tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-184089492011-12-22T09:39:02.052-08:00Books, bookselling, current events and maybe even something usfulFrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.comBlogger1461100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-77440332666165204052010-06-14T09:28:00.000-07:002010-06-14T09:30:29.248-07:00While I'm not be actively blogging, do NOT think your spam will get published here! So please go away. : )<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-7744033266616520405?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-4954565691724488372008-07-01T11:51:00.000-07:002008-07-01T19:53:11.367-07:00<div style="text-align: justify;"><pre><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >I have been considering something for a long, long time. I have<br />very little time to devote to my blog, yet I don't wish to abandon<br />it completely. I do not want to inform newbies how to become a<br />bookseller, either. I do mentor a few privately who desire to become<br />a </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >better</span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" > bookseller, though. They know me either personally or by<br />reputation from personal business dealings. I am by no means perfect.<br />I have made mistakes, more in the past than present, but occasionally<br />I do err. I am only human! But - what I take from my mistakes is a<br />lesson in how to provide better customer service, especially if someone<br />contacts me with a problem.<br /><br />I have been buying and selling online for many, many years. (Husband<br />and I buy a </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >lot</span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" > of books and items for our respective collections.) I<br />know what I like and what I don't. To be blunt, I have dealt with many<br />wonderful, wonderful buyers and sellers and some complete morons<br />(99% are sellers.) who are totally devoid of common or business sense<br />and occasionally even ethics! In this vein, a small group of trusted,<br />respectable booksellers, with whom I am friendly, and I trade<br />information. We share information on the gems, but possibly more<br />importantly we spell out who are the losers to avoid at all cost and<br />why.<br /><br />As such, I have decided to share this information to better assist the<br />public.Of course, all names have been changed to protect the guilty.<br />The beacons of excellence will be known via their business names,<br />unless requested otherwise.<br /><br />Here is the most recent example of egregious seller behaviour in<br />response to an email. We bought a book misdescribed as "Mint."<br />Yeah, yeah, I know, that is a dead giveaway in itself, but my<br />husband really wanted the book. Once it arrived, he was<br />extremely angry and was going to immediately leave a neg on<br />eBay for the seller. (Yeah, yeah, I know eBay... ugh!) The book<br />stunk to high heaven of mold, to which I am extremely allergic.<br />Of course, it had to be taken immediately out of the house by DH<br />to be properly treated before either I went to the ER or the book<br />caused problems in our house. (Which is why DH was so very<br />angry!)<br /><br />I told DH maybe the person selling it couldn't smell the mold.<br />(I don't know how!) and that I would write the seller to explain<br />the situation. He told me to add in that the book was<br />misdescribed, also. OK, not everyone selling books is a<br />professional bookseller, <span style="font-style: italic;">especially</span> on eBay, so I added in a<br />reference to IOBA.org for help in describing and grading books.<br />I tried to be nice while explaining our problem with the<br />purchase plus a little useful info. As the saying goes, "No<br />good deed goes unpunished."<br /><br />Immediately following is the reply. Below that is<br />my original contact with the seller. I did not edit either except<br />to remove user name.<br /><br />"</span><span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >Dear fraubucher<br /><br /></span></span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >Hi there, I my self buy and sell antiques, on line, i find them at<br />yard sails and grage sales,they come from basements , and<br />attics, were they are sold, not every one takes a book from there<br />book shelf and sells it.here we have a book from the collection of<br />the man who wrote it ,and had the greatest bottle collection of all<br />time, and was signed by him, and you complain about your<br />condition. i think if you are dealing with antiques of any kind you<br />might want to find a different hobby, old things smell just like that<br />OLD... no matter were they come from, be it a barn or an out<br />house, sory the price was not cheap enough for you , and better<br />luck next time, if you can find a better copy put your nose in it and<br />dont wast my time..... "<br />signed:<br />Ignorant and Illiterate 06/29/2008 11:02 PM<br /><br />My email dated </span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" class="msgHeaderValue" >June 25, 2008 8:55 AM:</span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><br /><br />Dear ...,<br /><br />Hi, The book has an strong odor of mustiness, mildew to it. You<br />may or not have noticed it, but if you did, you really need to add<br />that to the item's description. I am extremely allergic to molds<br />which cause me severe asthma attacks. That fact heavily effects<br />my decision to buy something. Had I known in advance the book<br />was mildewed and musty, I would have had the option to open it<br />outdoors using necessary precaution measures and then<br />properly treat it before inspecting the book. A book that smells<br />musty has live mold in it, even if not visible, and will infect an<br />entire collection. Also, a very helpful reference site is IOBA.org<br />for their book description standards. It's a great aid if you expect<br />you may frequently sell books. In my experience books and<br />bottles are commonly found together in collections. Just to let<br />you know. Thanks,"<br /><br />Nota bene: I have dug bottles and bought books 200 to 500+<br />years old. There is a big difference between smelling "old"<br />and smelling moldy and musty!<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Have any suggestions for the Hall of Shame? Let me know.</span></span></pre></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-495456569172448837?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-42229449456471176412008-06-18T15:10:00.000-07:002008-06-18T18:28:15.908-07:00My heart aches for the Tudor Family. I am one of many, many people who appreciate and love Tasha's art. The world of children's books is a little less sweet. The following is from an email I received today:<br /><br /><br />"Dear Friend,<br /><br />It is with great sadness that we must tell you Tasha Tudor, 92, passed away in her Vermont home on June 18, 2008 surrounded by family and friends. We have created an online memorial website and invite all who loved Tasha to share their feelings and memories in the Memory Book section.<br /><br />The office of Tasha Tudor and Family is closed for the time being and will reopen on June 30th.<br /><br />Due to the extensive travel plans of our national and international guests, the Secret Garden Tours of Tasha Tudor and Family will proceed as scheduled. They will, however, be led by our capable staff, instead of the family.<br /><br />We thank you for supporting Tasha Tudor's lifestyle and artwork during her long career. We hope that Tasha's message of 'taking joy' in all that one does will be remembered as we pass through this difficult time together.<br /><br /> -The Tudor Family<br /><br />The gloom of the world is but a shadow; behind it, yet, within our reach, is joy. Take Joy.<br />Fra Giovanni "<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-4222944945647117641?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-55551756179993752412008-05-04T10:51:00.000-07:002008-05-04T11:27:41.506-07:00Several years back I helped manage a large, monthly, FOL, library book sale. One of the activities I instituted was shipping books to a program called <a target="blank" href="http://booksforsoldiers.com/">Books For Soldiers</a>. Our branch mailed a lot of really good books to the forces overseas.<br /><br />Due to health reasons, three or so years ago I quit my volunteering. The wear and tear on my body was too great and since I was tired of doing way too much heavy, physical work myself, I left with no regrets. But... I often wondered if the Books for Soldiers program continued since the woman who actually boxed and shipped the books also left the FOL group after I did. Happily, I learned this year that the mailings continued.<br /><br />So, it was with some dismay that I learned yesterday via email that the Books for Soldiers program is in dire financial difficulties. I don't think they'll mind my pasting the information in my blog. If even a couple people read this and donate, that is a few more dollars.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Books For Soldiers</span><br />2008 Fundraising Update Newsletter April 2008<br /><br />___________________________<br />It Is A Bad Economy<br /><br />Starting at the first of this year, BFS started a robust fundraising campaign here in North Carolina. We contacted small companies and some large companies you probably have heard of. To date, we have received a stack of letters that begin with "we deeply regret not being able to donate this year" and no cash. From our corporate donation campaign we have received a tad under thirty dollars from a philanthropy grants group in Winston Salem, NC. That was it, nothing else.<br /><br />Times are tough for all non-profit groups, food banks from all around North Carolina and across the nation are suffering from a lack of donations and a sharp increase of those in need. The article below arrived in my email today about a women's shelter closing because of a lack of donations.<br /><br /><a target="blank" href="http://www.the-signal.com/news/article/1356/">the-signal.com/news/article</a><br /><br /><br />___________________________<br />The Next Step<br /><br />The BFS Board of Directors have discussed this problem for some time and have decided to have another go at fundraising. We are working on a different campaign aimed at companies in larger states - California for example. Every time we want to do fundraising in a state (cold call, direct mail, advertising) we need to file with that state's Secretary of State - filing in all states if prohibitively expensive so we have to pick and choose.<br /><br />In our last newsletter, we reported on the hacker attacks that coincided with our 5th Anniversary. Those DNS attacks didn't help our balance sheet. Our final IT bill from the datacenter for that week was a tad over $11,000. If you recall, the hackers brought down the whole datacenter just to try to kill us.<br /><br />The Board set a goal of $70,000 to raise by November 1st of this year. If that amount is not raised, the site will close on December 31st, 2008.<br /><br />If we cannot make the fundraising target, the Board will seek to sell the site to another 501(c)(3) and any new owner will need to be qualified - have the IT talent to run the site, the funding to keep it going and the funding for the required upgrades, both software and hardware. We would also stop accepting new OVs on November 1st and stop accepting new books requests from soldiers on December 1st, 2008.<br /><br /><br />___________________________<br />What Does It Take?*<br /><br />It takes a lot to run BFS on a monthly basis. The monthly funds required to run an operation like BFS are large. Here is a partial summary of where the donations go.<br /><br />All figures are a monthly average for 2007.<br /><br />Books, DVDs, other carepackage items $1153<br />Postage $812<br />Rent $1600<br />Utilities $277<br />IT Services (server farm, hosting, bandwidth) $4258<br />IT Maintenance Contract $1500<br />IT Security Software License Fees $350<br /><br />There are other things like broken computers, the occasional software purchase, insurance, pencils, toilet paper for the bathroom, etc. that we purchase.<br /><br />No one at BFS receives a salary.<br /><br />The BFS presence on MySpace, Flickr, YouTube are all free. Our presence in Second Life has also been donated.<br /><br />We will be disabling the uploading of photos in the next few weeks to save bandwidth. Please post your photos to the <a target="blank" href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/booksforsoldiers">Flickr BFS Group</a> and include the Flickr link to the photo in your forum post. If you want keep your photos on BFS, place them on Flickr and post the code in your post. Instructions can be found <a target="blank" href="http://www.flickr.com/help/photos/#68">here</a>.<br /><br />My hopes is that eventually we can raise more than the $70k survival goal. Last year our goal for 2008 was to move to a website design where the cumbersome OV process was performed online and searching and finding soldiers would be a breeze - subscribing to soldier requests is my favorite new BFS feature. Now we are just struggling to stay open.<br /><br /><br />___________________________<br />How You Can Help<br /><br />The ONLY reason we are open today is because of the OVs that have donated so far this year, but now I need to ask more of everyone.<br /><br />1) Office party fundraiser - Coordinate a "Save BFS Day" at work and urge, beg, cajole your co-workers into coughing up something for BFS.<br /><br />2) Have your company cough up some cash. We will send your company a formal donation request, just send us the company name, contact name and address and we will get it out right away. Send these requests to me personally (storm@booksforsoldiers.com)<br /><br />3) Have your place of worship pass the plate (hat, kippah, whatever) for BFS. Consult with your church's leader about holding a "Save BFS Offering" one day this month. Checks should be made out to "Books For Soldiers." If they have any questions or concerns, please contact me directly to set up a call.<br /><br />4) Visit our <a target="blank" href="http://booksforsoldiers.com/donate.php">donation page</a> and give what you can.<br /><br /><br /><br />or by check<br /><br />Books For Soldiers<br />2008 Fund Drive<br />353 Jonestown Rd #123<br />Winston Salem, NC 27104<br /><br /><br />___________________________<br />In Closing<br /><br />I started BFS five years ago and fully expected it to be online for only six weeks, that is the length of time I thought it would take for our troops to finish up in Baghdad and come back home. I am also terrible at predicting who is going to win the next NASCAR race.<br /><br />If worse come to worse, it has been a good run - a great run in fact. In the first 6 months of operation, we collectively shipped over 400 tons of packages to the Middle East, that is when I stopped counting. We also built the largest English library in the Middle East - together with US soldiers at the Baghdad International Airport in the months following the fall of Baghdad.<br /><br />We have done a lot of tremendous work, made a lot of great friends and even a wedding or two! We have also lost a lot of friends and we have received way too many memorial flags. Either way, you can all be proud of what we have achieved.<br /><br />I promise that we will do everything in our power to meet our fundraising goals and will appreciate any help from you.<br /><br />Thank-you for your support, patience and hard work over the last 5 years.<br /><br />And most of all thank-you for your support of our troops.<br /><br />Storm Williams<br />Founder<br />Books For Soldiers<br /><br /><br /><br />*Legalese: BFS is exempt from filing IRS Form 990. Any financial information found here should not be considered as a replacement for IRS Form 990 or a supplement to an IRS Form 990.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-5555175617999375241?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-34068577824896186282008-05-01T10:40:00.000-07:002008-05-01T12:28:45.952-07:00<a target="blamk" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fraubucher/2456677415/" title="Gerard_Van_Spaendonck_Bouquet by FrauBucher, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3129/2456677415_635176a475_m.jpg" alt="Gerard_Van_Spaendonck_Bouquet" align="left" height="240" width="181" /></a> As a little girl, my younger brother and I would walk to the surrounding <a target="blamk" href="http://www.bbg.org/gar2/topics/ecology/eco_deciduous.html">forests</a> and collect <a target="blamk" href="http://mortonarb.org/main.taf?p=2,1,1,8">wildflowers</a> on the first morn of May. Lilies of the valley, trilliums, phlox, assorted sweet violets, wild roses, Virginia bluebells, spring beauties, Dutchman's-breeches and trout-lilies were lovingly and carefully collected from Nature's <a target="blamk" href="http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&amp;suggon=0&amp;q=illinois%20forest%20spring%20wildflowers&amp;um=1&amp;ie=UTF-8&amp;sa=N&amp;tab=wi">bounty</a> for our Mother and Grandmother. Always mindful to not strip or over pick an area or grouping, we'd walk for hours breathing in deeply the scent of mouldering oak and maple leaves as the ground warmed through the forest's canopy. We traversed the same ground the Native Americans walked many years before. We innately appreciated the wild world due to our constant exposure to it. We blissfully coursed the woods, meadows and swamps without fear of human caused danger.<br /><br />Once back home, we'd arrange our wildflower bouquets and place the flowers on our front porch. Then the show began. We'd knock on the door and run away to the side of the house to hide. My Mother put on a good production of acting surprised upon seeing the breathtaking token of love on the porch. She'd shower us with hugs and kisses after we jumped out into the open. My Mother then drove us to her Mother's house and the scene would be re-enacted for her benefit. Such was our <a target="blamk" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_Day">May Day</a> tradition. Sadly, <a target="blamk" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page">wikipedia</a> states the tradition of anonymously leaving May baskets has faded since the 20th century.<br /><br />We also left smaller bouquets on doorsteps of friendly neighbors or the elderly. I miss those times. I miss the forests. I <i>really</i> miss the forest's spring wildflowers.<br /><br />My May Day gift basket to you is a <a target= "blank" href="http://infomotions.com/etexts/gutenberg/dirs/etext05/mayda10.htm">free</a> poetry book entitled <i>May Day with the Muses</i> by Robert Bloomfield, which can be downloaded at <a target= "blank" href="http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page">Project Gutenburg</a>, a wonderful source of literature in the public domain.<br /><br />To introduce yourself or your children to May Day, here are some books you may find if <a target= "blank" href="http://www.bookweb.org/aba/booksense/storeSearch.do">shopping locally</a> at your neighborhood independent bookseller. These also can be found on the net from a worldwide indie by searching by author and/or title at <a set="yes" linkindex="15" target="_blank" href="http://www.bookfinder.com/">Bookfinder</a> or <a linkindex="16" target="_blank" href="http://used.addall.com/">ADDALL.</a><br /><i><br />The Romantics and the May Day Tradition</i> by Joshua, Essaka<br /><i>Beltane</i> by Raven Grimassi<br /><i>On The Morn Of Mayfest</i> by Erica Silverman<br /><i>Little Grey Rabbit's May Day</i> by Alison Uttley<br /><i>The Rainbow Tulip</i> by Pat Mora<br />And, a beautiful music selection:<br />Beltane: Songs for the Green Time (CD) by Jaiya<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-3406857782489618628?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-25713773950717454462008-04-30T12:36:00.000-07:002008-05-01T12:57:30.155-07:00NINE, yes, 9 authors will be <a target= "blank" href="http://books.signonsandiego.com/?q=node/2832">Signing, etc.</a> from Friday to Saturday on the very first weekend of May at San Diego county bookstores. <br /><br />A nature writing workshop is being held 5 p.m. Saturday at <a target= "blank" href="http://entertainment.signonsandiego.com/places/sunset-cliffs-natural-park-1/">Sunset</a> <a target= "blank" href="http://www.homeandabroad.com/c/23/Site/45691_Sunset_Cliffs_Natural_Park_visit.html">Cliffs</a> Natural Park in <a target= "blank" href="http://www.oceanbeach.com/">Ocean Beach</a>. The workshop is sponsored by <a target= "blank" href="http://www.sandiegowriters.org/">San Diego Writers, Ink.</a> Registration is $25-$30. For information, call: (619) 284-1343. <br /><br />Sunset Cliffs is a great place to see the sunset over the Pacific if the sky is clear. I prefer to view sunsets from the <a target= "blank" href="http://www.westcoastroads.com/california/i-008c_ca.html">Laguna Summit or Tecate Divide</a>.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-2571377395071745446?