Just to prove to you that even though I’ve got a fancy new blog the posts will continue to be filled with the same mediocrity as always, here is a list of fun/interesting things to read on the internet today:
- The Brothers Karamzov Deathmarch is about to begin. Anybody interested in reading the famous Dostoevsky tome are welcome to participate in the group reading effort, which culminates with a celebratory refrigerator magnet, naturally.
- The National Book Critics Circle will count down the 30 days to the announcement of their 2008 awards by discussing a different finalist each day. Today, they take a look at Home, by Marilynne Robinson.
- The Inkwell Bookstore has an interesting and thoughtful response to this article in The Deseret News about the keynote panel at Winter Institute 4. They make one excellent point here: ebooks are not going to be add-ons or supplements to printed books, they are going to be purchased instead of printed books. The music industry was slow to realize that and paid a price. Let’s not do the same. I do think The Inkwell misses the point of bookstore blogging, though, when it says that “the sad truth is that while blogging about one’s favorite books is a wonderful way to waste work hours (take it from me!), it does little to increase the sales in one’s store.” But are sales all that you’re after? Of course, in the end, sales are what it’s about, but to me, a bookstore can use its blog for much more than just generating sales. The blog should be for branding, first and foremost. It’s the best free advertising available right now. To say that it’s a waste of time is myopic.
- There’s not that much content available online, but the current issue of A Public Space contains an illustrated guide to LA by Official Vroman’s Blog obsession Tom Drury.
- Don’t look now but there’s an actual discussion happening on the Vroman’s Facebook page about Little Brother. It’s intimate right now, sure, but we’re hoping the party gets a little more raucous as the week progresses. Stop by and join the discussion, if you’d like.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
A brief response to your brief response re: our brief response:
I think that if you re-read the piece, you’ll see that you and I are pretty much on the exact same page here.
As you noted, we both agree that bookstores are in danger of making the exact same stupid mistakes as many of the (now defunct) record stores made.
But our thoughts on the reasons behind bookstore blogging are also quite similar.
You said, “The blog should be for branding, first and foremost.”
I wrote, “So while posting staff picks online might help to establish some sort of ‘identity’ for your store, it doesn’t really do much to rake in the cash.” (And when I referred to bookstore blogging as a “wonderful waste of time,” I was only trying to be mischievous, not myopic. Honest.
So you see? We’re bookstore-brothers from different bookstore-mothers…or something like that. Anyway, thanks for the shout-out and the link. Self-consciously googling our bookstore’s name led me to your ‘fancy new blog,’ and I love it. I’ve added you to our ‘Bookish Blogs’ links list, and you can bet you’ll see me referring/linking to you super soon.
Ah, I see now. That’s what I get for reading a blog post without my usual dosage of caffeine. Seriously, though, there were lots of bookstores listening to that panel discussion and thinking “Yeah, but it won’t help me sell books, so I’m not going to do it.” I guess I think this blog probably does help sell books, although it’s rare when I see a direct sale as a result of a blog post. As independent booksellers, we’ve got to think big picture on this. Glad to see we’re on the same page with that.
And thanks for adding me to your links!