookstores? [Opinion] (makeuseof.com)
• The Bookstore's Last Stand (nochargebookbunch.com)
• The Last Bookstore makes a most-beautiful list (laobserved.com)

Mid-century books that stand the test of time

I belong to a local group of booksellers called The Las Vegas Bookmans Guild. 
It’s a loosely-knit group of people who own used, out-of-print and collectible bookstores and willingly share their uncounted years of experience with fans (like me).

The group meets once a month at a predetermined restaurant to discuss various topics related to books.

Last week, before and after a food and drink (mostly iced tea, water and one glass of "grape juice") the topic of discussion focused on mid-century authors whose books survive – books that readers and collectors want to read, read again, or have available to read, books the booksellers receive requests for time and again.

Among the writers were James Thurber, Cornelia Otis Skinner, L. Frank Baum, Daphne du Maurier, and others on a list I compiled after the meeting, put in the pocket of my jeans then promptly washed! (Does the word airhead apply here?)

I’m wondering in this electronic publishing era, which authors (and their current titles) still be in demand in fifty years?

Any thoughts?

P.S. An interesting poll on goodreads lists titles chosen by readers as survivors.

Rejected manuscripts, query letters, resumes

A few posts back, I posted a copy of an email from an emerging author who asked why an agent query should be so different from a resume submission.

To get a job, he noted, he would send resumes to as many contacts as possible. Why then should he be cautioned to send only one query letter at a time.

No one has answered his question as yet.

Should he obey the rule? (Who set that rule anyway?)

She he throw that caution to the proverbial wind and hit every potential agent with a query?

I don't know.

Do you?

Meanwhile, to make him feel less discouraged if and when he starts receiving rejections (or getting no responses at all), I sent him to this website.

I hope it made him smile and gave him hope.

Related articles

• Querying Agents (katebrauning.wordpress.com)
• Learning the Literary Ropes (answers.com)

Super Bowl Sunday?

While the rest of the nation and parts of the world are watching the Super Bowl, I'm listening to the radio and writing.

Seems as if so much revolves around this once-a-year event; it's almost like New Year's Eve celebrations.

But, my New Year resolution was to pull the plug on my television!!! Too many commercials (and I get so irritated about having to pay a cable company to sell me advertising!)

Give me a DVD player, Netflix, my radio, my laptop and a couple of really good friends and I'm a happy camper.

What? Still no comments?

I tweeted about my last post only because I hoped to get some comments. That's what the post was about, after all, looking for some reasonable explanation I could pass along to another writer who's hoping to get published.

 Most of the people I follow on twitter are writers, and writers in progress so I figured at least one of that small group might have some insight, or at least some opinion.

It didn't happen. Not a single comment. Not even a spam comment!


Am I disappointed? A little. Am I discouraged? A little.

After all, I'm not looking for fans or followers and even though it would be nice if I had a legion of people who enjoy or disapprove about what I say here, that doesn't apply.

Oh well. I'll just tell the person who is waiting for an answer that's better than the one I gave that so far, my followers are a lot like agents -- they don't bother to respond.

So to hell with them. I'll look for answers myself. And when I find some, I'll gladly comment, if asked.

Which brings to mind a starting point, a link offered by Zemanta in blogger. It looks like the beginning of an interesting search.

Related articles

• Speaking truth to agents (snoekbrown.wordpress.com)

Query letters versus resumes

Here's a copy of an email message I received from an aspiring best-selling author, a man who has written his first novel.

Tell me why applying for representation from an agent is any different from applying for a job. For a job you send out 20 or 30 resumes, and with one or more replies you complete the applications and go for the interviews. Whoever picks you first, well, usually you take the first job that comes along.
 
Tell me why a literary agent is any different; you send out 20 or 30 query letters and whoever comes along first you jump on it.
I know I'm naive, but what else is new.

Can anyone tell me how to answer that?

Also, I know the stock answer; but in this day and age, when snagging an agent, yet alone a publisher, is getting harder and harder, should we play by their rules?

Coming soon: Top Ten Mysteries of the Decade

A while back, I noted that I wouldn’t be posting to the blog as often. As you can see, I’ve stuck to that resolution.

I also promised a little series about the top ten books of the last decade in different genres, compiled by some of my Las Vegas (and Henderson, of course) bookseller friends. The first one covering science fiction and fantasy (prepared by Ann DeVere of Plaza Books) appeared in my Dec. 1 post.

In a few days, I’ll have the second installment featuring the top ten mysteries, compiled by the not-so-mysterious Phil Deflumer of Greyhound’s Books.

Remember, though, these are the top ten print books of the past decade. When this series is complete, I hope to reach out to the eBook world for top ten picks.