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-56315864306054143322008-04-03T11:07:00.000-07:002008-04-03T13:27:58.733-07:00<a blank="" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fraubucher/2385238075/" title="j0379439 by FrauBucher, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2163/2385238075_0d992c66ce_o.gif" alt="j0379439" align="left" height="192" width="192" /></a><span class="mainText"> "Pricing has always been important to the Postal Service. Now, with greater pricing flexibility than ever, our customers have more choices, and we can price quickly in response to customer needs and the marketplace." - Pricing and Classification Vice President Stephen Kearney</span><br /><br />The second half of last year's proposed postal rate <a target="blank" href="http://www.usps.com/prices/new-prices.htm">changes</a> takes place on May 12, 2008. The most commonly used classes are included in the rate changes. A few discounts will also be put into place, but these will not impact the average postal customer.<br /><br /><a target="blank" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fraubucher/2385238095/" title="j0434883 by FrauBucher, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2394/2385238095_973b035136_m.jpg" alt="j0434883" align="right" height="192" width="192" /></a>For those of us <a target="blank" href="http://www.usps.com/prices/welcome.htm?from=bannercommunications&amp;page=prices#H1">shipping</a> packages:<br /><a target="blank" href="http://www.usps.com/shipping/expressmail.htm">Express Mail</a> becomes zone-based with a 3 percent price cut when purchasing <a target="blank" href="http://www.usps.com/onlinepostage/">online</a> or via <a target="blank" href="http://pe.usps.com/text/dmm200/intro.htm">corporate</a> accounts. Meet USPS' quarterly minimums, will save shippers even more.<br /><br /><a target="blank" href="http://www.usps.com/shipping/prioritymail.htm">Priority Mail</a> offers an average 3.5% savings if using electronic postage or meeting other USPS requirements.<br /><br /><a target="blank" href="http://www.usps.com/send/waystosendmail/senditwithintheus/parcelselect.htm">Parcel Select</a> features pricing and volume incentives for large- and medium-size shippers.<br /><br /><a target="blank" href="http://www.usps.com/parcelreturnservices/">Parcel Return Service</a> becomes weight based with savings for lighter packages.<br /><br /><a target="blank" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fraubucher/2385238087/" title="j0288926 by FrauBucher, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3243/2385238087_53595daae4_o.gif" alt="j0288926" align="left" height="96" width="96" /></a>Mr and Mrs John Doe's <a target="blank" href="http://www.usps.com/prices/welcome.htm?from=bannercommunications&amp;page=prices#H2">mailings</a> will also be affected with changes. The USPS website is proud to state: "The average increase by class of mail is at or below the rate of inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index."<br /><br />The changes are as follows:<br />First-Class Mail letter (1 oz.) = $0.42<br />First-Class Mail letter (2 oz.) = $0.59<a target="blank" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fraubucher/2385238091/" title="j0413666 by FrauBucher, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2259/2385238091_0d53c0d1f5_s.jpg" alt="j0413666" align="right" height="75" width="75" /></a><br />Postcard = $0.27<br />First-Class Mail large envelope (2 oz.) = $1.00<br />Certified Mail =$2.70<br /><a target="blank" href="http://www.usps.com/international/airmailinternational.htm">First-Class Mail International</a> changes depend on destination<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-5631586430605414332?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-215628699528890482008-03-29T11:41:00.000-07:002008-03-29T14:08:38.624-07:00<a target="blank" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fraubucher/2371901660/" title="Earth Hour - Google by FrauBucher, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2087/2371901660_23aa476437_m.jpg" alt="Earth Hour - Google" align="left" height="180" width="240" /></a>Today, March 29, 2008 is the first global celebration of <a target="blank" href="http://www.earthhour.org/">Earth Hour</a>. <a target="blank" href="http://www.google.com/">Google</a>, in a show of support, turned its "lights" out on their home page for <a target="blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Hour">Earth Hour</a>. Earth Hour was created by the <a target="blank" href="http://wwf.org/">World Wildlife Fund</a> (WWF) in <a target="blank" href="http://wwf.org.au/">Sydney</a>, Australia in 2007 to inspire people to take action on climate change. Across the world, million of people are showing solidarity by turning off all their lights from 8PM to 9PM. The reason for this: <a target="blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_change">climate change</a>.<br /><br /><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 15px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-05962314111062506 visible ontop" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/UcHz6Jv4l-g&amp;hl=en"></a><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 15px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-05962314111062506 visible ontop" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/UcHz6Jv4l-g&amp;hl=en"></a><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 15px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-05962314111062506 visible ontop" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/UcHz6Jv4l-g&amp;hl=en"></a><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 15px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-05962314111062506 visible ontop" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/UcHz6Jv4l-g&amp;hl=en"></a><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 15px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-05962314111062506 visible ontop" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/UcHz6Jv4l-g&amp;hl=en"></a><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 15px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-05962314111062506 visible ontop" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/UcHz6Jv4l-g&amp;hl=en"></a><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 15px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-05962314111062506 visible ontop" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/UcHz6Jv4l-g&amp;hl=en"></a><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 15px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-05962314111062506 visible ontop" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/UcHz6Jv4l-g&amp;hl=en"></a><object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/UcHz6Jv4l-g&amp;hl=en"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/UcHz6Jv4l-g&amp;hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />Whether you believe or not in climate change or <a target="blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warminghttp://">global warming</a> is irrelevant. The <a target="blank" href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-03/29/content_7878735.htm">global economy</a> is suffering. The <a target="blank" href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&amp;sid=alM71uRFxXdA&amp;refer=news">US</a> is believed to be in a recession by nearly 90% of people polled by the <a target="blank" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/28/AR2008032801419.html?hpid=topnews">University of Michigan and Reuters</a>, despite what <a target="blank" href="http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/tough-times-no-recession-bush/story.aspx?guid=%7B13308256-92FA-4209-A278-E543947AEC56%7D&amp;dist=hplatest">some people </a>think. People are working harder and earning less. <a target="blank" href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&amp;sid=anoS5A7Unxvs&amp;refer=home">Unemployment</a> is up. Foreclosures are skyrocketing and so is the price of gasoline. <a target="blank" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/28/AR2008032804303.html"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Credit card debt</span></a> is all the rage and <span style="font-style: italic;">finally</span> people are <a target="blank" href="http://www.dailyreckoning.com/rpt/USConsumerSpending.html">spending less</a> due to necessity not desire, I'm sure! Taking all of the above into consideration, <a target="blank" href="http://www.energysavers.gov/">energy conservation</a> is one means anyone can utilize to reduce their cost of living and is perhaps one of the easiest methods to save some money to further your bottom line.<br /><br />Show your support by <a target="blank" href="http://www3.earthhourus.org/signup/">signing up</a> for Earth Hour - and support the Earth and yourself.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-21562869952889048?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-72881564621906781312008-03-27T09:17:00.000-07:002008-03-27T10:39:15.171-07:00<left><a target= "blank" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fraubucher/2366995006/" title="Autograph-WilliamShakespeare by FrauBucher, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2186/2366995006_47bac596cb_m.jpg" width="240" height="42" alt="Autograph-WilliamShakespeare" /></a></left><br /><a target= "blank" href="http://books.signonsandiego.com/?q=node/2783">Signings, etc. </a>- in San Diego for week ending March 29, 2008<br /><br />Click above to see where these authors will be:<br />Joseph Wambaugh, Lisa Lehr, Bridget Kirchoff, Mary Duncan Richard Lederer, and Lisa Lutz<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-7288156462190678131?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-29001996775916667202008-03-26T09:10:00.000-07:002008-03-26T10:55:58.916-07:00<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fraubucher/2364438706/" title="John William Waterhouse-Circe The Sorceress by FrauBucher, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2002/2364438706_017457715f_m.jpg" alt="John William Waterhouse-Circe The Sorceress" align="left" height="155" width="240" /></a><br /> Much has been made about Harry Potter books regarding children and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witchcraft">witchcraft</a>...<br />Story linked below<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fraubucher/2364510356/" title="Hand Baldung Grien- Witches- Woodcut 1508 by FrauBucher, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3197/2364510356_39e12251e8_s.jpg" alt="Hand Baldung Grien- Witches- Woodcut 1508 " align="right" height="75" width="75" /></a><br /><br /><br />"LOCK HAVEN, PA—Ashley Daniels is as close as you can get to your typical 9-year-old American girl. A third-grader at Lock Haven Elementary School, she loves rollerblading, her pet hamsters Benny and Oreo, Britney Spears, and, of course, Harry Potter. Having breezed through the most recent Potter opus in just four days, Ashley is among the millions of children who have made <u>Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire</u> the fastest-selling book in <a target="blank" href="http://www.theonion.com/content/news/harry_potter_books_spark_rise_in">publishing history</a>."<br /><br />All of the <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_potter">Harry Potter</a></i> books by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._K._Rowling">J K Rowling </a> can be found at your <a set="yes" linkindex="12" target="blank" href="http://storesearch.booksense.com/booksense/storeSearch.do">local independent bookstore</a> or on the net from a worldwide indie by searching by author and/or title at <a linkindex="22" target="_blank" href="http://www.bookfinder.com/">Bookfinder</a> or <a linkindex="23" target="_blank" href="http://used.addall.com/">ADDALL.</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-2900199677591666720?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-77958103585603528992008-03-18T16:07:00.000-07:002008-03-21T07:01:32.247-07:00<a target="blank" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fraubucher/2343550633/" title="pk roses1 by FrauBucher, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2105/2343550633_efe0445307_m.jpg" alt="pk roses1" align="right" height="169" width="240" /></a>A crazy person, oops, I mean, a faithful reader of this <a target="blank" href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&amp;suggon=0&amp;defl=en&amp;q=define:Blog&amp;sa=X&amp;oi=glossary_definition&amp;ct=title">blog</a> recently emailed me. He asked why I do not post regularly. To be honest, I don't feel like it.<br /><br />Bookseller blogs already exist that are very informative for the industry. In essence, the blogs are an extension of the bookseller's business and often information is also presented for newcomers to the world of selling books. I don't "do" bookselling information for newbies. I have privately mentored and helped people who were serious in really <i style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">learning</i> the business of bookselling and all that it entails, but I won't do it here. <br /><br />People expect my blog to be informative. A blog by it's very definition is a personal, online journal. Daily? S'posed to be. I don't feel like doing it daily either. I have a very full, possibly overflowing life.<br /><br />I've never managed to find my groove here, and outing sucky booksellers would probably cause more problems that it would solve. Complaints arose when I discussed current events, even when tied to books.<br /><br />Blogging is very time consuming. I have too many, better ways to spend my time. Besides, I never promised you a rose garden.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-7795810358560352899?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-68607432988359046092008-03-18T13:03:00.000-07:002008-03-21T09:10:05.207-07:00<a target="blank" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fraubucher/2350079524/" title="Arthur C. Clarke: 2005 by FrauBucher, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2359/2350079524_4a579d5af8_m.jpg" alt="Arthur C. Clarke: 2005" align="right" height="240" width="187" /></a><br /><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><a target="blank" href="http://www.clarkefoundation.org/index.htm">Sir Arthur C Clarke</a> passed away today from respiratory complications, in his adopted homeland of Sri Lanka. <a target="blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_C._Clarke">Sir Arthur</a> was perhaps best known as an author, but he also invented the idea of communications satellites (1945), which he never patented. </span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >For the occasion of his </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="font-family: arial;" target="blank" href="http://www.tveap.org/news/0712art_transcript_01.html">ninetieth birthday</a></span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >, Sir Arthur made a <a target="blank" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qLdeEjdbWE">video</a> address on December 5, 2007.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br />Sir Arthur Clarke has a very extensive <a target="blank" href="http://my.execpc.com/%7Ekrieg/Clarke.htm"><span class="mw-headline">bibliography</span></a>, but is probably best known for his book <a target="blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001:_A_Space_Odyssey">2001: A Space Odyssey</a>, which was made into a <a target="blank" href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062622/">movie</a> in 1968 by <a target="blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Kubrick">Stanley Kubrick</a>. He also had a television<span style="font-family:arial;"> show, </span><a target="blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_C._Clarke%27s_Mysterious_World"><span style="font-family:arial;">Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World</span></a>, which aired in the 1980's discussing the world's strange occurrences.<br /><br /></span><a linkindex="14" target="_blank" href="http://used.addall.com/"></a><span style="font-size:100%;">Many people believe that after death, a person's essence is privy to all the universe's knowledge. If true, Sir Arthur is very happy! Rest in peace, Sir Arthur.<br /><br /></span>Anyone wishing to read Sir Arthur C Clarke's books can find his works at your <a set="yes" linkindex="12" target="blank" href="http://storesearch.booksense.com/booksense/storeSearch.do">local independent bookstore</a> or on the net from a worldwide indie by searching by author and/or title at <a linkindex="13" target="_blank" href="http://www.bookfinder.com/">Bookfinder</a> or <a linkindex="14" target="_blank" href="http://used.addall.com/">ADDALL.</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-6860743298835904609?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-24558878588007767582008-03-04T10:18:00.000-08:002008-03-04T11:15:17.149-08:00<a target = "blank" href="http://mysteriousgalaxy.booksense.com/NASApp/store/IndexJsp?s=storeevents&eventId=367198">Mysterious Galaxy</a> has a book discussion group every Wednesday. This coming Wednesday, 3/5/08 at 7 p.m., the book being discussed is <i>Havoc</i> by Jack B. Du Brul. <br /><br />They also have 11 <a target = "blank" href="http://mysteriousgalaxy.booksense.com/NASApp/store/IndexJsp;jsessionid=abc4HSzvWbmDmalSea7Hr?s=storeevents">book signings</a> during the month of March. Authors range from Joanne Fluke (<i>Carrot Cake Murder</i>)and Laura Lippman (<i>Another Thing to Fall</i>) to Joseph Wambaugh (<i>Hollywood Crows</i>) and Raymond E. Feist (<i>Wrath of a Mad God</i>). That leaves 7 other excellent authors also appearing at Mysterious Galaxy.<br />Mysterious Galaxy Books<br />7051 Clairemont Mesa Blvd. Suite #302<br />San Diego, CA 92111<br />Tel: 858.268.4747<br /><br /><a target = "blank" href="http://www.warwicks.com/">Warwick's</a> in La Jolla is having seven <a target = "blank" href="http://warwicks.booksense.com/NASApp/store/IndexJsp;jsessionid=A37FCB653E3BE0A10D87A770DA616FC3.t8?s=storeevents">book signings</a> in the month of March, including Deepak Chopra (<i>The Third Jesus</i>). <br />Warwick's<br />7812 Girard Avenue<br />La Jolla, CA 92037<br />Tel: 858-454-0347<br /><br />From the <a target = "blank" href="http://books.signonsandiego.com/?q=node/2734">SD Union</a>, a somewhat out of date (by now) list.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-2455887858800776758?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-9852015808005784772008-02-14T12:32:00.000-08:002008-02-14T17:29:12.008-08:00<a target="blank" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fraubucher/2265734104/" title="valentine, St Valentine's Day, Valentines Day by FrauBucher, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2382/2265734104_f9517fa980.jpg" alt="valentine, St Valentine's Day, Valentines Day" height="290" width="356" /></a><br /><br />May your heart be filled with love today and every day!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-985201580800578477?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-77883069477637025302008-02-14T09:40:00.001-08:002008-02-14T10:28:49.225-08:00<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">From: Today in Literature - "</span> daily calendar of engaging stories about literary history. Our articles and our daily newsletter are available by <strong>Personal Subscription </strong> and by <strong>Site License"</strong><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />"</span><a style="font-family: arial;" target="" href="http://beta.blogger.com/%22http://www.todayinliterature.com/index.asp%22">Today in Literature</a>: Great Books, Good Stories, Every Day - a daily calendar of engaging stories about literary history. Our articles and our daily newsletter are available by Personal Subscription and by Site License."<br /><br />On this day in 1975 P. G. "<a target=" blank=" href="http://www.todayinliterature.com/today.asp?Search_Date=2/14/2008">Plum</a><span style="font-family:arial;">" Wodehouse died, aged ninety-three. Given the hundred books and the three-dozen musicals, it seems reasonable to believe the account of Wodehouse's final moments which has him collapsing while trying to pick up the pen and papers his wife had thrown across his hospital room. On this day in 1946 George Orwell published "In Defence of P. G. Wodehouse," in which he tries to rescue the author from his stickiest and most famous spot of trouble.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">A very small sampling of "Plum's" enjoyable works<span style="font-size:100%;">, </span></span></span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >which can be found at your local independent, new or used bookstore or by searching by author and/or title at </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="font-family: arial;" set="yes" linkindex="10" target="_blank" href="http://www.bookfinder.com/">Bookfinder</a></span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" > or </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="font-family: arial;" linkindex="11" target="_blank" href="http://used.addall.com/">ADDALL.