Happy Easter to Everybody...Except You

Huh. Looks like Amazon.com has decided to celebrate Easter by stripping books with homosexual themes of their sales rankings. Mark Probst, author of The Filly, asked what was happening and received this response:

In consideration of our entire customer base, we exclude "adult" material from appearing in some searches and best seller lists. Since these lists are generated using sales ranks, adult materials must also be excluded from that feature.

Turns out it's not just books with homosexual content. Author Kelly Eskridge reports that Amazon also dropped the sales rankings of books with heterosexual content.

A plethora of links can be found from Meta Writer. And you can sign a petition protesting Amazon's boneheaded decision here.

From a purely personal standpoint, I'm reserving any decision to purchase from Amazon until they get this straightened out. In the mean time, Happy Easter.

The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of

This is the kind of stuff I fantasize about...

New York literary treasure rescued from warehouse

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) – A literary hoard that includes works by Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller, as well as 18th and 19th century texts, has been rescued from New York City's storied but now defunct Gotham Book Mart.

The 220,000-item collection, including books, periodicals, posters and catalogs, has been languishing in a Connecticut warehouse since 2005 when the 85-year-old bookstore - a midtown magnet for many literary figures over the years - closed.

The University of Pennsylvania's Rare Book and Manuscript Library has acquired the store archive and has started taking delivery - on eight tractor-trailers-- of 3,800 boxes containing the collection. It will spend the next several years evaluating and cataloging it.

David McKnight, director of the library, said the books and other items are in excellent condition because they have been kept in a cool, dry environment since they had been removed from the Gotham store.

The literary treasure trove has been anonymously donated to Penn - which beat four other institutions that bid for ownership -- and is worth at least $4 million, said McKnight. The collection was originally acquired by the donor for $400,000 when Gotham Book Mart closed.

It contains first editions, experimental literary magazines and advance readers' copies of well-known works. About a third of the collection is classified as "rare books," McKnight said.

Subjects covered include poetry and prose, art, architecture, photography, music, dance and film. In addition to its modernist writers of the 1930s and 40s, the collection also contains valuable materials from the 18th and 19th centuries.

My mouth waters just thinking about it...

My review of I Live Here

My review of the extraordinary I Live Here runs in this week's San Antonio Current.

Celebrity philanthropic efforts often center around a few photo opportunities showcased to further a career. These usually well-meaning events generally turn a fleeting spotlight on the truly needy, such as the numerous Africa plights, conquered Tibet, or the disaster relief du jour. With I Live Here, Mia Kirshner (The L Word) shines an unwavering, informative light on important and troubling non-U.S.-centric issues in a truthful and often disturbing manner. She elevates celebrity philanthropic efforts to an extraordinary new level of sophistication in content and style.

Kirshner visited four ravaged areas, conducting interviews with the women and children most affected. I Live Here compiles her encounters in Ingushetia, Burma, Ciudad Juárez, and Malawi in a graphically intense series of four oversized, thin paperbacks wrapped inside a hardcover case. Each book also contains a graphic novella, and two of the volumes offer related short stories.

Be sure to check out the book's incredible site.

Borders Considers Sale

From Publishers Weekly, March 19:

The possibility that Borders may one day be for sale has been discussed in publishing circles for several years, but that chance became more likely with the early morning announcement from the bookstore chain that it had hired J.P. Morgan Securities and Merrill Lynch to help it explore strategic alternatives. Those options, Borders said, include the possible sale of the company and/or some of its divisions.
Continued...

This could be terrifying news for the American book industry. What happens if Barnes & Noble buys Borders? Or if Borders is chopped up into smaller companies?

Imagine the megalithic Barnes & Noble tromping throughout the US with no stiff competition? Sure, Amazon offers some resistance but online has yet to replace the neighborhood book store.

What happens if B&N decides to not carry an author or title? With no Borders, publishers will have little recourse.

What's worse than two gigantic book chains? There being only one...

To write books is easy, it requires only pen and ink and the ever-patient paper. To print books is a little more difficult, because genius so often rejoices in illegible handwriting. To read books is more difficult still, because of a tendency to go to sleep. But the most difficult task of all that a mortal man can embark on is to sell a book.

from a poem by Felix Dahn, paraphrased by Sir Stanley Unwin

(Thanks to Jeff VanderMeer for the link and for offering a unique solution)

Someone's Gonna Get Fired

Normally, I decry the publication of special "gift editions" of books already long available in paperback. But every once in awhile, someone gets it dead right, creating an actual work of art that enhances the book. Of course, they will be immediately fired for getting it right.

Take a look at that beeeeyoutiful copy of Christopher Moore's Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal. Look at those rounded edges and gilt-edged pages. Look at the shiny, shiny gold on the cover. There's even a red ribbon marker to hold your place. It's brilliant, people!

The book arrives in stores this fall, just in time for Christmas. Moore is in the process of writing a new book, so he won't be touring. But he will sign copies that you can pre-order from Books, Inc. in California.