Colleen Preston's Blog
Posted by Colleen Preston
Political network pioneer C-SPAN has taken to the highways and byways of America with a humongous 45-foot long mobile television production studio. This nationwide tour, C-SPAN's first traveling road show, was cooked up to tout Book TV's all-weekend, every-weekend non-fiction programming marathon.
The bus, decorated in an eye-catching orange with big, bold graphics, visits local libraries, bookstores, media events and book festivals. The public is invited on board for an interactive demonstration and the chance to see how the production of a TV show, in this case a Book TV offering, comes together.
Starting at 8:00 every Saturday morning and running round the clock until 8:00 on Monday morning, Book TV devotes itself to non-stop programs dealing with all aspects of the non-fiction book world. Coverage includes segments on history, politics, biographies, author interviews, the media, readings, discussion groups and just about anything you can think of in the book world that isn't fiction.
Organizations interested in hosting the bus for a special event can contact Book TV for details.
The next scheduled stops on the bus tour are:
- 09/27/06 Historic downtown Winchester, VA. 12:00pm - 3:00pm.
- 09/28/06 Borders, Silver Spring MD 12:00pm - 2:00pm
- 09/29/06 National Mall, Washington DC, 10:00am - 5:00pm
For a complete schedule, go to Book TV Bus Tour
Posted by Colleen Preston
The folks at Bargain Book News, a newsletter serving the wholesale remainder book industry, have compiled a great list of church bulletin bloopers submitted by their readers. Says the Bargain Books editor: "Thank God for church ladies with typewriters".
A Sampling:
- The Fasting & Prayer Conference includes meals.
- The sermon this morning: "Jesus Walks on the Water." The sermon tonight: "Searching for Jesus."
- The peacemaking meeting scheduled for today has been canceled due to a conflict.
- Don't let worry kill you off -- let the Church help.
- For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs.
- Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.
- Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 PM. Please use the back door.
- The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon.
Posted by Colleen Preston
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If you don't mind slogging through some ads, you can start saving big money on textbooks with a new and unique program at Freeload Press.
While still in beta testing and still offering only a limited inventory, the program is generating buzz on college campuses and in publishing circles. With a tagline that reads Liberating the Textbook, Freeload allows students to download free e-books, which are delivered as PDF's, from their distribution site at www.FreeloadPress.com.
If Freeload succeeds and the program catches on, there will be some noticable ripples in the six billion dollar textbook industry. With the typical student plunking down $900 a year in the college bookstore, interest is running high.
So what's the catch? Well, there really isn't one if Freeload can entice enough colleges and publishers to get on board. According to a company press release, about 100 colleges have decided to use texts published by Freeload Press and several more are considering the program.
Current offerings include a smattering of accounting, finance, computer, psychology and mathematics texts. The company hopes to significantly expand the number of titles available over the next year.
The program is largly funded by advertising and corporate sponsorships.
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Posted by Colleen Preston
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If you haven't heard of Moleskine notebooks yet, you just aren't keeping up. The correct pronounciation, which you hardly ever hear, is Mol-a-skeen-a, and it refers to a little pocket notebook originally produced by bookbinders in France and peddled to the artsy Parisian crowd.
They say Vincent Van Gogh used one and you can see the purported real thing in the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam. Henri Matisse was a user too, along with Pablo Picasso.
On the literary side, Ernest Hemingway was said to have one always in his pocket as he wandered the streets of Paris and writer-traveler Bruce Chatwin kept many on hand as he travelled the world. On hearing the company might be going out of business, Chatwin panicked and ordered 100 of them.
A Legend Returns
Eventually, the company actually did succumb to financial woes and went bankrupt in 1986. It was bought out by an Italian company in Milan called Modo & Modo. With an updated look and an upscaled price tag, Moleskines were re-introduced to the world stage in 1998.
This time, with some clever marketing and an understated elegance, the little notebooks caught on and now they are becoming a true necessity among those who care about such things.
Billed as "The Legendary Notebook Used By European Artists and Thinkers for the Past Two Centuries", the books have been selling like hotcakes for the past couple of years. Originally hard to find, other than on the web, huge demand has vastly increased the distribution channels so you can now pick them up easily. Most big box book stores like Barnes & Noble or Borders have them permanently in stock now.
So Who Are These Moleskiners?
Oddly enough, some of the most rabid users of Moleskines are computer geeks who are setting aside their PDA's for the moment and reverting to analog means to keep track of their complex lives or record their innermost thoughts. In true geek fashion, they are coming up with Moleskine "hacks", retrofitting or re-purposing or cleverly improving on what is really nothing more than a simple little notebook.
To keep the movement alive, there are countless blogs that discuss the pros and cons of the Moleskine and they can, on occasion, get a bit vitriolic when various factions clash. Most notable are the times when a mouthy non-user stumbles in and says something like "Hey...it's only a notebook". There is a lot of conversation of the "you show me yours..." variety and tons of photos of the little notebooks decked out with quirky little indicators of their owners' personalities or professions.
Lots of Choices
The original Moleskine, and still the most popular, was just a little black book measuring 3.5" x 5.5". It is very sturdy, well-made and with a smooth, oilcloth type binding. There is a built in elastic to hold your place or to add odds and ends. There is usually a handy little pocket at the end and the whole thing makes a neat and useful package you can stick in your pocket or purse.
The new line of Moleskines has far more variety than the old one and there are some interesting new designs.
A sampling:
- Traditional Pocket Notebook
- Story Board Notebook
- Music Notebook
- Sketchbook - pocket or desk
- Address Book
- Japanese Pocket Book - Unique folded design made from one sheet and very hard to describe
- Memo Pocket Book - Accordian File
- Reporter Notebooks - several sizes, flip-top
- Watercolor Notebooks
- Calendars and Planners
Prices range from $10 for pocket-sized to $18 or so for larger ones.
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Posted by Colleen Preston
If you see some suspicious looking paperbacks spilling out of your teenager's backpack, don't jump the gun. You might just be seeing the new face of Freshman English.
Penguin has come out with a new line called Penguin Graphic Classics that has a lot of book lovers drooling. Not your ordinary paperback, these volumes speak volumes before you even get to page one. The covers are new and edgy, designed by today's top graphic artists. The bindings have "French flaps"- a sort of self-contained dust jacket construction - and some of the letter graphics are subtly raised and dimensional. Each of the books released to date is customized - the special touches are geared uniquely towards the individual title and the results are pretty spectacular. There are great illustrations, fonts, cutouts within the text itself, and the paper is...well...it's just plain sensual.
There have been six titles released to date:
- Candide by Francois Voltaire
- The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
- The Portable Dorothy Parker by Dorothy Parker
- Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
- Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Anderson
- The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster
Penguin has another batch of titles due out in the fall, including Lady Chatterly's Lover and The Dharma Bums, both of which hold out some tantalizing graphic design possibilities. The books released to date are in the $12 to $18 price range.