</a></span><br /><u style="font-family: arial;">Life With Jeeves: The Inimitable Jeeves, Very Good, Jeeves!, and Right Ho, Jeeves<br />Enter Jeeves: 15 Early Stories<br />The Best of Wodehouse: An Anthology<br />Bertie Wooster Sees It Through</u><br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-7788306947763702530?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-47736839462353822582007-09-18T12:25:00.000-07:002008-02-14T11:01:38.743-08:00If a trip to the British Library isn't in your plans, don't worry. Their newest exhibit is at your fingertips. <a target="blank" href="http://www.bl.uk/sacred">Sacred Texts</a> is an online exhibit at the British Library's website.<br /><br />The <a target="blank" href="http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/sacredtexts/index.html">online gallery</a> (with zoomable images) and exhibit feature 78 of the world's greatest collection of Jewish, Christian and Muslim holy books: "The rarest and most exquisite sacred books and manuscripts presented and explored, side by side, in a major UK exhibition for the first time..."<br /><br />The online exhibit's features include videos, slideshows, podcasts and interactive material for schools and students. The site is regularly updated with news, reviews, and blogs about the Sacred exhibition.<br /><br />Well done!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-4773683946235382258?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-16600024653365741952007-09-06T11:46:00.000-07:002008-02-14T11:36:47.678-08:00The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) is providing a Banned and Challenged <a href="http://www.abffe.org/bbw-booklist.htm">Book List</a> to make your selection of books easier "The Freadom List" is available in a <a href="http://www.bookweb.org/files/open/files/lists/freadomlist.pdf">full-color .pdf</a>, which has much more book info.<br /><br />The list of 24 titles, ranging from <u>The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn</u> and <u>The Bluest Eye</u> to <u>The Perks of Being a Wallflower</u> -- includes full bibliographic information and many quotes about the titles from independent booksellers in the Book Sense program. The list also features a "<a href="http://www.abffe.com/1Abookshelf.htm">First Amendment Bookshelf</a>," a selection of 17 important recent and backlist titles about free speech and free expression.<br /><br />And, yes, 2 of Judy Blume's books, <u> The Joy Luck Club</u> by Amy Tan, and all the Harry Potter series books are on the list, too. Book banning never seems to go out of style.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-1660002465336574195?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-17222485663585575942007-09-05T15:43:00.000-07:002007-09-17T11:39:27.346-07:00<a target="blank" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fraubucher/1397398845/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1109/1397398845_96db88b7c1_o.jpg" alt="nostamps" align="right" height="167" width="163" /></a> During my self-imposed break from bookselling, a new 13-Ounce <a target="blank" href="http://www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/2007/pr07_058.htm">Mail Rule</a> took effect July 30. If you still aren't using <a a="" target="blank" href="http://www.usps.com/onlinepostage/welcome.htm">online</a> postage, whether paid or free, it is high time you start. I use <a target="blank" href="http://www.endicia.com/default.cfm">Endicia</a>, but I have friends who use <a target="blank" href="https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_ship-center">PayPal's</a> Shipping Center, which is free to every online merchant with a PayPal account. So many choices, what's a person to do?<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-1722248566358557594?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-88860340399031882702007-08-30T09:55:00.000-07:002007-08-30T10:50:04.164-07:00<a target= "blank" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fraubucher/1278369270/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1227/1278369270_c241002480_m.jpg" width="175" height="127" align= "left" alt="Alibris logo" /></a> Are you a customer of <a href="http://www.alibris.com" target= "blank">Alibris</a>? Do you receive their email discount coupons? If so, you may have recently received an email suggesting you are a <span style="font-style:italic;">slacker.</span> <br /><br />My husband and I have separate book buying accounts at Alibris. We buy books online based on venue, condition, price, bookseller and need/want. We haven't purchased any books from anywhere in several months. (Heaven knows we do not need any!) Several of Alibris' email coupons have arrived and expired in our respective inboxes. The most recent probably arrived late July or early August. Okay. Then we receive several reminders to use said coupons. August 21, 2007 shows a reminder with the subject line of: <span style="font-style:italic;">Psst! Use your bonus coupon, customer's name inserted here, before it expires!</span> On August 26, 2007 another one arrives with the subject of: <span style="font-style:italic;">Your name here, <span style="font-weight:bold;">only</span> <span style="font-weight:bold;">slackers</span> <span style="font-weight:bold;">ignore our $10 coupon!</span></span> As I have already stated- WTF! What genius came up with that marketing ploy???? Obviously one that is ignorant. Nothing shouts excellent customer service like insulting your clients.<br /><br />In case you are wondering, the $10 coupon is if you spend $100.00, otherwise your discount is only $3.00 off a purchase of $30.00. If you live in states where Alibris collects sales tax, your discount is much less. For us, located in California, the discount comes out to be less than 3%. Definitely <span style="font-style:italic;">not</span> much of a savings and not worth my bother! <br /><br />I'll have to think long and hard before buying from them again! As a bookseller on Alibris, I have to wonder just how many others were repulsed by that email.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-8886034039903188270?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-49497706427725259812007-08-29T09:14:00.001-07:002007-09-01T17:27:10.319-07:00My inventory is back online on all venues. I greatly enjoyed my hiatus; needed it even more! I surely did not miss all the work and am fortunate I could afford to take the time, but I'm back... "Yes, I'm back; Well, I'm back, back; (Well) I'm back in black; Yes, I'm back in black..." <br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/CwIvBNsSywQ"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/CwIvBNsSywQ" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br />Back In Black (Ac Dc)<br /><br />Back in black<br />I hit the sack<br />I've been too long I'm glad to be back <br />Yes, I'm let loose<br />From the noose<br />That's kept me hanging about<br />I've been looking at the sky<br />'Cause it's gettin' me high<br />Forget the hearse 'cause I never die<br />I got nine lives<br />Cat's eyes<br />Abusin' every one of them and running wild<br /><br />CHORUS:<br />'Cause I'm back<br />Yes, I'm back<br />Well, I'm back<br />Yes, I'm back<br />Well, I'm back, back<br />(Well) I'm back in black<br />Yes, I'm back in black<br /><br />Back in the back<br />Of a Cadillac<br />Number one with a bullet, I'm a power pack<br />Yes, I'm in a bang<br />With a gang<br />They've got to catch me if they want me to hang<br />Cause I'm back on the track<br />And I'm beatin' the flack<br />Nobody's gonna get me on another rap<br />So look at me now<br />I'm just makin' my play<br />Don't try to push your luck, just get out of my way<br /><br />CHORUS<br /><br />Well, I'm back, Yes I'm back<br />Well, I'm back, Yes I'm back<br />Well, I'm back, back<br />Well I'm back in black<br />Yes I'm back in black<br /><br />hooo yeah<br />Ohh yeah<br />Yes I am<br />Oooh yeah, yeah Oh yeah<br />Back in now<br />Well I'm back, I'm back<br />Back, I'm back<br />Back, I'm back<br />Back, I'm back<br />Back, I'm back<br />Back<br />Back in black<br />Yes I'm back in black<br /><br />Out of the sight<br /><br /></span>----------------<br />Now playing: <a target= "blank" href="http://www.1.fm/Stations/Blues/TuneIn.aspx" title="'1.FM - Blues - The Music Starts Here' - open on FoxyTunes Planet">1.FM - Blues - The Music Starts Here</a><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153); font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >via <a target= "blank" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);" href="http://www.foxytunes.com/signatunes/" title="FoxyTunes - Web of music at your fingertips">FoxyTunes</a></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" > </span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-4949770642772525981?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-23062394789431131982007-08-28T12:04:00.000-07:002008-11-15T06:55:33.817-08:00<a target="blank" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_S24rVpX8tmg/RtXHIB149lI/AAAAAAAAAAM/WRmJXufOS6o/s1600-h/Andrew-Catsaitis1-+spaceweather.com.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_S24rVpX8tmg/RtXHIB149lI/AAAAAAAAAAM/WRmJXufOS6o/s320/Andrew-Catsaitis1-+spaceweather.com.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5104204693441672786" border="0" /></a> Moon over <a target="blank" href="http://home.hiwaay.net/%7Ekrcool/Astro/moon/moonwords/index.htm">this:</a><br />Over the moon: Delighted about something<br />Once in a blue Moon: Very, very, rarely!<br /><br /><br /><a target="blank" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fraubucher/1269462900/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1313/1269462900_d66b2f3ab8_t.jpg" alt="redmoonTrio_espenak_full" align="right" height="75" width="100" /></a>If you missed the longest, total <a target= "blank" href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/index.php?feed=Science&amp;article=UPI-1-20070821-08173300-bc-us-eclipse.xml">lunar eclipse </a> that occurred this morning, you missed a mystical sight! Fortunately, I live on the west coast and was able to view the entire <a target="blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_eclipse">progress</a> and I was never so happy to miss sleep! The night air was cool, cloudless, dark, and but for natural sounds, peacefully silent, which made my experience so much more delightful. I would not have missed the show for anything. (Although I think <a target="blank" href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/">Science Daily</a> missed the really big story: the eclipse occurred on "Aug. 38.")<br /><br />I was doubly blessed by lunar visions that day. As I played with my doggie girl in the early evening, I witnessed the moon rising from behind the mountains, a majestically full, giant, orb of orange-yellow color. A short six hours later the big show began. Thank heaven for little favors!<br /><br />Images courtesy of Nasa's <a target="blank" href="http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html">Astronomy Picture of the Day</a> archive. (Sadly/shamefully- no current picture is available) and the <a target="blank" href="http://www.spaceweather.com/eclipses/gallery_28aug07.htm">Lunar Eclipse Gallery</a> at <a target="blank" href="http://spaceweather3.com/">SpaceWeather</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-2306239478943113198?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-56429988903608309572007-06-28T08:50:00.000-07:002007-06-28T10:11:07.876-07:00<a target="blank" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fraubucher/217192075/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/83/217192075_f5a3e20add_m.jpg" alt="tn_n_pump1sm" align="left" height="159" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> Beginning mid-April, I removed my books from all venues. I needed a break and am completely enjoying my time.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">For literary kicks check out </span><a style="font-family: arial;" target="blank" href="http://www.aldaily.com/">Arts & Letters Daily</a><span style="font-family:arial;">; it's heavy on brain food.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Can't decide on a good book? NPR has suggestions for your </span><a style="font-family: arial;" target="blank" href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10628227">summer read</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> plus 14 book related </span><a style="font-family: arial;" target="blank" href="http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_directory.php?type=topic&value=1032#podcast1032">podcasts</a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">An all-time favorite, Garrison Keillor's </span><a style="font-family: arial;" target="blank" href="http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/">The Writer's Almanac</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> is a beautiful daily podcast lasting merely minutes. </span><a style="font-family: arial;" target="blank" href="http://podcastdownload.npr.org/anon.npr-podcasts/podcast/4788725/510101/11498705/APM_11498705.mp3?dl=1">Treat</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> yourself!<br /><br />I sincerely hope you are enjoying your days!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-5642998890360830957?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-50808028880710605362007-05-14T04:02:00.000-07:002007-05-15T10:36:34.087-07:00As of today, <a target= "blank" href="http://www.usps.com/ratecase/welcome.htm">May 14</a>, 2007, the US Postal Service placed its <a target= "blank" href="http://www.usps.com/ratecase/ratecase_faqs.htm">new postal rates</a> in effect. There was very little fanfare or news coverage immediately prior to the event, either. I wonder how many people that do not mail or ship items regularly know about the rate hikes? <br /><br />I wonder how many of the USPS branches are completely informed of the actual regulations since some <a target= "blank" href="http://www.usps.com/ratecase/simplified_international_rates.htm">international</a> methods have been dropped and another method created, Priority boxes ate different, zones are in place for all methods, etc... Their website states the new classes are a simplification, but until <span style="font-style:italic;">we</span> (the users in general) are familiar with these changes, I wonder how much simpler it all is. The Postal Service is well known for its lack of standardization in application of the previous rates and information. Maybe the USPS should employ Mickey D's methods of ensuring uniformity from one branch to another?<br /><br />If you haven't changed your accepted methods and rates on your websites, better get shaking!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-5080802888071060536?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-77603519922270892002007-04-15T10:33:00.000-07:002007-05-15T13:12:39.513-07:00<a target= "blank" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fraubucher/499879156/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/189/499879156_05cfc6d685_t.jpg" align="left" width="100" height="79" alt="Europeanhoneybee" /></a> I haven't posted much for a variety of reasons, but mainly I have been doing yard work and gardening. (This post was actually begun in early April.) We had a late frost and very long, cold winter here in socal- for us anyway - which led to a later start than in many previous years. Chores ranged from dead-heading frost damaged plants to prep work and actual planting of seeds and starter plants in the veggie garden, and potting up plants for the local garden club's plant sale. I sadly lost about half of my orchids as a result of a week or 2 with lows in the high teens, which made my yard work less satisfying. <br /><br />One thing that had me very concerned was the lack of bees in my citrus trees. Years ago we had so many bumblebees that lived on the hillside behind us that collected pollen from our property, until a housing development had to go in. (I plant to attract insects and birds yearlong.) With six assorted citrus in bloom and nary a bee in sight, I was very worried. However, I noticed my apricot and plum trees has baby fruits, so I was hoping the bees would come again. Thankfully, after 2 weeks without seeing a single bee, the bees slowly arrived. It was too late to order bees for my area so I was very relieved! Believe me, when you have millions of heavenly citrus flowers perfuming the air and do not see even one bee, you get worried. Especially this year... (Subject reference books are listed at end of post.)<br /><br />If you haven't heard about the sudden drastic decline in the honeybee population, it is a real crisis. There are many reasons why bees die ( A few reasons being diseases, pests, pesticides GMO crops, natural disasters, etc.) but in the last year or two <a target= "blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colony_Collapse_Disorder">colony collapse disorder</a> is at the root of the current <a target= "blank" href="http://podcasts.psu.edu/" title="Home">crisis.</a> The bees seem to completely disappear from the face of the earth as if they have been abducted by aliens or pulled up to God in an insect version of the rapture. The problem is worldwide and no one seems to know why.<br /><br />As "smart" as man believes he/she is, we rarely are when we try to improve on Mother Nature. Since the <a target= "blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Better_Living_Through_Chemistry">"Better Living Through Chemistry"</a> campaign began, man has made many things worse as well as better. <br /><br />The "honeybee" is not native to many places in the world, but everywhere with flowering plants has its native bees. We have seen fit to eliminate, or almost decimate, many of the native species through one means or another. These same native species may have to be our saviours if colony collapse disorder continues to near extinction.<br /><br />An excellent natural remedy to boost native bees can be read in the "San Francisco Chronicle: Time for a <a target= "blank" href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/05/21/HOGIBCQO0V1.DTL">new approach</a> to crop pollination by Deborah K. Rich, Special to The Chronicle, Saturday, May 21, 2005<br /><br />Recognizing the very real threat of crop failure that our dependence upon a single species of bee poses, researchers are coaching pollinator understudies. The blue orchard bee (also known as the orchard mason bee) is proving a cooperative pollinator of some early blooming orchard crops, and the bumble bee is helping to pollinate hot-house tomatoes.<br /><br />Still, it may be time -- while there still is time -- for another approach entirely. The United States is home to 4,000 bee species, of which 1, 500 are found in California, to say nothing of the many moth, fly, wasp and butterfly species that also assist with pollination." <br /><br />Everyone who gardens can help. How-tos can be found at The <a target= "blank" href="http://www.xerces.org/">Xerxes Society</a>'s <a target= "blank" href="http://www.xerces.org/Pollinator_Insect_Conservation/index.htm">Pollinator Conservation</a> Program pages and at the <a target= "blank" href="http://www.ars.usda.gov/Research/Research.htm?modecode=54-28-05-00">USDA</a>.<br /><br />For those of you who wish to read more on bees, the following books can be found at your <a target="blank" href="http://storesearch.booksense.com/booksense/storeSearch.do">local independent bookstore</a> or on the net from a worldwide indie by searching by author and/or title at <a target="_blank" href="http://www.bookfinder.com/">Bookfinder</a> or <a target="_blank" href="http://used.addall.com/">ADDALL.</a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Honey Bee Pests, Predators and Diseases</span> by Roger A. Morse <br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Letters from the Hive: An Intimate History of Bees, Honey, and Humankind</span> by Stephen Buchmann<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Bees In America: How The Honey Bee Shaped A Nation</span> by Tammy Horn<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Bee diseases: Cause and Treatment</span> by Eugene E Killion<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">The Queen Must Die and Other Affairs of Bees and Men</span> by William Longgood <br /><span style="font-style:italic;">The Life and Times of the Honeybee</span> by Charles Micucci (children's) <br /><span style="font-style:italic;">The Honey Makers</span> by Gail Gibbons (children's)<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Langstroth's Hive and the Honey-Bee: The Classic Beekeeper's Manual</span> by L. L. Langstroth <br /><span style="font-style:italic;">The ABC and XYZ of Bee Culture: An Encyclopedia of Beekeeping</span> by Roger Morse (a classic!)<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Bees & Honey: From Flower to Jar</span> by Michael Weiler<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Fifty Years Among the Bees</span> by C. C. Miller (another classic)<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">The Dance, Language, and Orientation of Bees</span> by Karl von Frisch<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-7760351992227089200?