Daily Thoughts 12/20/2010
I am finishing weeding my section in the oversize books. I'll probably start weeding in the storage area or mezzanine as we call it. As always, I checked the displays to make sure they were in order and read some newsletters on publishing in my inbox in email. The newsletters give me heads up on what is being talked about in the media for books, especially Shelf Awareness and the Ingram alerts.
I am thinking of reading the e-book version of With A Little Help by Cory Doctorow. http://craphound.com/walh/e-book/browse-all-versions Right now, I have a little bit too much to read. I have a pile on my desk, and a bag at home of books which I have not read yet.
Our library system has added the ability to download public domain ebooks from Project Gutenberg in alliance with Overdrive. This means most of the classics will be available as ebooks in our library system. http://westchester.lib.overdrive.com/33558BCD-6444-4CFB-B6B6-07B23E6051B5/10/411/en/PublicDomainCollection.htm
Library Value Calculator from Mount Vernon Public Library
http://www.mountvernonpubliclibrary.org/node/212
On the way home, I read a little bit more of Keith Richards autobiography Life. There is a very steady rhythm to the writing almost like the steady movement of a train. It is very smooth. At times, it can abruptly pick up speed especially when the writer is talking about violence or sex. There is sex, drugs, and rock and roll; but there is also violence, guns, lawyers, and a strong streak of anti-establishment behavior and actions. We learn about the Rolling Stones global network of lawyers and how they were expelled from one country after another during the 1960s.
Some things surprised me. Right now, I am reading about Keith Richards spending time in Jamaica with the Rastafarians. It is more than a little over the top. The pace can be relentless. Keith Richards describes times where he doesn't sleep for days. This is not for people who don't want to be shocked. At the same time it is shockingly libertine, it is also full of life and music.
This is an article from the London Times, Its Only Books N' Shelves But I Like It. Keith Richards makes the claim that he loves reading in this article. In a couple of other articles he also visited New York Public Library. In the book Life, he also describes reading history books several times and lending them to people.
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article7086815.ece
Web Bits
Zen and the Art of Self Publishing by Cory Doctorow
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/columns-and-blogs/cory-doctorow/article/45565-zen-and-the-art-of-self-publishing.html
The Future According to Tim O'Reilly
http://www.newsweek.com/2010/12/10/the-future-according-to-tim-o-reilly.html
For the record, I am a fan of both Cory Doctorow's and Tim O'Reilly's articles on publishing and copyright.
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