Schuler Books Announces Vook and Espresso Publishing
By Alan Eggleston, writer, editor, and bookseller
Schuler Books, independent bookseller in West and Mid Michigan, showed its moxy as a leading Michigan bookstore this week when it announced the Vook and the Espresso Book Machine.
Vooks are traditional books enhanced with video from Simon & Schuster, available for download to your computer, iPhone, or iPod Touch. Titles that Schuler Books mentions include Promises by Jude Deveraux, 90 Second Fitness Solution by Pete Cerqua, and Return to Beauty: Old World Recipes For Great Radian Skin by Narine Nikogosian. Links mentioned on their Facebook page look like downloads originate through Booksense, an association of independent booksellers.
Espresso Book Machine is on-demand publishing featuring the Google library and other possible sources. You will be able to order and walk out the door with a freshly printed book in around 10 minutes. No more concerns over being out of stock or out of print -- find the title and print it off! Schuler Books will have the only Espresso Book Machine in Michigan besides the University of Michigan. Cost is expected to be comparable to a mass-produced version, but there's no shipping!
See Schuler Books Facebook page or their Book Weblog for more information.
I once worked at Schuler Books, but I received no compensation for this article.
Twitter me: @AlanEggleston or @a-copywriter
Friday, October 09, 2009
Review Disclosures
Booksville Disclosure Policies for Book and Product Reviews and Articles
By Alan Eggleston, writer, editor, and bookseller
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) now requires that I (and any other blogger and reviewer) disclose any relationship that I have with an author, book publisher, or product manufacturer when I write about their book or product.
Here are the practices by which I write reviews and articles for Booksville and BizBooksPlus:
Thank you!
Alan Eggleston, president
e-Messenger Consulting Corp.
Writer, Editor, SEO, and Bookseller
By Alan Eggleston, writer, editor, and bookseller
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) now requires that I (and any other blogger and reviewer) disclose any relationship that I have with an author, book publisher, or product manufacturer when I write about their book or product.
Here are the practices by which I write reviews and articles for Booksville and BizBooksPlus:
- I never accept money or incentives to do a review on a book or product. I read the books, use the products, and write the reviews or articles on my own.
- I usually pay for the books and products about which I write or review; however, occasionally an author, publisher, or manufacturer may send or offer to send me a book or product to review. I will state that in the article or review; otherwise, you may assume I purchased the book or product with my own money.
- When I create a link to a book or product in an article or review, I will get paid a commission if you purchase the book or product via my link, which goes through my online bookstore and Amazon or other affiliate store. If the link does not materially benefit me, I will state so. (I also use links for SEO ranking purposes.)
- When I write a review or mention a book or product in an article, I will give you my unvarnished opinion, regardless of how I got the book or product. I don't write reviews professionally, so it's very likely that I purchased the book or product because I found it interesting, and I am writing about it because I wanted you to know about it. However, it's likely I will tell you what I like about it, and if there are things about it I find strongly disagreeable, I will tell you those, too. No author should assume that if they send me a book that they will receive a winning endorsement -- I won't feel obligated to provide one.
Thank you!
Alan Eggleston, president
e-Messenger Consulting Corp.
Writer, Editor, SEO, and Bookseller
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Have You Moved from Print to Electronic?
e-Books: Prices Too High?
by Alan Eggleston, writer, editor, bookseller
There's an interesting discussion about the price (not to be confused with the cost) of e-books on two blogs:
As an avid reader but not a fan of reading on a screen, high cost would be a barrier to my purchasing e-books on a regular basis. I prefer paper. What do you think?
by Alan Eggleston, writer, editor, bookseller
There's an interesting discussion about the price (not to be confused with the cost) of e-books on two blogs:
- TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home, "Calculating a fair price for e-books."
- Galleycat, "Expert Explains Why E-Books Are so Expensive."
As an avid reader but not a fan of reading on a screen, high cost would be a barrier to my purchasing e-books on a regular basis. I prefer paper. What do you think?
Saturday, January 03, 2009
What's in a Title?
Book Titles, the Author's Biggest Struggle?
by Alan Eggleston, writer, editor, and bookseller
If you're an author struggling with the title to your new bestseller-to-be, take a few lessons from the masters.
A book by British newspaper columnist and author Gary Dexter tells the story behind the titles of 50 landmark books. In Why Not Catch-21?, Dexter details the struggle to choose just the right number of catches to arrive at 22. Interesting story! First readers of Utopia by Thomas More thought it was a story of a real place, but there were clues in the title and the storytelling that discerning readers came to understand and that you can learn from. Why did Melville call his groundbreaking work "Moby Dick" instead of just "The Whale"? This and more is spelled out.
