The BookThinker Newsletter ISSN 1547-9501 #152 3 January 2011

#147, 9 August 2010

Special Announcements

BookThink's Bookseller's Author Report #2 Thomas Pychon Thomas Pynchon was thrust into the literary limelight after the release of his first novel, V., in 1963 but in no sense of the word was he ever to bask in it. Instead he has chosen to lie, as he might put it, doggo - quietly removed from public view for the intervening 45 years. But not quite a Salingeresque retreat, perhaps. In 1997 CNN filmed Pynchon on the streets of Manhattan shortly after the release of his sixth novel, Mason & Dixon. Pynchon protested, and CNN reluctantly agreed to air the piece without identifying the author. When asked to explain his so-called reclusive nature, he replied, "My belief is that 'recluse' is a code word generated by journalists ... meaning, 'doesn't like to talk to reporters,'" at least kicking the door open to the possibility that he does like to talk to some others. But, recluse or not, what we are left with is mystery - and collectors love mystery.

#147 Update, 23 August 2010

Update Announcements

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IPhone 4 Scouting Just Got Easier Many of you who own smartphones have been using them in addition to or in place of dedicated bar code scanners for some time now. Both the hardware and software necessary to accomplish this have been developed to operate at a level of performance that can make a significant difference when scouting. But I'm not here to discuss scanning software. I just fired up a new iPhone 4 yesterday and took it out this morning for a scouting test drive. Those of you who have tested one or, better yet, already own one know what I mean when I say that this device isn't a just technological step forward but a leap.

Special Announcements

BookThink's Guide to Online Bookselling Excerpt from Chapter 1 Essential Book History for Booksellers. Book history? If you're a bookseller struggling to revive a failing business or just somebody getting started in the book trade, you might be tempted to skip this chapter. After all, how is learning something about the history of books going to make you any money today? Over time, yes, especially if you move into buying and selling antiquarian books, it would certainly make sense; after all, you can't adequately present a 16th century book for sale if you don't know something about how books were made 400 or 500 years ago, not to mention have a grasp of its historical context. But you need to make something happen now, and what's up with this anyway? No other bookselling how-to has ever had much (and usually nothing!) to say about book history, let alone charged right out of the blocks with it. When do we get to the meat and potatoes? What about sourcing inventory? That's the holy grail, right?

From the Editor

Selling on eBay Using Markdown Manager to Boost Sales So - how's business? Based on what I'm hearing from some of you, it has certainly been better; and why is this any surprise? We're in the midst of one of the deepest, most stubborn economic downturns in our country's history, and as if this wasn't enough, we're also at the dawn of a digital revolution that's already adversely affecting the market for print publications. At BookThink we've been encouraging you to at least consider moving away from commodity books (books purchased primarily for content) and instead focus on what has traditionally been called the antiquarian book trade - collected books, that is. Of course, you don't just change clothes to do this. It's a process of learning and applying what you learn over time, and if things at this moment in time are looking grim because your inventory is heavily weighted with commodity books, it might make sense to look for ways to buy yourself some time - specifically, boost sales of those very commodity books to both clear room for the books that will replace them and keep things going financially while you make a transition.

BookThink's Author Profiles An Interview with J.C. Hallman Part III J.C. Hallman has gone adventuring again, this time ... In Utopia On a beautiful summer evening during our recent trip to Minnesota, we caught up with author J.C. Hallman in St. Paul for dinner on the patio at W.A. Frost's. Accompanying him was his significant other, Catherine Michele Adams.