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-21390615721970036392007-04-04T08:07:00.000-07:002007-04-04T10:02:19.476-07:00<span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >This is a Library of Congress record:<br /><br />Animal farm [by] George Orwell<br /><br />CALL NUMBER: PZ3.O793 An2<br />Copy 1<br />-- Request in: Jefferson or Adams Bldg General or Area Studies Reading Rms<br /><br />-- Status: c.1 <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Missing</span> - 08-20-2001<br />CALL NUMBER: PZ3.O793 An2 FT MEADE<br />Copy 3<br />-- Request in: Main or Science/Business Reading Rms - STORED OFFSITE<br /><br />-- Status: Not Charged</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-2139061572197003639?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-23576911325496844032007-04-02T16:44:00.000-07:002007-04-04T10:51:44.931-07:00<h2 style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family: arial;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >ODLIS — <a target="blank" href="http://lu.com/odlis/about.cfm">Online Dictionary</a> for Library and Information Science </span><span style="font-size:100%;">by Joan M. Reitz<br /></span></h2><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">"</span><b style="font-family: arial;"><em>ODLIS</em></b><span style="font-family: arial;"> is designed as a hypertext reference resource for library and information science professionals, university students and faculty, and users of all types of libraries. The primary criterion for including a term is whether a librarian or other information professional might reasonably be expected to know its meaning in the course of his or her work....</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">...includes not only the terminology of the various specializations within library science and information studies but also the vocabulary of publishing, printing, binding, the book trade, graphic arts, book history, literature, bibliography, telecommunications, and computer science when, in the author's judgment, a definition might prove helpful to librarians and information specialists in their work. Entries are descriptive, with examples provided when appropriate."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Also available as a hardcover or paperback from </span><a style="font-family: arial;" target="blank" href="http://lu.com/">Libraries Unlimited</a><br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-2357691132549684403?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-17403499579824956882007-03-25T07:15:00.000-07:002007-04-04T10:33:47.046-07:00<span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >In the past month, I've gone out scouting, as we say, and the process has made me nostalgic for the so-called "good ol' days." I've been buying books in large quantities for well over 20 years now. Many things have changed since I began this path in my life, for instance, the number of people buying books, the price of books bought (generally higher) and sold (generally lower), bookseller aids, technology, the cost of gas, 'Antique Roadshow' and eBay mentality, and the overall dumbing down of the business of books as a whole.<br /><br />Earlier this year I became more fully aware of how the supply end has changed dramatically. As in most things in life, changes gradually occur over time and the totality may be hardly noticed until something happens that brings all the changes to the forefront of your consciousness. That something was pulling a book from the stored portion of my personal collection.<br /><br />I opened the box to find so many wonderful rare and out - of - print books that I spent several hours looking at each book. After enjoying my books, I remembered how little I had to pay for those books, and that for the most part, virtually no one looked for books to sell or for themselves at the time of my purchase. In my very early years of scouting, more books than buyers existed. Most people selling books to me were trying to rid themselves of the books, so much of a burden was the printed word then. I cannot recount the number of times that people told me they took truckloads of books to the dump because they thought no one wanted books. I still shudder at the thought. Granted, not every book is wanted or worth the bother, but heaven knows what treasures now are buried with actual trash!<br /><br />Yes, I long for the good old days, not so much for the quantity of books available to me, but for the type of competition back then. </span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >Now,</span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" > I </span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >encounter what I call the book "widgeteer." You know the type. The ones that scan every single book in sight that has a UPC label. The people that cannot make a single purchase without a device telling them what to do. The ones that leave the antiquarian or scarce OOPs/OPs and any other book without something scannable. Sure, I know some of the books they grab are likely valuable, but will they the next time they see the identical title? Do they even know why? Or care? I suppose it doesn't matter... It doesn't to me in matters of business, but as a book lover..<br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-1740349957982495688?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-72452055701625375262007-03-17T13:10:00.000-07:002007-04-04T10:00:41.539-07:00<span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >Your Old Books - Rare? Important? Valuable? or, <a target="blank" href="http://www.rbms.info/yob.shtml">Not</a>!<br /><br />RBMS <a target="blank" href="http://library.osu.edu/sites/users/russell.363/RBMS%20Thesauri/index.htm">Controlled Vocabularies</a> for Use in Rare Book and Special Collections Cataloging<br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-7245205570162537526?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-91688990443077580562007-03-01T14:37:00.000-08:002007-04-04T08:23:56.053-07:00<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">The good: </span><a style="font-family: arial;" target="blank" href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/politicalmuscle/2007/03/pot_smokers_get.html">pot</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> prices go down</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">WTF!!!!! ???? The </span><a style="font-family: arial;" target="blank" href="http://www.timesdaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070228/APF/702283059">horrendously</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> bad and extremely </span><a style="font-family: arial;" target="blank" href="http://info.sen.ca.gov/pub/07-08/bill/sen/sb_0751-0800/sb_752_bill_20070223_introduced.html">ugly </a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Not much if any mention in CA news, either!</span><br /></span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><b>"Bill would give all newborns in California a $500 savings account...</b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Under the bill, every child born in California after Jan. 1, 2008, would receive the money, regardless of their parents' income or immigration status. Recipients would repay the state's initial $500 investment once they turn 18." </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">yeah, right...</span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-9168899044307758056?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-28952263001358549752007-03-01T14:28:00.000-08:002007-04-04T08:26:55.383-07:00<div style="font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="storysubhead" ><span style="font-size:100%;">"The 18th century Italian manuscript is about the Orsini palace in Rome.</span></div> <div style="font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="storybyline" ><span style="font-size:100%;">By Larry Gordon, Times Staff Writer<br />March 1, 2007<br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><br />Authorities are investigating the theft of a rare 18th century Italian manuscript from an exhibit case at a UCLA library, campus police said.<br /><br />A bound volume of documents from a collection about the politically powerful Orsini family of Rome was stolen sometime between the late afternoon of Feb. 9 and the morning of Feb. 12, according to police.<br /><br />The 208-page volume of texts and illustrations from 1715 to 1736 about the Orsini palace in Rome was not appraised, but some experts said it could be worth about $7,500. The manuscript was part of a large collection that the UCLA Library acquired in 1964.<br /><br />The parchment-covered book was on public view in the special collections area of the Charles E. Young Research Library in connection with an international scholarly conference on the Orsini family, an immensely wealthy clan that produced popes and political leaders. The exhibit continues through March."<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact UCLA police detectives at (310) 825-9371</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-2895226300135854975?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-15130331675582197462007-02-12T15:42:00.000-08:002007-02-12T15:55:31.023-08:00<pre style="margin: 0em; font-family: arial;">The following books have been stolen from the Herskovits<br />Library of African Studies at Northwestern University Library.<br />Should anyone have information about any of these books,<br />please contact: David Easterbrook, Curator of the Herskovits<br />Library at 847-491-4549 or via email: dleaster-at-northwestern.edu<br /><br /><br />1 Galibert,Leon. L'Algerie ancienne et moderne. Paris, 1854.<br />2 Genty de Bussy, Pierre. L'Etablissement des francais dans la<br /> regence d'Alger. Paris, 1839.<br />3 La Faye, Jean Baptiste de. Voyage pour le redemption<br />des captifs, aux royaumes d'Alger et de Tunis. Paris, 1721.<br />4 La Faye, Jean Baptiste de. A voyage to Barbary for the redemption<br />of captives, Now first English ed. from the French original.London, 1735.<br />5 Lieussou, Aristide. Etudes sur les ports de l'Algerie. Paris, 1850.<br />6 Martin, Maria. History of the captivity and sufferings of<br />Maria Martin. NY, 1913<br />7 Renaudot. Alger. Tableau du royaume, de la ville Alger.<br />4th ed. Paris, 1830.<br />8 Renault, B., ed. Histoire pittoresque de l'Afrique francaise.<br />Paris, 1847.<br />9 Rumigny, Marie Theodore Gueilly. Essai sur la Province d'Alger.<br />Paris, 1841.<br />10 Salame, Abraham. A narrative of the expedition to Algiers in<br />the year 1816.<br />London, 1819.<br />11 Walker, Thomas H. B. The presidents of Liberia. Jacksonville,<br />Fla., 1915.<br />12 Africa redeemed: or, the means of her relief illustrated by<br />the growth and<br />prospects of Liberia. London, 1851.<br />13 Bayley, Solomon. A brief account of the colony of Liberia.<br />Wilmington, DE.,1829?)</pre><br /><tt><br /></tt><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-1513033167558219746?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-31797894333585322512007-02-04T10:14:00.000-08:002007-04-04T09:46:23.051-07:00<span style="font-family: arial;font-size:100%;" >Map With A Legend - Rare Woodcut Of Aztec City Finds Its Way Back To Yale<br />Yale owns one of the last surviving copies of the Cortés map, worth an estimated $150,000. But for much of the last two years, the map had been <a target="blank" href="http://www.courant.com/features/lifestyle/hc-maptale.artjan24,0,6912730.story?coll=hc-headlines-life">lost</a>.<br /><br /><a target="blank" href="http://www.nymapsociety.org/FEATURES/WORAM.HTM">Missing Maps</a><br /><br />The Rare Books and Manuscript Section (RBMS) of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), a division of the American Library Association (ALA)<br /><a target="blank" href="http://www.rbms.info/committees/security/index.shtml">Security Resources</a><br /><br />Browse Theft Report Files <a target="blank" href="http://www.rbms.info/committees/security/theft_reports/index.shtml">by Year </a><br /><br />Help the <a target="blank" href="http://www.archives.gov/research/recover/index.html">National Archives</a> Recover Lost and Stolen Documents<br />See what's <a target="blank" href="http://www.archives.gov/research/recover/missing-documents.html">missing</a>!</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-3179789433358532251?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-28868203404032572972007-01-20T08:02:00.000-08:002007-04-04T09:50:42.478-07:00<span style="font-family: arial;font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >I subscribe to several listservs. By reading these, one may get a hint of the poster's true personality. Some posters appear obnoxious while others seem extremely charming. Under the former category falls a true gentleman I only knew by his sig line: "e-gards, joe," I haven't seen anything written by him in quite a while and learned today that "e-gards, joe," aka Joseph Oprisch, has left this earthly plane. He will be missed not only by those who knew him personally, but also by those of us who knew of him via the internet.</span><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:100%;" ><br /><br /></span><p style="font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:100%;">OPRISCH, JOSEPH LEO - Joseph Leo Oprisch, age 80, beloved husband of Mary Ann Daniel Oprisch, died January 2, 2007 in Atlanta, Georgia after a brief illness. He was born in Steubenville, Ohio to Victor Joseph Oprisch and Louise Gehlert Oprisch. He earned degrees in Electrical Engineering from Ohio State University and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He was a member of Eta Kappa Nu, Tau Beta Pi, and Sigma Xi honorary fraternities. He worked for 39 years for General Electric, beginning with assignments in engineering, computer sciences and marketing in the Power Transformer Department in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Later he served in the General Electric Strategic Planning and Corporate Business Development and Planning as a Staff Associate in New York City and Fairfield, Connecticut. He retired in 1987. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army in Indiana, Texas and Oregon, followed by service with the Alaska Communication Service in Nome, Alaska. He has held memberships in the Serra Club, the Holy Name Society, The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, and was a member of the Institute for Retired Professionals at Fairfield University. In addition to his wife, he is survived by his children:Connie Oprisch of Gaithersburg, Maryland; Robert Oprisch of Germantown, Maryland, Nancy Oprisch Ewing and her husband James of Atlanta, Georgia, and Mark Oprisch and his wife Brenda of Decatur, Georgia. He is also survived by five grandchildren: Allison and Jennifer Ewing, and Laura, Augustine and Theodora Oprisch, all of Atlanta. Other survivors are his sisters Louise Locke of Knoxville, Tennessee, Dottie Harasick of Glendale, Claifornia, Elizabeth Owens of Steubenville, Ohio, and his brother Carl Oprisch of Toronto, Ohio. He was a shining example of how to walk with God and live one's life the right way, and we will miss him greatly. He was predeceased by his sisters, Helen, Cornelia Alvis, and Marie Bucher, and his brother Herman. Funeral Services will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, January 5, 2007, at Cathedral of Christ the King in Atlanta. Visitation will be Thursday, January 4, 2007 at 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Spring Hill. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to The Inner City Foundation for Charity and Education, 238 Jewett avenue, Bridgeport, Connecticut, 06606 (203) 416-1495). Arrangements by H.M Patterson and Son Spring Hill Chapel, 1020 Spring St. NW, Atlanta, GA 30309, (404) 876-1022</span> </p><p style="font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:100%;">Published: Friday, January 5th, 2007 in the Journal News.</span> </p><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family: arial;font-family:lucida grande;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-2886820340403257297?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-52652528519798776722007-01-19T07:25:00.000-08:002007-04-04T09:51:27.326-07:00<span style="font-family: arial;font-size:100%;" >"Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2007 12:50:00 -0500<br />From: "Austin's Antiquarian Books"<br />Subject: [BI] Info: revised theft information<br /><br />We are forwarding this information for the Congaltons. Please do not hesitate to forward this information to any book newsgroup or regional bookseller list that you can think of. The more of us who are aware of this the better the chance that the books will be recovered.<br /><br />We ask the assistance of the antiquarian book community in keeping an eye out for the following books, stolen from this past weekend's New Jersey Antiquarian Book Fair.<br /><br />Full descriptions and high resolution images of each of these stolen books can be seen at: <a target="blank" href="http://www.betweenthecovers.com/btc/private">Between the Covers</a><br /><br />Username: stolen<br />Password: books<br /><br />Stolen on the morning of January 13, 2007:<br /><br />CHANDLER, Raymond. Farewell, My Lovely<br />HEMINGWAY, Ernest. Men Without Women (2 copies)<br />HEMINGWAY, Ernest. A Farewell to Arms (2 copies)<br />HEMINGWAY, Ernest. Fiesta<br />HEMINGWAY, Ernest. Winner Take Nothing<br />HEMINGWAY, Ernest. For Whom the Bell Tolls<br />KEROUAC, Jack. On the Road<br />LE CARRE, John. A Murder of Quality<br />LEE, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird<br />SABATINI, Rafael. Captain Blood<br />TRAVEN, B. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre<br />WELTY, Eudora. The Wide Net and Other Stories<br /><br />With thanks,<br /><br />Dan Gregory</span><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:100%;" ><br />General Manager<br /><br />Between the Covers Rare Books, Inc., ABAA/ILAB<br />35 W Maple Ave Merchantville NJ 08109<br />Visit us <a target="blank" href="http://www.betweenthecovers.com/">online</a> and sign up to receive our elists"<br /><br />The above was provided by: Karen Austin<br /><br /><a href="http://www.austinsbooks.com/" target="_blank">Austin's Antiquarian Books</a><br />123 West Main Street<br />PO Box 730<br />Wilmington, VT 05635<br /><br /></span><a onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)" href="http://www.austinsbooks.com/" target="_blank"><br /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-5265252851979877672?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-15823324671719464742007-01-13T09:04:00.000-08:002007-04-04T09:53:06.321-07:00<span style="font-family: arial;font-size:100%;" >Another heinous book theft has occurred, this time at the New Jersey Book Fair. <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">All buyers and dealers</span> </span>please be vigilant and report any suspicious book activity (regardless of where you see it) to the proper authorities and especially to Tom Congalton if it involves the books listed below in red. Updates will be posted when available as will information from any other affected booksellers.<br /><br />From the IOBA Discuss list as reported by Tom Congalton of Between the Covers Rare Books, Inc., ABAA:<br /><br />"Overnight at the New Jersey Book Fair we had approximately a dozen books stolen from a locked room at the fair. I am still trying to determine exactly what was taken, and should be able to do that, but among the stolen books were <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">several Hemingway's including the limited and signed Farewell to Arms, a trade editon of the same title in jacket, Men without Women in jacket, an unjacketed by inscribed reprint of In Our Time, a Raymond Chandler Farewell, My Lovely, and some others.</span> No one is in the office at ABAA, but I should be able to provide complete descriptions and photos of each book to the Security Committee once I get home.<br /><br />Dealers in the NY area should be on the lookout.<br /><br />Best,<br /><br />Tom Congalton<br />Between the Covers Rare Books, Inc., ABAA<br />Merchantville NJ 08109<br /><a target="blank" href="http://www.betweenthecovers.com/">Visit us online</a> and sign-up to receive our E-Lists"<br /><br /><br />For related items see <a target="blank" href="http://www.saztv.com/page13.html">Stolen Books &amp; Manuscripts</a></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-1582332467171946474?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-66258230037606266352006-11-09T13:12:00.000-08:002007-04-04T09:55:04.657-07:00<span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >November <a target="blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_9">9</a>, on <a target="blank" href="http://www.history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&displayDate=11/9&amp;categoryId=literary">this day</a> in 1928 : Poet Anne Sexton's born.