#1: Currently there is a lot of discussion about Amazon’s move to become a publisher by picking up self-published books sold on Amazon that it thinks it could sell more of by issuing hard cover editions and doing marketing.

#2: A Russian book reviewer was sued over their review by a writer: Neither one is happy with the outcome.

#3: Not publishing specific, but related to story telling and pop culture: An analysis of the new Star Trek movie with a perspective you’ll read nowhere else (hilarious I thought, but then I’m a little twisted I’ve been told ).

That’s all for this week’s links.

Thanks to Chase, you get $100 off Kindle when you get the new Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card. Limited time only.

Don’t know when the promotion ends or any other details, but thought that anyone contemplating a Kindle might want to check this out (I can’t since I am not in the U.S. though I do read on my PDA).

I’ve decided to share my finds and the excellent reviews of my fellow book bloggers each Sunday Monday. Leave a comment with a link to your post or a trackback if you decide to play along.

The second book that caught my eye is Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell reviewed at the Shelf Love Blog with this review, written by Jenny who tag-team blogs with Teresa. The eagle-eyed may notice that the picture to the left is actually of The Cranford Chronicles (there is a reason for that, which I’m getting to).

What caught my attention?

This review is one of the reasons that I love book blogs. Cranford is a book that I would never look twice at: it’s not the genre I read, the cover doesn’t excite me, and the author has been dead for more than a hundred years. And yet, I’m enticed to read it after reading Jenny’s review.

The thing that caught my attention was that it was the story of a town primarily populated by spinsters and widows and the society that they had evolved. I’ve read modern science fiction where it’s been imagined, why not check out how it was imagined a century ago? I won’t say much more because Jenny’s was a short review and worth reading (and go read it now, I’ll wait for you).

Did you read it? Good. While I was poking around Amazon¹, I found that Gaskell actually wrote three novels about Cranford: Cranford, Mr Harrison’s Confessions, and My Lady Ludlow. All three are collected in The Cranford Chronicles, which is what I’ll pick up when my TBR pile grows small enough to add to (can you hear the hysterical laughter? That’s MOH (My Other Half) laughing at the mere thought of that ever happening).

Anyway, the point I would like to make is that this review convinced me to put this book on my reading list when it’s not even remotely the kind of book I would normally touch. Now, I may not end up liking it, but I was convinced to consider it in spite of that. That’s pretty cool, I think.

There’s still time to pick up some books for $1 at Bookcloseouts, if for some reason your TBR pile is looking anemic.

¹ Yes, I do realize many people hate or dislike Amazon. I have some issues with them myself, but that’s another post, for another day, and I do buy from them on occasion.

This first one is non-bookish, but it’s Olympic. Maybe it’s best not to use Windows to run your opening ceremonies.

My Friend Amy^TM is cooking up a Book Blogger Appreciation Week that will take place the week of September 15th. If you’re a book blogger or book blog reader go on over and register (there will be prizes and goodies!).

Quill and Quire had a piece on the trend in Canadian publishing of houses selling to consumers online with discounts rivaling the big chains. Does anyone buy direct? Anansi has a 4-for-3 sale. Random House and McClelland & Stewart are offering discounts direct to consumers.

In case you’ve managed not to hear this, the rights to ten of Steinbeck’s novels have been given back to Penguin in a appeals court decision. They had been awarded to Steinbeck’s son and granddaughter in a previous court decision.

Presenting Lenore had an interview with a book publicist about book bloggers and cold requests.

If you love words and the idea of falling in love with someone over your shared love of words, read about the lexicographer and the madman.

That’s it for this week. Have a good weekend!

I’ve decided to share my finds and the excellent reviews of my fellow book bloggers each Sunday. Leave a comment with a link to your post or a trackback if you decide to play along.

The first book is Mouse Guard: Fall 1152 which came to my attention through the Graphic Novel Challenge Blog with this review. which was written and posted by Nymeth, who’s blog is Things Mean A Lot.

What caught my attention?

The first thing that caught my attention was the art, which is absolutely gorgeous. You can see it up close on the official site (where you can also get wallpaper and avatars). The second thing was the concept of a society of sentient mice living in a medieval-like era who are fierce warriors (despite their cute appearance). I just loved the concept. I should probably mention that the only pets I had growing up were a goldfish and a succession of hamsters (I was allergic to everything else), so I do have a soft spot for cute rodents.

Have you read this? Did you like it? Share your thoughts.

$1 book sale, 1000s of books! (August only)

1. Book trailer is among YouTube’s most viewed. (Found through Booksquare) Go Sherrilyn Kenyon! Acheron went on sale Monday.
2. Trust In Book Lovers, Not Reviewers, a rebuttal to Will Blogs Save Books article (linked to last week) that presents a reasoned view that book blogs are the new social networks for readers. Another response by Smart Bitches, Trashy Books.
3. The Trolls Among Us, part of New York Magazines Malwebolence: The World of Webtrolling series. An interesting look at the phenomenon of web trolls, particularly the hardcore, no-conscience kind. (Found through Boing Boing).
4. Read George Orwell’s diaries, one day at a time, starting August 9th and exactly 70 years after they were written.
5. Esquire is going to use an e-paper cover on its 75th anniversary issue in October. The future is now.
6. Yikes! Getting your book contract cancelled 6 days before your laydown date. All because somebody didn’t like the ARC. Seriously (and apparently). Update: A nice collection of information on this story at Bookroom Reviews.
7. Biggest bookseller in Afghanistan goes online.

As always, any comments on these articles or issues are welcome here.

1. Cookbook Manga (yes, you read that right mangA, not mangO).
   An article by former Television Without Pity recapper about her work translating Japanese cooking-related manga into English.
2. The Great Chick-lit Coverup, an article on the way books by women writers are being made to look like chick-lit no matter what the book is actually about.
3. Publisher’s Weekly notice that Abebooks is being bought by Amazon. My note: This is not a done deal as it has to go through “regulatory approval” in Canada which may or may not be a sticking point depending on whether Abebooks is classified as a bookseller (we have foreign ownership regulations about that sort of thing).
4. Huffington Post article about Will Blogs Save Books. I think they miss the point in comparing paid blogs (by media outlets) to the average book blog. I say if you want to complain about how we review things, then you should work out a model that involves better payment than a free book. Also, I don’t read newspaper book or movie reviews because most reviewers are too enamored with their own knowledge on the topic instead of whether something is worth spending time reading/seeing or not.
5. U.S. customs can confiscate your laptop for no reason other than “Oooh, shiny!” according to this Washington Post article.
6. Meyers ebook release delayed for 24 hours because someone might get to read it before the print edition goes on sale in their time zone. Not. Kidding.

Don’t forget to come back and discuss (or trackback) if something gets you fired up (or you don’t see why others are fired up).

Today I came across an article by Mick Sussman on Papercuts (The New York Times book blog) who was wondering the same thing. So he e-mailed the sellers and asked what was up with the high priced books. If you’re curious too, go take a look at what he found out.

John Meier, the American collecting first editions of award-winning Canadian literature: Ikea Billy bookshelves, 500 books, and the Cultural Olympiad.

Anne Carroll Moore, the founder of the children’s library concept hated Stuart Little and banned it: Encourage a writer to write, and then ban their book because you don’t like the result? Seems a little petty to me (actually it seems a lot petty).