The National Library of Sweden has a 16th century book that can be read six different ways. Its special sixfold, back-to-back binding combines six different devotional texts into one book. Source
Despite all the quantum leaps in technology, the fact is nothing beats a physical, bricks-and-mortar store to discover books that you didn’t know about.
Oren Teicher, chief executive of the American Booksellers Association, in “Assessing the Health of Independent Bookshops”
I had a great reading year, in fact, mostly because I served as a judge for the National Book Award in fiction. It was an absurd amount of reading, but by the end, the net effect was that I feel very positive about the state of American letters. There are a lot of excellent books being written in this country, and some really extraordinary writers working today. It’s exciting to think one is part of that dialogue.
Justin Stanley founded the Uprise Books Project with a very simple mission: distribute banned or challenged books to underprivileged kids to encourage them to read. A Winner of our 2013 Innovations in Reading Prize, Stanley shares his personal experiences of poverty, the difficulties of championing banned books to schools, and how an Innovations in Reading Prize is helping propel his important work forward.
National Book Foundation: What inspired your Innovations in Reading-winning program?
Justin Stanley: My family didn’t have much when I was a kid. My younger brother and I were raised by a single mother and when we were in elementary school we were completely dependent on government and community help to make ends meet. I knew what government cheese tasted like and the various ways people looked at you when your mom pulled out a book of food stamps in the grocery store line, what it was like to be we-have-to-skip-the-electric-bill-this-month-if-we-want-to-eat poor.
I also remember the day in second grade when I came to school to find a group of strangers from some place called “RIF” standing behind a table of books, telling us kids that we could have one. For free. I couldn’t tell you what specific book I chose that day, but I’ve never forgotten how great it felt to bring it home.
We all know how important it is to inspire a love for reading early on in young children — and one place that owns this space is Barbershop Books, a community-based program started in Harlem that creates child-friendly spaces in barbershops across the U.S. for young boys to read in.
This week, we were thrilled to announce the Longlists for the 2019 National Book Awards. These titles in the categories of Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People’s Literature represent some of the best writing of the year. The Finalists will be announced October 8, all in the lead up to the 70th National Book Awards on November 20.
Barnes and Nobles is gonna start serving food and alcohol.
Everybody’s cracking jokes about how it’s a desperate attempt to stay relevant in the age of Amazon.
But you know what? Props to them. This is exactly what Blockbuster didn’t do. At no point was Blockbuster like “Hey, movie rentals aren’t the lucrative enterprise they once were. Perhaps it’s time we become known for our cheesy garlic bread.”
patrexes
that’s a fantastic plan, honestly? i would 100% go sit at a bookshop, buy a glass of wine, and pick up the newest biography. 50/50 i’d decide to buy it after a couple chapters, and even if i don’t, that’s still money i spent at B&N!
They could host book clubs with food and drinks where one of the employees shares their experiences with a book of their choice and tries to convince the guests to buy it.
Barnes and noble realizing the only reason people go to brick and mortar stores is for the experience and access to an enjoyable physical space they can socialize in (sure isnt for the price) and capitalizing on that is a stroke of genius and a really refreshing approach to the dilemma of competing with online stores
alwaysbringabookwithyou