<br /><br />This has been a busy week. My other half has been in Vegas on business since Sunday. Besides voting, trying to breathe, shipping books and getting new tires for one of the vehicles- there's always animal care and house and yard work! I am exhausted.<br /><br />Sad and shocking news about <a target="blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Bradley">Ed</a> <a target="blank" href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/1998/07/08/60minutes/main13501.shtml">Bradley</a>. <a target="blank" href="http://www.pbs.org/blackpress/modern_journalist/movies/bradley.mov">Hear</a> what he had to say about becoming a journalist. Mr Bradley lived and accomplished more in his 65 years than most Americans. His rest is well-deserved.</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-6625823003760626635?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-28133900751587832402006-11-05T05:57:00.001-08:002007-04-04T09:55:44.262-07:00<span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >"Kitchen Classics, in the Eye of the Beholder (NYT)<br /><br />By JULIA MOSKIN<br />Published: November 1, 2006<br /><br />WHEN Joan Hotson turned 65, she says, each of her five daughters began angling to inherit The Book."<br /><br /><br />Not only is the article interesting, although the classics listed are very much from the short list, the reader <a target="blank" href="http://forums.nytimes.com/top/opinion/readersopinions/forums/diningwine/cookingrecipes/index.html?page=recent">discussion</a> is informative, too.<br /><br />You'll have to log-in, so try <a target="blank" href="http://www.bugmenot.com/%20">bugmenot</a> to bypass compulsory registration. (Thanks Mike Goodenough!)</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-2813390075158783240?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1516037133452179212006-11-04T16:42:00.000-08:002007-04-04T09:56:22.249-07:00<span style="font-family: arial;font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >A previously unpublished Sylvia Plath <a target="blank" href="http://www.thebookstandard.com/bookstandard/news/author/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003345792">sonnet </a> is now available online. The poem, <a target="blank" href="http://www.blackbird.vcu.edu/v5n2/poetry/plath_s/intro-ennui.htm">"Ennui,"</a> can be found at <a target="blank" href="http://www.blackbird.vcu.edu/v5n2/index.htm">Blackbird</a>, an online journal of literature and arts. <a target="blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvia_Plath">Plath</a> wrote the poem as a senior at Smith College in 1955. She is </span><span style="font-family: arial;font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >perhaps</span><span style="font-family: arial;font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" > best known for two of her books: <u>Ariel</u>, her last book of poetry before her suicide, and <u>The Bell Jar</u>, a novel about </span><span style="font-family: arial;font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >a gifted young woman's mental breakdown</span><span style="font-family: arial;font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >. </span><span style="font-family: arial;font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><u>The Bell Jar</u></span><span style="font-family: arial;font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" > is believed to be more autobiographical than not. Plath was the first poet to win a Pulitzer Prize for <u>The Collected Works</u>. Sadly, the Pulitzer was awarded her posthumously in 1982.<br /><br />You can purchase any of Sylvia Plath's books at you <a target="blank" href="http://storesearch.booksense.com/booksense/storeSearch.do">local independent bookstore</a> or on the net from a worldwide indie by searching by author and/or title at <a target="_blank" href="http://www.bookfinder.com/">Bookfinder</a> or <a target="_blank" href="http://used.addall.com/">ADDALL.</a></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-151603713345217921?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-52930697731665911752006-11-03T06:10:00.000-08:002007-05-15T12:10:45.376-07:00<span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >Today in literary history: November <a target="blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_3">3</a>, 1844: <a target="blank" href="http://www.lang.nagoya-u.ac.jp/%7Ematsuoka/Thackeray.html">William Makepeace</a> <a target="blank" href="http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/wmt/wmtov.html">Thackeray</a> completes <a target="blank" href="http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/gutbook/lookup?num=4558">Barry Lyndon</a><br /><br />Yesterday I received an email from my favorite author, Dean Koontz. What? You don't believe me? You don't think a lowly bookseller warrants correspondence from a very successful author? Well, I did get one from him. Not only did I get one yesterday, but he sent me one on Wednesday, too. So there! I don't think he'll mind my sharing it as proof. Here 's what Dean had to say:<br /><br />"Dear Readers,<br /><br />Millions of people are being intellectually thrilled every day by Paris Hilton’s blog about the subatomic structure of the universe, and millions more are cruising for date-worthy prospects on SociopathicNarcissists.com, while still more millions are getting rich by selling forged SpongeBob SquarePants autographs on various auction sites. So when I, a mere novelist, announce that I have a new web site, <a target="blank" href="http://www.deankoontz.com/">www.DeanKoontz.com</a>, I fear that I cannot compete with the sumptuous banquet of brain food that is the Internet.<br /><br />Nevertheless: Hey, I’ve got a new and improved web site. On your arrival, Odd Thomas, the spirit-plagued hero of Odd Thomas and Forever Odd, will greet you himself. The new site is loaded with interviews, podcasts, videos, book excerpts, and we might even add our favorite soup recipes.<br /><br />Ten Questions is a section where I regularly interact with readers in such a pleasant fashion that only rarely do groups of you show up at my house with torches and pitchforks. Starting November 29, and throughout December, there will be a new installment of this feature every Wednesday.<br /><br />My dog, Trixie, has her own section, where she shares her thoughts about karma, kibble, cats, and more. She also reviews my books, and has some thoughts this month about <u>BROTHER ODD</u>.<br /><br />The site features news about <u>FOREVER ODD</u>, which is on-sale in paperback this week, about <u>ODD THOMAS</u>, which is already in stores in a new trade paperback edition, and about <u>BROTHER ODD</u>, which will be published in hardcover on November 28.<br /><br />If you like CSI, check it out on Thursday, November 16, at 9 p.m. EST on CBS, for the first of a series of commercials about <u>BROTHER ODD</u>. Others will run on the show the following two weeks. For a sneak preview on the Web, check out www.OddThomas.tv beginning November 13.<br /><br />I hope you enjoy the new site, which will be updated regularly. Our goal is to surprise, inform and entertain you—while secretly profiling each of you and sharing our data with extra-terrestrial gourmets who will harvest the internal organs of those of you whom they deem .<br /><br />See you on DeanKoontz.com!"<br /><br />Okay, so it </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >wasn't</span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" > a personal message from the great author to me. So what. I was happy to get his news. You, too, can get emails from Dean Koontz so </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >you</span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" > can brag to your friends. All you have to do is <a target="blank" href="http://visitor.constantcontact.com/optin.jsp?m=1101417357048&amp;ea=enter+email+address">sign up</a> for his newsletter. (Pssst- don't you just love his take on Paris Hilton?)<br /><br />Anyway, you can find Dean Koontz's Odd series of books at your <a target="blank" href="http://storesearch.booksense.com/booksense/storeSearch.do">local independent bookstore</a> or on the net from a worldwide indie by searching by author and/or title at <a target="_blank" href="http://www.bookfinder.com/">Bookfinder</a> or <a target="_blank" href="http://used.addall.com/">ADDALL.</a><br /><br />And... right here... right now...you can hear a clip from the audiobook <u>Brother Odd</u>, read by David Aaron Baker. <embed src="http://www.randomhouse.com/audio/sample.swf?isbn=9780739332900" quality="high" wmode="transparent" name="audiosample" allowscriptaccess="never" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" height="50" width="160"><br /><br />Dean Koontz also has a series of 8 <a target="_blank" href="http://www.randomhouse.com/bantamdell/koontz/podcast/">podcasts</a>: "Join New York Times bestselling author of VELOCITY, ODD THOMAS, and INTENSITY for his very first podcast. In these eight episodes, Dean discusses where the ideas come from, his experiences in Hollywood, and his latest novel, THE HUSBAND."<br /><br />Here is today's PSA otw known as the Alibris update- from today's Seller Hub:<br /><br />"SERVICE BULLETINS<br /><br />November 1, 2006 — 07:12 p.m. PST<br /><br />Server repaired - Still a backlog<br /><br />The database server is now fixed and running normally and all services on the Seller Hub have been restored. Our systems continue to experience an unusually high volume of uploads and changes, including deletions, new additions and edits. The current backlog in processing is delaying the completion of the processing of any and all changes to your inventory. We appreciate your patience if you find that things aren't happening as quickly as they normally would. Please make a change one time, and don't try to repeat that change until you've waited at least 36 hours. We'll remove this notice when processing is back up to speed. Note that the situation is now improving, but remains an issue.<br /><br />Thank you for your continued participation with Alibris."<br /><br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-5293069773166591175?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-16645152847528369482006-11-02T16:27:00.000-08:002006-11-02T17:32:25.722-08:00<a target= "blank" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fraubucher/287239549/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/104/287239549_c9b9378765.jpg" width="190" height="240" alt="All Souls' Day William Bouguereau (French, 1825-1905)" align= "left"/></a> It is <a target= "blank" href="http://www.answers.com/topic/november-2-1">November 2</a>, a day of quiet prayer and remembrance for those of the Catholic faith. A holy day of obligation, or at least it used to be before all the changes to make Catholicism easier. A holy day of obligation means you are rquired to go to <a target= "blank" href="http://www.catholic.org/prayers/mass.php">Mass</a> at your church. The day is considered the same as a Sunday in a manner of speaking. It also is the <a target= "blank" href="http://www.catholic.org/saints/f_day/nov.php">feast day</a> of a group of saints. Peace!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-1664515284752836948?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-12494403147632352232006-11-01T06:26:00.000-08:002007-05-15T13:11:23.139-07:00<a target="blank" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fraubucher/272689969/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/112/272689969_dc1aa15101.jpg" alt="papelpic_42" align="left" height="313" width="211" /></a><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >Here we are, November 1st, the beginning of <a target="blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_of_the_Dead">Dia de los Muertos</a>, the Day of the Dead. I miss living in Mexico and witnessing the activities first hand. Next year I'll take the day off and go down into Baja. Until then, I will celebrate via the web, at places like the Day of the Dead <a target="blank" href="http://ddfolkart.com/">Folk Art Gallery.</a> I would have loved to have purchased the featured piece!<br /><br />A simple pattern for the above calaveras papel picado and more activities for kids and the family can be found <a target="blank" href="http://www.tohonochulpark.org/PDF/DayofDeadActivity.pdf">here</a>. The site is perfect for teachers, too.<br /><br /><a target="blank" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fraubucher/285845076/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/102/285845076_95e3f77d18_t.jpg" alt="Photo of a candy skull made of sugar, a common gift and decoration for the Day of the Dead in Mexico. Photo by User -Spangineer" align="right" height="100" width="88" /></a>You'll find a recipe for 'COLORFUL SUGAR CANDY SKULLS' at <a target="blank" href="http://www.mexgrocer.com/10069.html">mexgrocer.com</a>, where you can buy traditional Mexican foods online- if the item isn't sold out (Skulls are. The Pan de Muertos isn't.) Scroll down the page for the recipe.<br /><br />Author Mary J. Andrade's beautiful <a target="blank" href="http://www.dayofthedead.com/">Day of the Dead website</a> (in English and Spanish) explores the history and traditions of the ritual and features recipes, poems, photography and <a target="blank" href="http://www.dayofthedead.com/Books.html">books</a> about the Day of the Dead. The books are available for sale at the website or you can buy them from your <a target="blank" href="http://storesearch.booksense.com/booksense/storeSearch.do">local independent bookstore</a> or <a target="blank" href="http://www.bookfinder.com/search/?author=&title=&amp;lang=en&submit=Begin+search&amp;new_used=*&destination=us&amp;currency=USD&binding=*&amp;isbn=&keywords=Dia+de+los+Muertos&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;minprice=&maxprice=&amp;mode=advanced&st=sr&amp;ac=qr">bookseller</a>.<br /><br /><a target="blank" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fraubucher/285999004/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/104/285999004_f9185c14f0_m.jpg" alt="skullbg1-10" align="left" height="240" width="144" /></a>At Flickr you'll find the wonderful Dia.de.los.Muertos <a target="blank" href="http://flickr.com/groups/69432221@N00/pool/show/">group photo pool</a> loaded with over 170 colorful photos relating to all aspects of the celebration. Believe me, you don't want to miss this ambitious work!<br /><br />Finally, another really good <a target="blank" href="http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/feature/daydeadindex.html">website</a> that has lots of links and photos about DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS is Mexconnect,com. I think I mentioned it last year, too. </span><br /><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" ><br /><a target="blank" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fraubucher/285998050/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/116/285998050_d14a564db8_m.jpg" alt="altar" align="right" height="222" width="240" /></a>So set up your ofrendas (memorial altar) on a table covered with a nice tablecloth, <a target="blank" href="http://www.casabonampak.com/papelpicado.html">papel picado</a> and a photo of your loved ones. Add your offerings of sugar skulls, bread, candles, <a target="blank" href="http://www.inside-mexico.com/glossary.htm">cempasuchil</a> flowers (orange or yellow marigolds- real or paper), <a target="blank" href="http://familycrafts.about.com/cs/papermache/a/blpmpastes.htm">paper mache</a> skeletons. plates with the honored deads' favorite foods or some toys for the lost wee ones. Bake some delicious Pan de Muertos, make a few sugar skulls and partake in the joy! I'm heading off to the kitchen now...<br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-1249440314763235223?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-26620616800839869762006-11-01T05:16:00.000-08:002006-11-01T11:20:08.259-08:00I've been trying to delete sold books for 2 days. I doubt an upload will go through any better... From the Seller Hub:<br /><br /><div id="message-box"> <h1>SERVICE BULLETINS</h1> <p><em>November 1, 2006 — 08:33 a.m. PST</em></p> <p><strong>ALERT! Seller Hub Status</strong></p> <p> Our programmers are currently performing some emergency maintenance on one of our servers which drives data to several of the tools on the Seller Hub. As we have more information, we'll post updates in this SERVICE BULLETIN area of the Seller Hub. We again apologize for the inconvenience.</p><p> <b>Update! 8:30am PST Wednesday</b></p><p> Our programmers report that the effects described above are likely to continue for the rest of today. If you have further questions or would like more detail, please use the Contact link from the Seller Hub to send your inquiry. </p><p> Thank you for your continuing participation with Alibris.</p> </div> <h3><br /></h3><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-2662061680083986976?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-64249837903890852752006-10-31T17:57:00.000-08:002006-10-31T17:59:40.896-08:00<a target= "blank" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fraubucher/275436516/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/106/275436516_23116fd3de_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="mass jack-o-lanterns" /></a><br /><br />...What's left of it anyway....<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-6424983790389085275?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-23482571696141311822006-10-23T13:01:00.000-07:002006-10-25T13:15:32.297-07:00<a href="http://www.sirius.com/wo/Howard/freetrial.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/115/275438695_f045658c4b_o.jpg" alt="siriusinternetradio-freetri" align="middle" height="180" width="380" /><br /><br /></a> <span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >Hey now! Here's the deal. Shake it uuuuuup! No Sirius satellite radio needed! Listen anywhere in the World with a computer! Are you a former listener who didn't buy <a target="blank" href="http://www.sirius.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Sirius/Page&c=Page&amp;cid=1065475754125">Sirius</a>? Or are you just curious? Either way, you can find out for yourself </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >no matter where you are in the world</span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >!!!!<br /><br />October 25 - 26, 2006: 48 hours full of <a target="blank" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IkMcXwAK3E&NR">shenanigans</a> that previously only paid subscribers were privvy to! Here's what you'll miss if you don't tune in to Howard 100 (Sirius channel <a target="blank" href="http://www.sirius.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Sirius/Page&amp;c=FlexContent&cid=1130574541451">100</a>) this Wednesday and Thursday:The Howard <a target="blank" href="http://cdn.sirius.com/wo/mp3/Baseball-Quiz.mp3">Stern</a> <a target="blank" href="http://cdn.sirius.com/wo/mp3/Hogan-Way-Taken.mp3">Show</a>, <a target="blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Simon">Sam Simon</a>'s 'The Bitter Half,' The Gary Roast, The Wrap-up Show and the Howard 100 <a target="blank" href="http://cdn.sirius.com/wo/mp3/newsclip-Ralph-Howard.mp3">News</a>.<br /><br />On Howard 101 (pronounced one- hundred- one <span style="font-style: italic;">NOT</span> one-oh-one) featuring <a target="blank" href="http://www.btls.com/audio/JanieCake100606.mp3">Bubba</a> the Love Sponge and Scott <a target="blank" href="http://cdn.sirius.com/wo/mp3/Ferrall-10-18-06.mp3">Ferrall</a>, you'll also hear Jackie's <a target="blank" href="http://cdn.sirius.com/wo/mp3/joke2.mp3">Joke</a> Hunt, <a target="blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riley_Martin">Riley Martin,</a> <a target="blank" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUOno52vyYE">author</a> of the book <u> <a target="blank" href="http://www.thecomingoftan.com/">The Coming of Tan</a></u>. the Superfan Round Table and more!<br /><br />Not only will you be able to hear Howard's 2 channels for the first time without a <a target="blank" href="http://www.sirius.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Sirius/CachedPage&c=Page&amp;cid=1065475754240">subscription</a>, but you can listen to over <a target="blank" href="http://www.sirius.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Sirius/CachedPage&c=Page&amp;cid=1065475754133">75 channels</a> of CD quality music - <span style="font-style: italic;">if</span> you can tear yourself away from Howard 100 or Howard 101. There is no obligation to subscribe, buy a radio or ever listen again, but why wouldn't you? You can even register today for this momentous occasion and Sirius will send you an email reminder with the full schedule. You won't even have to get your McGillicutties shocked first! So, if you weren't with us from the <a target="blank" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5PyUjjPVkE">first few minutes</a>, join us this Wednesday and Thursday for some laughs.</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-2348257169614131182?