La Lecture, Jules Breton, 1865
Daily Thoughts 06/01/2018
I checked the library Twitter and Facebook this morning.
I had to take care of some scheduling issues at work so I did not get to the Book Expo America until noon. I missed the Librarian Shout and Share, and the Library Book Buzz.
I did get to go to the Book Expo 2018 Book Group Speed Dating Event where editors did very fast talks about popular books that might be good for book groups. The event was sponsored by
http://www.readinggroupguides.com They gave us a 68 page guide to some popular titles. I was able to get a number of hardcopy books from this event, which were mostly fiction,
As Bright As Heaven by Susan Meissner,
The Ninth Hour by Alice McDermott,
The Removes a Novel by Tatjana Soli,
Amity and Prosperity One Family and the Fracturing of America by Eliza Griswold which is about a family that sold their land to fracking operation which misled them about the environmental consequences of fracking,
Happiness a Memoir by Heather Harpham, and many other books.
I had a chance to see most of the booths on the floor of the show. There was not a lot of science fiction, nor horror. Most of the show seemed to be focused on young adult titles which is not my specialty. I got an advanced reading copy of Exile by Glynn Stewart which is space opera.
There were less vendors at the show and there were also no professional writing associations like Mystery Writers of America and Romance Writers of America.
The show seemed to be focused on the big publishing houses like MacMillan, Penguin Random House, Hachette, National Book Network, IPG Independent Publishing Group, and Simon and Schuster. There were also the big distributors like Ingram, Midwest Tape, Bookazine, and Baker and Taylor. There were a lot less small publishers.
There were only a few graphic novel companies, Image, Abrams, Lionforge, Boom Studios, Diamond Comic Distributors, Oni and a few others. Lionforge had a nice selection of titles that seemed to be unique in content . I got a signed copy of
Upgrade Soul by
Ezra Clayton Daniel which the author described as a kind of existential horror. .
I had been to the Graphic Novel Networking Event the night before at the Lamplight Bar. They did not have any galleys at the event which I thought was a little unusual. It was Viz, Boom Studios, Simon and Schuster, and Abrams. Boom Studios does Mouse Guard, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Lumberjanes and a lot of different tween oriented titles (age 10-14). I did get to talk to a few people and make a contact that might lead to an event at the library for banned book week.
I also looked around and found out there will be a graphic novel of
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee illustrated and adapted by Fred Fordham on sale on October 30, 2018. The graphic novels which I did see were very much oriented towards adaptations of popular books like the Dresden Files, tween and teen graphic novels like Snotgirl, comics lit (comics as literature), or slice of life comics.
There were a lot of companies that focused on extras like cards, games, t-shirts, and other products. There were very few giveaways, mainly buttons. Image had a stack of free comic books which I took for program giveaways.
There is a second show which comes after Book Expo America, Book Con. It is consumer oriented and focused on selling books to the public. There is also New York Comic Con which I am not going to this year.
The show itself was interesting. I could walk the whole show floor without becoming exhausted. Baker and Taylor provided lunch at the librarians lounge. It was a chance to rest and relax. There were a lot of librarians at the show.
I even had a chance to finish reading
Packing My Library An Elegy and Ten Digressions by Alberto Manguel. Alberto Manguel loves books and is a very erudite writer. I like his comments on being the director of national library of Argentina. The thing which struck me most was his idea that a library should actively work on building culture in the communities they are part of through partnerships. He even writes about reading to Borges. There is a recognizable similarity in style between Borges and Alberto Manguel.
On the way home, I read some of
Rising Out of Hatred The Awakening of a Former White Nationalist by Eli Saslow. This is the story Derek Black and his disavowing of white nationalism. It is also the story of the website Stormfront, the Klu Klux Klan, and the increasingly divisive language of white nationalism.
Web Bits
Book Expo 2018: CEOs
See A Stable Book Industry in an Unstable World
Why Prison Libraries Matter for Inmates, Jailers, and Book
Donors
Attending National Library Legislative Day
Why Finland Is Home to the World's Most Radical Libraries