The full title of the book is Why Not Catch-21? The Stories Behind the Titles and it fully explains the work. As the preface explains, the book is based on a weekly column Dexter wrote for The Sunday Telegraph called "Title Deed." I want to do some research and see if it's still running, because it provides fascinating insight into how authors think and work, and how books are created.
Review Disclosure
My Blogs:
by Alan Eggleston, writer, editor, and bookseller
If you're an author struggling with the title to your new bestseller-to-be, take a few lessons from the masters.
A book by British newspaper columnist and author Gary Dexter tells the story behind the titles of 50 landmark books. In Why Not Catch-21?, Dexter details the struggle to choose just the right number of catches to arrive at 22. Interesting story! First readers of Utopia by Thomas More thought it was a story of a real place, but there were clues in the title and the storytelling that discerning readers came to understand and that you can learn from. Why did Melville call his groundbreaking work "Moby Dick" instead of just "The Whale"? This and more is spelled out.
The full title of the book is Why Not Catch-21? The Stories Behind the Titles and it fully explains the work. As the preface explains, the book is based on a weekly column Dexter wrote for The Sunday Telegraph called "Title Deed." I want to do some research and see if it's still running, because it provides fascinating insight into how authors think and work, and how books are created.
- Update: I Googled "Title Deed Sunday Telegraph" and although I received several links, all showed truncated results hidden behind "High Beam Research" which requires membership for full review. You will, however, see examples from the column on the Title Deed link above.
Review Disclosure
My Blogs:
Thursday, April 17, 2008
1 More Way to Find Another Great Read
By Alan Eggleston, writer, editor, and bookseller
Another way to find a good read by an author you like is to use the online Literature Map Web site. Simply go to www.literature-map.com and in the "Name of the author" field, enter the name of the author whose work you just enjoyed and click the "Continue" button. The result will be a screen showing your author's name surrounded by other names. The closer the other names are to your original author, the more likely you will like their works. It's based on people entering author names and indicating whether they have liked those authors' works.
Example: I like Horatio Hornblower by C.S. Forester. If I want to find other authors who write stories similar to hose of C.S. Forester, I enter his name in the entry field. It shows me Dudley Pope, Rudyard Kipling, Alexander Kent, and Bernard Cornwall as closest. It's interesting that Patrick O'Brian, who also writes Napolean-era sea adventures is far to the right. And it's also interesting that the author whose Napolean-era sea yarns I admire most -- Julian Stockwin -- doesn't even show up. But this is a work in progress and the more people who participate, the more accurate it will become.
Give it a try. My good neighbor across the street told me about it and he uses it faithfully. Let me know what you think.
Another way to find a good read by an author you like is to use the online Literature Map Web site. Simply go to www.literature-map.com and in the "Name of the author" field, enter the name of the author whose work you just enjoyed and click the "Continue" button. The result will be a screen showing your author's name surrounded by other names. The closer the other names are to your original author, the more likely you will like their works. It's based on people entering author names and indicating whether they have liked those authors' works.
Example: I like Horatio Hornblower by C.S. Forester. If I want to find other authors who write stories similar to hose of C.S. Forester, I enter his name in the entry field. It shows me Dudley Pope, Rudyard Kipling, Alexander Kent, and Bernard Cornwall as closest. It's interesting that Patrick O'Brian, who also writes Napolean-era sea adventures is far to the right. And it's also interesting that the author whose Napolean-era sea yarns I admire most -- Julian Stockwin -- doesn't even show up. But this is a work in progress and the more people who participate, the more accurate it will become.
Give it a try. My good neighbor across the street told me about it and he uses it faithfully. Let me know what you think.
3 Easy Ways to Find Another Good Read
You liked one book, how do you find another like it?
By Alan Eggleston, bookseller
Originally published 7.10.05 on my BizBooksPlus.net blog under the same title.
Often we find books that we really enjoy and want to extend that enjoyment by getting another book like it. How do you find one?
Did you like the author's writing style or tone?
One way is to look up more books by the same author. Although an author's style can change over time, and subsequent books can easily be different, it's a good bet that if you like an author's style he or she will repeat it in other books.
Did you like the subject matter?