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-54252371486107633802006-10-21T07:59:00.000-07:002006-10-23T12:31:50.053-07:00<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fraubucher/275345993/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/89/275345993_5b9d991929_m.jpg" alt="Gustave_Dore_Inferno34" align="right" height="192" width="240" /></a><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" > Now for some timely news: A FORMER vicar and best-selling <a target="blank" href="http://www.gptaylorblog.com/">author</a> believes the Devil is trying to kill him after a <a target="blank" href="http://www.thisisthenortheast.co.uk/display.var.970586.0.the_devils_trying_to_kill_me.php">bizarre</a> succession of events almost cost him his life.<br /><br /><a target="blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham_Taylor_%28author%29">Graham Taylor</a>, whose <a target="blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadowmancer">Shadowmancer</a> <a target="blank" href="http://www.shadowmancer.com/">novels</a> have been likened to the Harry Potter books, believes <a target="blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God">God</a> protected him when the <a target="blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil">Devil</a> tried to take his life three times.<br /><br />The Shadowmancer quartet begins with <u>Shadowmancer</u>, <u>Wormwood</u>, and <u>Tersias Tersias the Oracle</u>. The sequel, <u>The Curse of Salamander Street</u> is currently available in the UK, but is scheduled for a US release in May of 2007. If you do not wish to wait until May '07, you can always purchase the sequel via a UK indie. The </span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >Shadowmancer quartet</span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" > may be found</span> <span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >by searching by author and/or title at </span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" ><a target="_blank" href="http://www.bookfinder.com/"><span style="">Bookfinder</span></a></span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" > or </span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" ><a target="_blank" href="http://used.addall.com/"><span style="">ADDALL.</span></a><br /><br />Currently reading <u>The Surrogate</u> by David Combs which may also </span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >be found</span> <span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >by searching by author and/or title at </span> <span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" ><a target="blank" href="http://www.bookfinder.com/search/?author=Combs%2C+David+&title=The+Surrogate&amp;lang=en&submit=Begin+search&amp;new_used=*&destination=us&amp;currency=USD&binding=*&amp;isbn=&keywords=&amp;amp;amp;minprice=&maxprice=&amp;mode=advanced&st=sr&amp;ac=qr">Bookfinder</a></span> <span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" > or </span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" ><a target="blank" href="http://used.addall.com/SuperRare/RefineRare.fcgi?id=061023091308548258">ADDALL</a>. </span><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:130%;" >From the back cover: "A child is commanded to take revenge for an unspeakable act...commanded by children from the beyond."</span><br /><br /><a target="blank" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fraubucher/275420397/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/121/275420397_3892620797_t.jpg" alt="mfx_800" align="left" height="75" width="100" /></a><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:130%;" > Now watching '<a target="blank" href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040068/">Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein</a>' on <a target="blank" href="http://www.amctv.com/">AMC's</a> <a target="blank" href="http://monsterfest.amctv.com/schedule.jsp">Monsterfest</a></span><span style="font-family: arial;"> <span style="font-size:130%;">and loving it!</span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-5425237148610763380?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-50794403283824163242006-10-15T12:58:00.000-07:002006-10-17T17:49:24.651-07:00<a target="blank" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fraubucher/272689961/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/114/272689961_41c915b4d5_m.jpg" alt="pukepumpkin" align="right" height="240" width="150" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">You can easily find scary literature online. Amateur </span><a style="font-family: arial;" target="blank" href="http://www.everythingscary.com/scary_stories/">scary stories</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> that I haven't read, which doesn't mean they are bad- or - good.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The </span><a style="font-family: arial;" target="blank" href="http://archives.cnn.com/2000/books/reviews/10/26/scary.books/">scariest books</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> of all time per Todd Leopold, CNN Interactive Books Editor</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Experts (?!- You make the decision after visiting.)> Arts/Humanities > Books by Genre > Horror Books > THE </span><a style="font-family: arial;" target="blank" href="http://experts.about.com/q/Horror-Books-2862/BEST-HORROR-BOOK.htm">BEST HORROR BOOK</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> OUT - a discussion board.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" target="blank" href="http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/10/31/222318.php">Scary books</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> for Halloween per Blogcritics</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">One of the books most mentioned as being very scary -the ultimate thriller:</span><br /></span><atarget= blank="" href="http://www.online-literature.com/henry_James/turn_screw/"><span style="font-size:130%;"><u style="font-family: arial;">The Turn of the Screw</u><span style="font-family:arial;"> and a </span><a style="font-family: arial;" target="blank" href="http://www.americanliterature.com/TS/TSINDX.HTML">prettier version</a> of the book online.<br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" target="blank" href="http://www.slco.lib.ut.us/horror-online.htm">Horror online</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> consisting of short stories and essays</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">If you are unhappy about the lack of television offerings in your area, check out </span><a style="font-family: arial;" target="blank" href="http://sandiego.cox.net/cci/tv/coxmain/television/amc_monsterfest.html?sc_cid=065amc_tvmain">cox</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> for full length movies online!</span></span><br /></atarget=><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-5079440328382416324?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-51848663233537410372006-10-11T16:43:00.000-07:002006-10-11T17:16:35.163-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/1525/2247/1600/Alibris%20logo.gif" target="blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/1525/2247/320/Alibris%20logo.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Not to be outdone by ABE's announced expansions, today's <a target="blank" href="http://www.alibris.com/">Alibris</a> Seller News stated that Alibris is launching a UK/European site. Here's the story directly from the horse's mouth (the October seller newsletter):</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">"<span style="font-weight: bold;">Alibris U.K.</span></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Alibris will launch a new Web site for customers in the United Kingdom and Europe this November. Building on our successful North American platform, Alibris U.K. will increase sales and provide a new destination for customers and sellers in the United Kingdom and Europe.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >What’s changing?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"> * <span style="font-weight: bold;">"Ship to Customer" Orders</span>: Sellers in the United Kingdom and Europe will ship directly to customers in the United Kingdom and Europe. These items will appear on the Seller Hub under the new heading "Ship to Customer". We’ll send a separate e-mail to sellers in the United Kingdom and Europe detailing the shipping credits and fulfillment procedures for "Ship to Customer" orders.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"> * <span style="font-weight: bold;">Pricing</span>: On Alibris U.K., the uplift on prices for inventory listed by sellers in the United Kingdom and Europe will be significantly reduced. This means that U.K. seller inventory will be competitively priced compared to other U.K. selling venues. However, U.S. seller inventory will receive a mark-up—on Alibris U.K. only—to offset additional shipping costs.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"> * <span style="font-weight: bold;">Currency</span>: Customers will be able to view prices and transact in their local currency on both Alibris U.K. and Alibris U.S. We’ll support 13 currencies and handle all foreign exchange transactions on both Web sites.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"> * <span style="font-weight: bold;">Marketing</span>: Alibris will aggressively market Alibris U.K. in the United Kingdom, using methods that have helped Alibris become the fourth-largest bookselling site in the U.S.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >What’s not changing?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"> * <span style="font-weight: bold;">"Ship to Alibris" Orders</span>: Sellers in the United Kingdom and Europe will continue to ship items ordered by customers in the U.S., Canada, and other countries to the Alibris warehouse in Sparks, Nevada. Shipping procedures for sellers in the U.S., Canada, and other countries will not change, though you may notice an increase in the number of orders that "Ship to Alibris".</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"> * <span style="font-weight: bold;">Inventory</span>: There are no changes to the way you’ll load or maintain your inventory.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"> * <span style="font-weight: bold;">Policies</span>: The professional and ethical standards that make Alibris the premier destination for independent sellers will not change. Sellers from the United Kingdom and Europe will be held to the same standards as current sellers.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">In our December 2005 newsletter we told you that we’d "develop a more attractive international offering". Alibris U.K. is the first step in fulfilling this statement and our continuing international expansion. We will keep you informed about the launch of Alibris U.K. and other advancements targeted to increase your sales."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">I bet the Aussies wish they were next... Speaking of the Aussies, </span></span><span style=";font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:130%;" >Philip Israël of <a target="blank" href="http://www.leurabooks.com.au/">Leura Books</a> has a money-saving shipping tip for Australian sellers in the newsletter, also. From the newsletter:<br /><br />" Please let your Australian dealers know about a wonderful new service from <a target="blank" href="http://www.skippypost.com.au/">Skippy Post</a>. Since <a target="blank" href="http://www.auspost.com.au/">Australia Post</a> saw fit to abolish Economy Airmail, the cost of sending parcels from Australia to overseas destinations has been astronomical. Using Skippy Post, all an Australian dealer has to do is put all their overseas orders in one box (Alibris and BibliOz orders) and send them to Skippy Post by Australia Post Reply Paid. That's right - no cost to the dealer.<br /><br /> The bottom line is that parcels are now arriving a lot faster compared to Economy Airmail and frequently as fast as Australia Post Airmail. Skippy Post has saved us 56% in overseas postage cost. It's great to see something positive happening for Australian dealers. I hope that any dealer reading this will take a minute to go to <a target="blank" href="http://www.skippypost.com.au/">Skippy Post</a> and have a look around and save heaps of money!"</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-5184866323353741037?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1160494228978822062006-10-10T08:22:00.000-07:002006-10-11T17:36:23.412-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2195/1801/1600/ABE%20logo.gif" target="blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2195/1801/320/ABE%20logo.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="font-family: arial;" target="blank" href="http://www.abebooks.com/docs/CompanyInformation/PressRoom/hundred-million-books.shtml">ABE</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> announced at last week's Frankfurt Bookfair that its online inventory hit the 100 million mark last month. "The world’s largest selection of books for sale now exceeds 100 million. When </span><em style="font-family: arial;">A Checklist of the Vertebrate Animals of Kansas</em><span style="font-family:arial;"> by George D. Potts and Thomas T. Collins was uploaded on to AbeBooks.com on 21 September, it marked the first time the website’s inventory had ever reached the landmark figure of 100,000,000 books."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The bookseller who helped ABE reach this momentous number is </span><a style="font-family: arial;" target="blank" href="http://genesbooks.com/">Gene's Books</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> of Stafford, Kansas. (Does anyone else wonder if Gene was awarded anything other than free publicity? Like maybe a free month???) Thank you, Gene, for serendipitously listing a great title instead of a schlocky novel for that milestone! </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">In the same press release ABE announced it will be integrating its Spanish language booksite, </span><a style="font-family: arial;" target="blank" href="http://www.iberlibro.com/">Iberlibro.com</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> - finally- with ABE's database at the end of this year which will add over 2 million more books to its inventory. (I always found it very peculiar that a Spanish booksite was not included in ABE previously when German and French sites were already included.) ABE will also launch a stand-alone Italian website, </span><a style="font-family: arial;" target="blank" href="http://www.abebooks.co.uk/Italia/">www.abebooks.it</a><span style="font-family:arial;">, in 2007, adding to the ABE's international element of online bookselling. Currently the Italian booksite is part of ABE's UK website. Yes, the 2 newest additions are not totally inclusive of worldwide languages, but any additions also need to be viable financially. Time will tell if any other international sites will be added or integrated.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">2006 has been a big 10th anniversary year full of changes for </span><a style="font-family: arial;" target="blank" href="http://www.abebooks.com/">ABEbooks.com</a><span style="font-family:arial;">, which was founded in June 1996. A new corporate logo was developed. In May, the announcement was made that ABE acquired </span><a style="font-family: arial;" target="blank" href="http://www.librarything.com/">LibraryThing</a><span style="font-family:arial;">, the online service to help people catalog their books easily. In late February of this year, ABE announced its acquisition of </span><a style="font-family: arial;" target="blank" href="http://fraubucher.blogspot.com/2006/02/abebookscom-fillz-up.html">Fillz</a><span style="font-family:arial;">, a bookseller service. In early February, </span><a style="font-family: arial;" target="blank" href="http://www.abebooks.com/docs/CompanyInformation/PressRoom/new-cfo.shtml">John Chase</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> was announced as the new CFO, bringing much industry experience with him.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;">While ABE is busily growing, its booksellers are still grousing about the same old things thus proving the old adage "The more things change, the more they stay the same." The latest and loudest gripe has to do with the current work </span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">ABE is doing</span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"> on its <a target= "blank" href="http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2024547,00.asp">search engine</a>, and whether the real issues - as booksellers see it - are being addressed. </span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Big congratulations go to ABE anyway!</span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-116049422897882206?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1160367180151687142006-10-07T21:11:00.000-07:002006-10-10T08:00:49.863-07:00<span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">A common bookseller research tool will disappear beginning bext month. The news may not be "news" to some people, but I first learned of it last week when working.The press release on Redlightgreen states:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">"As of November 1st, </span><a style="font-family: arial;" target="blank" href="http://www.rlg.org/en/page.php?Page_ID=20983">RedLightGreen</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> will no longer be available as a service, and users are encouraged to explore WorldCat.org for locating the best bibliographic resources. Since RLG debuted RedLightGreen in 2003, there has been a sea-change in thinking about ways to provide access to bibliographic information. RLG is very proud that RedLightGreen was among the first of these efforts, and pleased that so many of you joined with us in pioneering the way forward. OCLC has likewise made steps towards providing more intuitive ways for end users to find materials of interest on the shelves of their local library—first through the Open WorldCat program, and as of earlier this summer, via WorldCat.org."</span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-116036718015168714?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1160088435702111262006-10-05T15:32:00.000-07:002006-10-11T17:50:45.031-07:00<span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">The 1st annual San Diego City College International Book Fair will be held </span><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2195/1801/1600/bookfairtop.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 49px;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2195/1801/320/bookfairtop.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">October 11th - 14th on the campus of San Diego City College. </span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >Admission is free.</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"> The SDCCIBF website has a comprehensive </span><a style="font-family: arial;" target="blank" href="http://www.sdcitybookfair.com/schedule.htm">schedule of events.</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> The weekend is jam-packed with activities and appearances of many local authors. So, if you are planning to be anywhere near San Diego next weekend, Oct 11 - 14, 2006, make it a point to attend. Several of my </span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">friendly </span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"> bookseller acquaintances, like </span><a style="font-family: arial;" target="blank" href="http://www.biblio.com/bookstores/ScottEmerson.html">Scott Emerson Books</a>, and my two favorite antiquarian B&Ms: <a style="font-family: arial;" target="blank" href="http://www.abebooks.com/home/WAHRENBR/">Wahrenbrock's Book House</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> and </span><a style="font-family: arial;" target="blank" href="http://www.adamsavebooks.com/">Adams Avenue Books</a><span style="font-family:arial;">, as well as the local star of fantastic fiction, </span><a style="font-family: arial;" target="blank" href="http://mysteriousgalaxy.booksense.com/NASApp/store/IndexJsp">Mysterious Galaxy Books</a> will be in attendance.<span style="font-family:arial;"> Heck, even if you weren't thinking of being in the arrea, why don't you plan on it? Believe me, you won't regret it!<br /><br />For that matter, why don't you plan on arriving for <span style="font-weight: bold;">this weekend's Rock and Gem Show (see below)</span> and stay through next weekend for the San Diego City College International Book Fair? Several library sales are occuring both weekends (Check <a target="blank" href="http://www.booksalefinder.com/">Book Sale Finder</a> or the San Diego Public Library <a target="blank" href="http://www.eventkeeper.com/code/events.cfm?curOrg=SANDIEGO&curNumDays=10">website</a> for details), <span style="font-style: italic;">and</span> there is always the world famous San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park, the mountains, beaches and desert, Old Town, Sea World, nearby Mexico, Indian casinos, and a plethora of other great attractions and nightlife here - including most excellent eats from around the world! (Well, maybe great pizza is hard to find here in socal unless you ask some locals. This isn't Chicago ya know!)