Progress--It Ain't All Good

The Internet is one of life’s most amazing perks. I can sit all day and browse newspapers from every state and country. For some odd reason, I’ve always loved reading obits. Really good ones are detailed tributes to the life of the deceased.  Did you know there’s even a club for obit writers? I used to be a member until they started charging dues.  And that brings me to this:

I just read in The New York Times that some of the independent bookstores are starting to charge to meet the author. They’re taking this approach because they’re being squeezed by the competition—Internet  retailers like Amazon. You can read the article HERE:  Be sure to read the comments too, and think about it. As an author, you might feel slapped in the face if no one paid to attend your signing. As a fan, you might get a little ticked if you shell out ten bucks to hear a reading, have to stand the entire hour and don’t even have a visual of the author. I can understand why independent stores feel the need to give this a try, but I don’t like it. At the same time, I feel a little guilty that I visit book stores and key titles into my phone. I want to get them for free from PaperBackSwap or cheaper from Amazon. Please tell me you’re as guilty as I am. Of course, I purchase new books too, and support brick and mortar stores--just not as much as in earlier years. These days, I’m a little more careful in how I spend hubby’s hard earned money.

On the other side of the country, visiting The Los Angeles Times, the following headline screamed at me: Spam is Clogging Amazon’s Kindle. Spam? How’s that happening. According to the article, thousands of e-books are being published and they just aren’t book worthy. The article is worth reading. Go HERE.

Progress is great. Progress is also a curse—in its own way. Sometimes I yearn to go back to the flashlight under the covers with my Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys books.  I hope I don’t read an obit telling me that free author readings and signings are dead. That would actually bring tears to my eyes.

How about you? Got any news to share?

Books, Books, and More Books

I love used book stores. Yes, authors cringe at the thought of their books ending up in one. We tell ourselves if a person finds one of our books at Ula's Used Reads, they'll rush to B&N or other great chain stores to buy everything else we've written. Sometimes that's true. I admit, I've done it--but only if the author is fantastic. Just like everyone else, I wish we got royalties from libraries and used book stores, but that's not going to happen any time soon. So let me tell you about a great 'used' book store I frequent.



Books are flying into bookstores at record speed, and honestly, I can't afford to keep up with my favorite authors. I stood in WaldenBooks the other day trying to decide whether to purchase a favorite author's latest or go to the grocery store where I was supposed to be. I used good sense this time. I put the book back on the shelf, telling myself I'd get it another day.

During the evening, I decided to check PaperBackSwap to see if the book was listed. I had little hope because it just came out last month. But guess what-- it was there. A brand-new--or really a once-read-- book by my favorite author waited for me to click the order button. And I couldn't click fast enough. :)

I can't sing the praises of PaperBackSwap loudly enough. Go to their website and read carefully. You have to be responsible. When you list books to swap and someone requests one, you commit to mailing it as soon as you can. Don't leave your 'customer' hanging.

PaperBackSwap is a wonderful group of readers who share books with each other (NOT just paperbacks) for nothing more than the cost of postage! Click here to find out how to join and swap your books. You won't regret it--I guarantee.