If what you like is the subject matter, then look up other books by entering appropriate keywords for the subject matter in the Amazon search box on either our business books page or our leisure books page. Here, making sure you get a good read isn't as easy, since different authors often vary widely in style and tone.
Find what other readers have liked
Another way to find similar material is by using the same Amazon.com search boxes mentioned above. Enter the title of the book you enjoyed (better yet, enter the ISBN) and when the book comes up on the page, scroll down. Amazon often lists similar books, suggestions of similar subject matter or similar authors that other readers have ordered. "If you like this book, you may also like these..." in essence.
• Search on our Business Books section
• Search on our Leisure Books section
(c) 2005 e-Messenger Consulting Corp. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
By Alan Eggleston, bookseller
Originally published 7.10.05 on my BizBooksPlus.net blog under the same title.
Often we find books that we really enjoy and want to extend that enjoyment by getting another book like it. How do you find one?
Did you like the author's writing style or tone?
One way is to look up more books by the same author. Although an author's style can change over time, and subsequent books can easily be different, it's a good bet that if you like an author's style he or she will repeat it in other books.
Did you like the subject matter?
If what you like is the subject matter, then look up other books by entering appropriate keywords for the subject matter in the Amazon search box on either our business books page or our leisure books page. Here, making sure you get a good read isn't as easy, since different authors often vary widely in style and tone.
Find what other readers have liked
Another way to find similar material is by using the same Amazon.com search boxes mentioned above. Enter the title of the book you enjoyed (better yet, enter the ISBN) and when the book comes up on the page, scroll down. Amazon often lists similar books, suggestions of similar subject matter or similar authors that other readers have ordered. "If you like this book, you may also like these..." in essence.
• Search on our Business Books section
• Search on our Leisure Books section
(c) 2005 e-Messenger Consulting Corp. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
I was so intrigued by Five Years of My Life!
By Alan Eggleston, Writer, Editor, Bookseller
Kurnaz planned to accompany friends on the trip, but ended up going alone. He traveled from mosque to mosque with friends he made along the way. At the end of his trip, just as he was heading home, he was arrested. Although official papers said he had been arrested in Afghanistan, he was in fact sold out in Pakistan to American interests for $3,000 and shipped to Afghanistan. There he was interrogated, beaten, tortured, barely fed, and eventually shipped to Guantanamo, Cuba, where he spent the rest of his imprisonment.
I was so intrigued by Five Years of My Life by Murat Kurnaz, I read it in a day. It's the story of a young German of Turkish descent who was charged with terrorism by the Bush Administration and was forced to live five years of hell in torture, even though he was actually innocent.
The book covers 255 pages, including epilogue. It tells of this teen of hard-working Turkish immigrants in Germany who decided to give up the wild life of a bouncer for a straighlaced Muslim wife from Turkey, a woman who knew much more about his faith than he did. After marrying her, he decided to study his faith before bringing her back to Germany to live, and he made secret arrangements to travel to Pakistan where he could attend a quick-study school on Islam. He didn't tell his family because he was afraid they would stop him from going. That was the biggest mistake of his life.
Kurnaz planned to accompany friends on the trip, but ended up going alone. He traveled from mosque to mosque with friends he made along the way. At the end of his trip, just as he was heading home, he was arrested. Although official papers said he had been arrested in Afghanistan, he was in fact sold out in Pakistan to American interests for $3,000 and shipped to Afghanistan. There he was interrogated, beaten, tortured, barely fed, and eventually shipped to Guantanamo, Cuba, where he spent the rest of his imprisonment.
This book is not well crafted English. It is a well written narrative. You will experience his uncertainty, his confusion, his pain, his human degredation, and the depravity of a government so focused on capturing terrorists that it refuses to see what it actually has, which is an innocent man. In fact, the government learned early on that Kurnaz was innocent, but Germany didn't want him back -- for silly reasons, it turns out -- so they kept torturing him anyway.
Thank goodness Kurnaz's family learned of his whereabouts, people of goodwill fought for his release, and he didn't give up hope. At the very end, even though the government knew Kurnaz was innocent, as he prepared to board a plane to freedom, they insisted he sign a declaration of guilt or he wouldn't be given his freedom. When he refused, they let him go.
See if you're hooked by the details, the memories, the fear, the insanity of it all like I was. I read this in a day, and I never read a book in a day.
Five Years of My Life, An Innocent Man in Guantanamo
By Murat Kurnaz
ISBN-10: 0230603742
ISBN-13: 978-0230603745
ISBN-13: 978-0230603745
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