</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" target="blank" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fraubucher/261856622/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/96/261856622_aca7013d6e_t.jpg" alt="Wulfenite Photo by Chip Clark" align="left" height="67" width="100" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> This weekend, OCT 7 - 8, the El Cajon Valley Gem and Mineral Society will be holding their 32nd annual </span><a style="font-family: arial;" target="blank" href="http://www.cfmsinc.org/shows/cfmsshow.htm">show</a><span style="font-family:arial;">, the "Gem & Mineral Roundup" in </span><a style="font-family: arial;" target="blank" href="http://maps.yahoo.com/py/maps.py?Pyt=Tmap&&amp;csz=Lakeside+CA+&Get%A0Map=Get+Map">Lakeside, CA</a><span style="font-family:arial;">, at the </span><a style="font-family: arial;" target="blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakeside,_California">Lakeside</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span><a style="font-family: arial;" target="blank" href="http://www.lakesiderodeo.com/ecsa/map.html">Rodeo Grounds</a><span style="font-family:arial;">, </span><a style="font-family: arial;" target="blank" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fraubucher/261855676/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/108/261855676_5640bf2e10_t.jpg" alt="Picasso Kunzite and Pearl Necklace Photo by Chip Clark" align="right" height="65" width="100" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> 12584 Mapleview, Sat. 10-5, Sun. 10-5. </span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >Free Admission</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">. There will be exhibits, demonstrations on faceting, silver casting, beading, etc, <a target="blank" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fraubucher/261855673/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/104/261855673_595d512c13_s.jpg" alt="Gypsum Photo by Chip Clark" align="left" height="75" width="75" /></a> vendors selling jewelry, beads, books, fossils, meteorites, </span><a style="font-family: arial;" target="blank" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fraubucher/261861815/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/30/261861815_7b59b465be_t.jpg" alt="Campo-iron-meteorite" align="right" height="77" width="100" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> cabachons, gem stones, mineral specimens, and handcrafted items. </span><a style="font-family: arial;" target="blank" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fraubucher/261861812/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/100/261861812_240406c878_s.jpg" alt="Ammonite_Jeletzkytes" align="left" height="75" width="75" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> The show is a perfect family destination and provides a fun, educational experience for all. It's also a great place to pick up some very unique gifts that will fit into everyone's price range from the little ones to the big <a target="blank" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fraubucher/261855679/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/110/261855679_12dea3a4fb_t.jpg" alt="Ametrine Photo by Chip Clark" align="right" height="66" width="100" /></a> ones!! Not to mention that the good folks of <a target="blank" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fraubucher/261855677/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/106/261855677_0b1c57b8ed_t.jpg" alt="Rhodochrosite Photo by Chip Clark" align="left" height="66" width="100"/></a> the El Cajon Valley Gem and Mineral Society are super friendly, nice and helpful. Hope to see you there!<br /></span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-116008843570211126?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1158692173582845422006-09-19T11:28:00.000-07:002006-09-19T12:03:11.116-07:00<span style="font-family: arial;font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >The <a target="blank" href="http://www.seattlebookfair.com/">SABF</a>, "An International Book Fair featuring Thousands of Rare Books, Prints, Maps, Photographs & Ephemera for sale, and the work of several prominent Book Artists," is being held at the Seattle Center Pavilion on Saturday October 14th - 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday October 15th - 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets are $5.00 at the door and good for both days. Children under 12 will be admitted free.<br /><br />The highly anticipated <a target="blank" href="http://www.seattlebookfair.com/dinner2006.htm">pre-fair dinner</a> on Friday, October 13, features Nicholas Basbanes speaking on Among the Gently Mad. Reservations are required, of course. Call 206.323.3999 no later than October 9, 2006 to reserve your seat at the price of $35 for vegetarians and $50 for those who eat decaying flesh. ;)<br /><br />While you are in Seattle, please stop in a few of the used bookstores in the city. The <a target="blank" href="http://recollectionbooks.com/seattle.html">Used Bookstore Guide</a>, provided by Seattle's <a target="blank" href="http://recollectionbooks.com/">Recollection Books</a>, is organized by area or location. So, no matter where you are, you can find a great indie!</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-115869217358284542?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1158593934626561702006-09-18T07:56:00.000-07:002006-09-18T12:06:14.393-07:00<span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >Since my blogging has become very sporadic due to enjoying life, (</span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >Life is too short</span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >. I </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >know</span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >!) an interesting phenomenon has taken place in my stats: people arriving here solely from my <a target="blank" href="http://fraubucher.blogspot.com/2005/11/dia-de-los-muertos.html">fourth</a> and <a target="blank" href="http://fraubucher.blogspot.com/2005/11/howard-stern-radio-and-san-diego.html">fifth</a> posts. More specifically their arrival is due to the <a target="blank" href="http://static.flickr.com/29/59156159_630c3697e6.jpg">two</a> <a target="blank" href="http://static.flickr.com/27/59431604_7deb196240.jpg">images</a> in the posts. I can't figure it out. The people arrive and leave since the archive is minimal at that point. Perhaps they do not know enough to click on the blog's title to see more current drivel. Whatever... 'Tis a conundrum.<br /><br />Just so your time is not completely wasted here today, I'll add some bookish information.<br /><br /></span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" >If you are not a regular reader of </span><span style=";font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:130%;" ><a target="blank" href="http://www.inprint.co.uk/thebookguide//index.shtml">TheBookGuide</a>, you should be! From the "About Us" section: "</span><span style=";font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:130%;" >Launched in 2001, TheBookGuide continues to champion real, rather than virtual browsing. It's about the feel of leather, the smell of old books, the sound of pages turning ... and the pleasures of exploring new towns; chance encounters with interesting people, and making friends...</span><span style=";font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:130%;" >So TheBookGuide's aim is simple -- to use the immediacy and connectivity of the Internet to enable book lovers to enjoy the delights of literally getting their hands on old books." Amen to that!<br /><br />Canadian? Or live near/visiting Montreal at the end of the month? </span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >The 23rd annual Montreal Antiquarian Book Fair will be held at Concordia University Saturday, Sept. 30, from noon to 6 p.m., and Sunday, Oct. 1, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., in the atrium of the <span class="caps">J.W. </span>McConnell Building. Admission is $6 for both days. Concordia students pay only $1.<span style="font-style: italic;"> </span></span><span style=";font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:130%;" >The official website is <a target="blank" href="http://www.bibliopolis.net/claq/slam-en.htm">here</a>, and </span><span style=";font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:130%;" >a few highlights of the fair are mentioned <a target="blank" href="http://cjournal.concordia.ca/journalarchives/2006-07/sept_14/007537.shtml">here</a>.</span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" ><br /></span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span><span style=";font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:130%;" >Lastly, Publishers Weekly is doing booksellers a big favor by providing a list of Fall <a target="blank" href="http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6372766.html?display=current">movie tie-ins</a>. Stale stock anyone? Smoke 'em if you got 'em!</span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" ><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" ><br /></span>Cheers!<br /><br /></span></span></span><span style=";font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:130%;" >Listening to the Howard Stern west coast replay on Sirius 101.<br /><br />Currently reading <u>Milk and Honey</u> by Faye Kellerman, which you can find at your local independent bookstore or </span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >by searching by author and/or title at </span><a target="_blank" href="http://www.bookfinder.com/"><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >Bookfinder</span></a><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" > or </span><a target="_blank" href="http://used.addall.com/"><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >ADDALL.</span></a><br /><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" ><br /></span><span style=";font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:130%;" >.<br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-115859393462656170?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1158184665299620752006-09-13T14:02:00.000-07:002006-09-13T14:57:45.476-07:00<span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Since September 2. 2006 a discussion of megalisters has been ongoing sporadically; you'll need to sift through the other stuff as not all discussions are book related. Subscribers are able to read the Insider Archives. If you are interested in that or other discussions:</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">"The </span><a style="font-family: arial;" target="blank" href="http://lists.bookfinder.com/mailman/listinfo/insider">BookFinder Insider</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> is a mailing list for </span><a style="font-family: arial;" target="blank" href="http://www.bookfinder.com/">BookFinder.com</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> users to discuss the site, and more broadly, the online book industry. It's targeted towards booksellers, industry professionals, and those with an interest in what happens behind the scenes of the online bookselling world."</span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-115818466529962075?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1155768177884335042006-08-29T13:36:00.000-07:002006-09-13T13:44:57.260-07:00<span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For many, many reasons, I made a conscious decision to take time away from Blogger this summer. Here in sunny, southern California the calendar still shows it is summer, but the change from one season is not based on time but on subtle, almost imperceptible, changes in weather. Summer is already becoming autumn here with hot days and very cool nights that are perfect for sleeping. Extremely hot days are in the future to be sure, but summer has for all practical purposes exited. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">I'm looking forward to autumn; it is my second favorite season of the year. Unfortunately, the season dictates my returning to work. Yes, gentle reader, blogging is work to me. Perhaps it is because I have nothing much to say or more importantly because my words have little importance. Whatever the case, struggling for a blog identity is a crisis that likely will not be resolved any time soon.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Here's to a productive fall for everyone: Cheers!</span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-115576817788433504?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1155775758933143912006-08-17T09:54:00.000-07:002006-08-17T10:43:39.366-07:00<span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >I decided to take a short break from my blog which evolved into nearly the entire the summer. More on that another day or time. One night during the extreme heat in SoCal, I was resting under the ceiling fan with my local PBS radio station on the radio. At 7 pm I was rewarded with Garrison Keillor's <a target="blank" href="http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/">The Writer's Almanac. </a></span> <p style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">The Writer's Almanac, new to me, is produced by Prairie Home Productions and presented by American Public Media. (Previously KPBS aired a local show in that timeslot.) Keillor with his melodious voice recounts the bookish highlights of the day in history and ends the five minute piece by reading a short poem or two. The segment is truly a wonderful way to end your day. </span><span style="font-size:130%;">The Writer's Almanac is more than worth 5 minutes of your time! You won't regret it.<br /></span></p><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >Subscribe directly using your preferred podcasting tool:</span> <div class="subscribeTools" style="font-family:arial;"> <span style="font-size:130%;"><a target="blank" href="http://add.my.yahoo.com/rss?url=http://americanpublicmedia.publicradio.org/podcasts/xml/writers_almanac/writers_almanac.xml" onclick="sa_onclick(this.href);"><img src="http://www.npr.org/images/podcasts/ui/myyahoo.gif" alt="" height="18" width="91" /></a></span> <div class="spacer"> </div> </div> <p style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Or, copy and paste this URL into any podcasting tool:<br /></span></p> <a target="blank" href="http://americanpublicmedia.publicradio.org/podcasts/xml/writers_almanac/writers_almanac.xml"><img src="http://download.npr.org/anon.npr-www/chrome/icon_pod_chicklet.gif" alt="Subscription link" height="14" width="27" /></a><p style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">http://americanpublicmedia.publicradio.org/podcasts/</span></p><p style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">xml/writers_almanac/writers_almanac.xml</span></p><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >If you haven't downloaded a podcaster before, here is a list of some of the more commonly used programs for every operating system:<br /></span><p style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Podcasting Software </span></p><blockquote> <p style="font-family:arial;"> <span style="font-size:130%;"><em>Cross Platform</em><br /><a target="blank" href="http://www.apple.com/itunes/">iTunes </a>- Windows, Mac<br /><a target="blank" href="http://juicereceiver.sourceforge.net/index.php">Juice-</a> formerly called iPodder - Windows, Mac, GNU/Linux<br /><a target="blank" href="http://rasterweb.net/raster/code/renko.html">renko</a> - (Perl based) -Mac GNU/Linux, FreeBSD, Windows (may need to install ActivePerl)</span></p><p style="font-family:arial;"> </p> <p face="arial"> <span style="font-size:130%;"><em><span style="font-family:arial;">Windows -</span> </em><br /><a target="blank" href="http://www.nimiq.nl/">Nimiq</a><br /><a target="blank" href="http://ipoddernet.sourceforge.net/"> iPodder.NET</a><br /><a target="blank" href="http://www.dopplerradio.net/">Doppler</a><br /><a target="blank" href="http://jpodder.com/">jPodder</a><br /><a target="blank" href="http://brandon.fuller.name/archives/hacks/nowplaying/">Now Playing</a> - <span style="font-family:arial;">A windows iTunes Plugin</span> </span> </p> <p style="font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" > <span style="font-size:130%;">Macintosh - <a target="blank" href="http://thunderstonemedia.com/name_change">iPodderX</a> (Now undergoing a name change and will be unavailable until the name change is complete. Current users still supported.)</span> </p> <p style="font-family: arial;"> <span style="font-size:130%;">Unix -<a target="blank" href="http://linc.homeunix.org:8080/scripts/bashpodder/">bashpodder</a><br /></span></p><br /><p> </p> </blockquote><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-115577575893314391?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1155773127602242812006-08-16T16:48:00.000-07:002006-08-16T17:08:48.120-07:00<span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >Word has it that Google <a target="blank" href="http://checkout.google.com/sell?promo=sha">Checkout,</a> the new online payment system created by Google, has some <a target="blank" href="http://www.thestreet.com/_googlen/newsanalysis/technet/10303484.html?cm_ven=GOOGLEN&cm_cat=FREE&amp;cm_ite=NA">glitches.</a> I haven't checked the system out since its formal debut on 6/29/06, so I cannot add a personal comment. It's no surprise that the eBay monopoly will not accept Google Checkout as a payment method, either. Here is the role out announcement from Google's own <a target="blank" href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2006/06/find-it-with-google-buy-it-with-google.html">blog</a>.<br /><br />Anyone in cyberland have experience with the new payment method?</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-115577312760224281?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1151533880023888282006-07-10T00:08:00.000-07:002006-08-16T16:42:15.810-07:00<span style="font-family: arial;font-size:130%;" >The <a target="blank" href="http://www.forbiddenplanet.co.uk/">Forbidden Planet International</a> - a popular chain of UK SciFi bookstores - has a <a target="blank" href="http://www.forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/">blog</a> and hosts <a target="blank" href="http://www.forbiddenplanet.co.uk/index.php?main_page=infopages&amp;pages_id=56">podcasts </a> featuring reviews of books, comics, movies, etc.</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-115153388002388828?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1151531245283877572006-07-03T13:50:00.000-07:002006-08-16T16:43:34.686-07:00<span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >May 17, 2005: Librarian's brush with FBI <a target="blank" href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2005-05-17-librarian-edit_x.htm">shapes</a> her view of the USA PATRIOT Act<br /><br />June 21, 2005: FBI <a target="blank" href="http://www.spinwatch.org/modules.php?name=News&file=article&amp;sid=1177">trawls libraries</a> for terrorist readers<br /><br />Nov. 6, 2005: Feds to library record-keeper: <a target="blank" href="http://www.unknownnews.org/051111116library.html">Tell no-one</a> we told you to tell us everything<br /><br />Jan. 25, 2006: <a target="blank" href="http://www.unknownnews.org/0601270125NewtonLibrary.html">Police demand</a> library's computers; librarian demands a warrant first<br /><br />Feb. 17, 2006: '<a target="blank" href="http://www.unknownnews.org/060217STINKYBADGES.html">Homeland Security' cops</a> announce in library: "Viewing internet pornography is forbidden"<br /><br /></span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >Librarian in <a target="blank" href="http://www.unknownnews.org/0606250622HasbrouckHeights.html">hot water</a> for withholding patron records until police get subpoena - Bergen County [NJ] Record , June 22, 2006</span><br /><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" ><br />FBI <a target="blank" href="http://www.homelandstupidity.us/2006/06/28/fbi-drops-request-for-library-computer-records/">drops request</a> for library computer records - By: Michael Hampton, Posted: June 28, 2006 4:14 am<br /><br /></span><!--m--><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" ><a class="l" href="http://www.abffe.org/">American <b>Booksellers</b> Foundation for Free Expression</a><br /><br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-115153124528387757?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1151522798199641372006-06-28T10:15:00.000-07:002006-06-28T15:17:20.283-07:00<span style="font-family: arial;font-size:130%;" >Google has not officially come forth with a name for its online payment system, but the press calls it "<a target="blank" href="http://blogs.zdnet.com/micro-markets/index.php?p=176">GBuy.