Selena Ewing It’s never too early to blog about Christmas, right? Especially if there are books to buy! Family traditions are vital to well-being throughout the whole lifespan. Over 20 years ago, it was clear that traditions had multiple health benefits, according to a review of 50 years of research. That’s a huge evidence base! Marriages were … Read more
The French government is passing a law requiring a minimum shipping fee, hoping to help independent bookshops survive the dominance of Amazon and other big retailers. In 2021, France was busy fighting global commerce giants in the middle of the pandemic. This time, they were coming to the defense of the local independent bookshop. The … Read more
Trawling through the archives of our beloved blog, I came across a great piece called Books for the Boy that Does Not Read by Nora O’Neill. It is indeed an eternal question. It caught my attention because I have several boys. I want them to read. But we are now at war with electronic devices. … Read more
I still get a lump in my throat when I think about it. Why? I migrated across the world during the pandemic. And suddenly, shipping became impossibly expensive and chaotic. Related: Shipping Large Boxes of Books Revisited International shipping costs tripled over one year. Bottlenecks in ports all around the world also meant that if … Read more
“Independent bookstores provide a story of hope for community-led businesses” – Ryan L. Raffaelli. In 1995, when Amazon appeared on the bookselling scene, analysts predicted that it was the doom of the independent bookselling industry. Indeed, there was a significant decline in the number of Independent bookstores across the USA. With Amazon offering a seemingly … Read more
It is March 1970, and American journalist Albert Parry writes a fascinating article in The New York Times about “the new and remarkably viable underground press” known as Samizdat – “self-publishing.” He writes: Unlike the underground of Czarist times, today’s samizdat has no printing presses (with rare exceptions): The K.G.B., the secret police, is too … Read more
Reporting on an Ingram Content Group webinar. Ingram Content Group runs a fantastic free webinar series called Publishers Lunch: Publisher Insights With Ingram. Last week, on Wednesday, Sep. 14, the webinar was The Health of Today’s Publishing Industry. Here’s the summary of the webinar: “We’re all familiar with today’s global marketplace challenges—the pandemic threw things … Read more
Want to learn more about modern Indigenous Australia? Magabala Books, one of Australia’s premier Indigenous publishing companies, has been very busy preparing several books for you to enjoy. FIFO – Fit In or F**k Off! Melody Dia, a Nyul Nyul woman from Broome, Western Australia, has written a play, FIFO – Fit In or F**k … Read more