</a>" Designed for speed, there is confusion as to whom the system is targeted due to unclear statements by Google CEO Eric Schmidt regarding the end user. Schmidt says the system is geared toward its advertisers, not the general consumer. Whatever. "GBuy" soon will be in beta.<br /><br /><a target="blank" href="http://www.airmassive.com/wasabi/archives/000087.html">Tragic</a> story of the day- Someone, please spare us!<br /><br />Reading <u>The Grilling Season</u> by Diane Mott Stevenson, </span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >which you can find at your local independent bookstore or </span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >by searching by author and/or title at </span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" ><a target="_blank" href="http://www.bookfinder.com/"><span style="">Bookfinder</span></a></span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" > or </span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" ><a target="_blank" href="http://used.addall.com/"><span style="">ADDALL.</span></a></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Listening to Octane, Channel 20, on <a href="http://www.sirius.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Sirius/CachedPage&c=Page&amp;cid=1018209032790">Sirius</a></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-115152279819964137?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1148750020697958692006-06-21T12:10:00.000-07:002006-06-21T12:18:49.330-07:00<span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >One of the most frequent searches that lead people to my sorry blog is one for "Amazon repricer." Here are 3. I know nothing about them and cannot vouch for them. Use any repricer at your own risk.<br /><br /><a target="blank" href="http://www.bluechillies.com/details/29841.html">Price Changer 1</a> Price Changer Description: Price Changer is a tool to allow Amazon book sellers to update their prices with great ease. The price of a book has a great deal to do with how fast it will sell. However, it is difficult to keep up with the ever changing book prices on Amazon. Price Changer was designed for those sellers who wish to use minimal effort to keep their book prices competitive. $98.00 USD<br /><br /><a target="blank" href="http://www.bookrepricer.com/index.php">BookRepricer</a> BookRepricer is an automatic repricing tool for Amazon Pro Sellers and and zshops sellers.It designed to ease their efforts in re-pricing their online inventory. BookRepricer will save any Amazon Pro Seller hours making sure your books, CDs, DVDs etc,are priced right against the competition. A 2-week Free Trial is offered. After that, the pricing is <a target="blank" href="http://www.bookrepricer.com/subscriptions.php">subscription</a> based.<br /><br /><a target="blank" href="http://www.download2you.com/details_page.asp?titleID=20309">AMan Pro</a> for Amazon Sellers is a "complete Listing, Pricing and Order Fulfillment management tool." $49.99 USD</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-114875002069795869?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1150768887032567002006-06-20T21:45:00.000-07:002006-06-21T11:50:38.840-07:00<span style="font-family: arial;font-size:130%;" >Fine Books &amp; Collections magazine has a beautiful <a target="blank" href="http://blog.myfinebooks.com/">blog</a>.<br /><br />Thanks to Cathy of <a target="blank" href="http://www.graftonbooks.com/index.html">Grafton Books</a> for her Bookseller tip (found in the June issue of the Alibris Sellers News) for Western Canadian sellers: an alternative to the Canada Post, <a target="blank" href="http://bookstotheborder.com/">Books To The Border.</a><br /><br /><a target="blank" href="http://bookseminars.com/scholarships.htm">Scholarship's</a> from several sources are available for the Colorado Antiquarian Book <a target="blank" href="http://bookseminars.com/">Seminar</a>, Aug 6-11, 2006, at Colorado College in Colorado Springs:<br />1. Alibris has the Weatherford Scholarship- 1 available<br />2. The ABAA Benevolent Fund provides five $1000 scholarships.<br />3. Rocky Mountain Booksellers Association offers two $750 scholarships<br /><br />Another 'Lost' <a target="blank" href="http://www.thebookstandard.com/bookstandard/news/hollywood/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002690408">Secret Revealed</a>: 'Bad Twin' Penned By Laurence Shames, Not Stephen King</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-115076888703256700?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1150742985214397652006-06-20T07:19:00.000-07:002006-06-21T11:47:08.196-07:00<span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >This news is a week old already having appeared first (to my knowledge) on <a target="blank" href="http://weberbooks.com/selling/2006/06/barnes-noble-rolls-out-welcome-mat-for.html">Steve Weber's</a> blog.<br />A few facts:<br />1. The program is beta testing now<br />2. Participation is by invitation only<br />3. Booksellers applying without solicitation receive a "Thanks, don't call us; we'll call you."<br />4. Alibris states it is not ending its partnership with BN-<br />The following appeared on the Alibris sellers' discussion board several days after the topic was first broached on a thread:<br /><br />"Alibris and the Barnes &amp; Noble BookQuest (BNBQ) program will continue to expand their relationship in ways that help sell more of your books to BN.com customers.<br /><br />BN.com has decided to work directly with a very small group of sellers to test a new platform. They are doing this to expand their selection and ensure that they are not reliant on a single supplier.<br /><br />BN.com continues to partner with Alibris because of the value we provide in helping sellers and BN.com manage inventory and orders efficiently and effectively. Alibris and BN.com are also working together to bring new benefits to Alibris sellers:<br /><br />Remove the 5% markup. Today, your books on BN.com are priced 5% above your list price. This markup will be eliminated by the holiday season.<br /><br />UK expansion. The current BNBQ program is restricted to US and Canadian sellers. Alibris and BN.com have plans to allow UK seller participation. The program will not include UK seller in-print US ISBN inventory, but broader UK-based selections would be made available to BN.com US and Canadian customers.<br /><br />As always, we remain committed to helping independent sellers succeed by managing inventory and orders across all Alibris sales channels and business partnerships and providing top-notch seller support. We will keep you informed about the launch of new BNBQ programs targeted to benefit sellers.<br /><br />Thank you for your continuing participation with Alibris.<br /><br />Sincerely,..."<br /><br />If you take the time to read the seller terms, BN intends to be very selective. Good for them. Good for the good booksellers.<br /><br />Back to being summer lazy here and working at the books later.<br /><br />Listening to the Howard Stern show west coast replay- streaming!!!!<br /><br />Reading <u>Fatu Hiva</u> by Thor Heyerdahl (finally) which you can find at your local independent bookstore or by searching by </span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >author and/or title at </span><a target="_blank" href="http://www.bookfinder.com/"><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >Bookfinder</span></a><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" > or </span><a target="_blank" href="http://used.addall.com/"><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >ADDALL.</span></a><br /><br /><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >Time to head out to my garden club's potluck. Buh bye!</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-115074298521439765?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1150212699095966332006-06-13T08:03:00.000-07:002006-10-21T08:56:44.092-07:00<span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >Saturday evening I fell asleep on the couch watching TV. I woke up hearing the radio. My mind was in a haze, but I heard a voice I recognized other than the <a target="blank" href="http://www.coasttocoastam.com/ian/about.html">host's</a>. I thought: "That can't be him!" but it was... <a target="blank" href="http://www.randomhouse.com/bantamdell/koontz/">Dean Koontz</a> (<a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/bantamdell/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780553804799">The Husband</a>) back for his promised 3 hour interview, waaaay sooner than anyone figured. I've been too busy the last few days to listen to the show in its entirety. Saturday (actually, very early Sunday) I managed to hear the very end and the very beginning (early re-play). Fortunately, we are <a target="blank" href="http://www.coasttocoastam.com/streamlink/about.html">streamlink</a> members so I can listen anytime to show archives or receive the podcast from <a target="blank" href="http://www.coasttocoastam.com/">CoasttoCoastAM</a>. So, if you missed the interview, you can still hear it by becoming a streamlink member.<br /><br />Still reading <u>My First Summer in the Sierra</u> by John Muir and finishing <u><span style="">From the Corner of His Eye</span></u></span><span style="font-family:arial;"> by </span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >Dean Koontz, both of which you can find at your local independent bookstore or </span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >by searching by author and/or title at </span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" ><a target="_blank" href="http://www.bookfinder.com/"><span style="">Bookfinder</span></a></span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" > or </span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" ><a target="_blank" href="http://used.addall.com/"><span style="">ADDALL.</span></a><br /><br />Now off to celebrate my doggy girl's 6th birthday with a day full of great fun. She deserves it and so do I!<br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-115021269909596633?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1149882128418144332006-06-09T10:56:00.000-07:002006-06-09T13:06:27.016-07:00<span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >For me, songs mark the summers in memories. For others, it is books- Summer <a target="blank" href="http://www.npr.org/templates/topics/topic.php?topicId=1005">Reading</a> 2006<br /><br /><a target="blank" href="http://bestsellers.about.com/od/newupcomingreleases/">New & Upcoming Book Releases</a><br /><br />This Weekend on <a target="blank" href="http://www.booktv.org/">Book TV</a> - the 2006 Printers Row Book Fair - Chicago - <a target="blank" href="http://www.booktv.org/schedule/index.asp?schedID=429">The Schedule<br /></a><br /><a target="blank" href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1716493,00110004.htm">Dan Brown's</a> effigy, copies of book, VCD burnt<br /><br />Borders' <a target="blank" href="http://www.mlive.com/news/aanews/index.ssf?/base/news-18/11497777588710.xml&amp;coll=2">financial woes</a> hit execs- this time- with 90 laid off<br /><br />Sam Goody removing money <a target="blank" href="http://www.thebookstandard.com/bookstandard/news/retail/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002651015">losing books</a> from nearly every outlet, supplanting books with only <a target="blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manga">manga</a>, and dropping Ingram as it supplier for Baker & Taylor,<br />while Tower Records <a target="blank" href="http://www.thebookstandard.com/bookstandard/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002651011">increases</a> its book holdings<br /><br /><a target="blank" href="http://books.guardian.co.uk/hay2006/story/0,,1788623,00.html">Mrs Beeton</a>'s cook books plagiarized? (Like anyone believes Martha Stewart's recipes are completely original and not from other sources...Remember Julia Child? I recall a shortbread recipe Martha touted as hers a while back that was from <u>The Joy of Cooking</u> and I knew it immediately. Cooking has </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >always</span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" > been that way.)<br /><br />Lemony Snicket's alter ego <a target="blank" href="http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/generalfiction/story/0,,1792233,00.html">can't</a> even get noticed<br /><br />Hungarian <a target="blank" href="http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,,1792513,00.html">poet</a> Gyorgy Somlyo dead at 85<br /><br />More BookExpo news:<br /><a target="blank" href="http://news.bookweb.org/4493.html">Bookstore Tourism</a>?<br />Independent bookstores need <a target="blank" href="http://news.bookweb.org/4491.html">killer events</a><br />Additional podcasts available:<br /><a target="blank" href="http://bookexpocast.com/?p=17">BEA #5</a> - Don Tapscott on Embracing New Media and Web 2.0<br /><a target="blank" href="http://bookexpocast.com/?p=19">BEA #6</a> - Best Way to Target Mobile Devices<br />BEA Buzz - <a target="blank" href="http://bookexpocast.com/?p=18">What’s In Your Bag</a>? (Chapter 1)<br />BEA Buzz - <a target="blank" href="http://bookexpocast.com/?p=16">Publishing in China</a><br />BEA Buzz - <a target="blank" href="http://bookexpocast.com/?p=14">New Title Showcase</a><br /><br />The complete <a target="blank" href="http://bookexpocast.com/?page_id=5">list</a> of BEA Podcasts<br /><br />Listening to Brahms - Liebeslieder Waltzes and Neue Libeslieder<br />Spohr - Three Psalms, Op 85<br />Meyerbeer - Psalm 91<br /><br />Reading <u>My First Summer in the Sierra</u> by John Muir </span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-114988212841814433?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1149425108086145712006-06-04T05:03:00.000-07:002006-11-03T06:56:24.978-08:00<a target="blank" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fraubucher/159963185/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/61/159963185_fc5418b33a_t.jpg" alt="THE HUSBAND" align="left" height="100" width="66" /></a><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >For the third time in less than 2 weeks <a target="blank" href="http://www.coasttocoastam.com/shows/2006/06/03.html">C2C</a> had a bestselling author as a guest. The last week of May provided interviews with <a target="blank" href="http://fraubucher.blogspot.com/2006/05/end-of-ringworld-series.html">Larry Niven</a> and <a target="blank" href="http://fraubucher.blogspot.com/2006/05/author-dale-brown-on-c2c-wednesday.html">Dale Brown</a>. This time it was none other than my favorite suspense/thriller writer, <a target="blank" href="http://www.randomhouse.com/bantamdell/koontz/index.html">Dean Koontz</a>, who is doing satellite publicity for his new bestseller <u>The Husband</u>. Unfortunately, Ian Punnett was only able to schedule an hour with the great writer, but Punnett managed to elicit a promise of a full 3 hours once the writer has rested from the current hectic satellite publicity schedule. Koontz is the only best-selling author who does not do actual publicity tours. It has been a long time since Dean Koontz appeared on C2C, over 4 years, in fact. In January and March of 2002, Mr. Koontz appeared as part of the promotion of my favorite book, <u>One Door Away From Heaven</u>.<br /><br />I do not read much fiction. When I do, the genres are mystery and thriller. For me, it is very easy to find a mystery writer I enjoy. Finding an author of horror or suspense that I can read and enjoy is much more difficult. Dean Koontz is the only thriller author to date where I have read more than two books he's written. My first Koontz book was <u>Strangers</u>. The last one I completed was <u>One Door Away From Heaven</u>, my absolute favorite for many reasons, but especially for the dog element. That book is one where a reader can laugh aloud one minute and be completely creeped out the next. Somewhere in the middle I have read </span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" class="sans" ><u>Seize the Night</u> and <u>Tick Tock</u>. I am currently reading <u>From the Corner of His Eye</u>. I also own quite a few others which I have yet to read. I look forward to enjoying them all.<br /><br /></span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >About <u>The Husband</u>:<br />From Booklist: *Starred Review* It's another boring day in paradise for gardener Mitch Rafferty, planting impatiens on a rich client's lawn. Then his cell rings. It's Holly, his wife, and she doesn't sound good. Someone slaps her, she screams, and a man comes on to tell Mitch that he has 60 hours to raise $2 million to ransom her. Just so Mitch knows they mean business, the man says, see the guy walking a dog across the street? Mitch looks and blam! A bullet to the head kills the dog walker. Let this be a warning, too, that the kidnapper-killers will know if Mitch says word one to the cops about his predicament, and Holly will suffer. Where is a gardener supposed to get $2 million? The sinister caller says he'll let Mitch know; just be a good machine and follow instructions. Despite his terror, Mitch does until . . .<br /><br />So keep your eyes and ears open for Dean Koontz's second appearance on <a target="blank" href="http://www.coasttocoastam.com/">CoasttoCoastAM</a>, where he will likely discuss further his interest in quantum mechanics, his dog Trixie, his other books and answer listener questions. In the meantime, if you want to read any of the highly acclaimed books Dean Koontz has written,</span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" > they can be found at your local independent, new or used bookstore or by searching by author and/or title at </span><a target="_blank" href="http://www.bookfinder.com/"><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >Bookfinder</span></a><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" > or </span><a target="_blank" href="http://used.addall.com/"><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >ADDALL.</span></a><br /><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" ><br />PS: When at Mr Koontz's website, make sure you stop to read the immensely delighful <a target="blank" href="http://www.randomhouse.com/bantamdell/koontz/trixie.html">Trixie's Message</a>s. Maybe being a dog lover is a prerequisite for Trixie's message, but I hope not!</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-114942510808614571?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1149202111080782672006-06-01T15:42:00.000-07:002006-06-01T17:27:32.240-07:00"<a title="Photo Sharing" target="blank" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fraubucher/158280556/"><img height="240" alt="Batwoman- new and improved" src="http://static.flickr.com/52/158280556_2174c5b4e3_m.jpg" width="152" align="left" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">In this illustration released by </span><a target="blank" href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BATWOMAN_UNCLOSETED?SITE=TXBEA&SECTION=HOME&amp;TEMPLATE=DEFAULT"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">DC Comics</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">, a revived </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.out.com/detail.asp?page=1&amp;id=18499"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">"Batwoman"</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> is shown as a 5-foot-10 superhero with flowing red hair, knee-high red boots with spiked heels, and a form-fitting black outfit. <a target="blank" href="http://www.dccomics.com/">DC Comics </a>is resurrecting the classic comic book character as a lesbian, unveiling the new Batwoman in July as part of an ongoing weekly series that launched this year." (AP Photo/DC Comics)<br /><br />Batwoman is a lipstick lesbian!!!!! C'mon, we knew it all along. This gives the term "ballbusting" a whole new meaning... doesn't it? Meeooowwwww!</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-114920211108078267?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1149199098229669192006-06-01T14:00:00.000-07:002006-06-01T17:32:28.790-07:00<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><a target="blank" href="http://www.finebooksmagazine.com/subscribe/"><a title="Photo Sharing" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fraubucher/158222719/"><img style="WIDTH: 103px; HEIGHT: 143px" height="125" alt="book contest logo" src="http://static.flickr.com/24/158222719_53729febfc_t.jpg" width="99" align="left" /></a>Fine Book and Collections</a> Collegiate <a target="blank" href="http://www.biblio.com/pages/fbc_collectors_contest.html">Book-Collecting Championship</a> -</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> Co-Sponsored By Biblio.com</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><br /><br />"During the 2005–2006 academic year, three dozen colleges and universities will host book-collecting contests for their students. Since Swarthmore College held the first competition in the 1920s, these contests have encouraged generations of young collectors to become booksellers, librarians, and accomplished bibliophiles. Here are the current 2006 <a target="blank" href="http://www.finebooksmagazine.com/contest/contestants.phtml">contestants</a>. The prizes are pretty nice, too. Hmmmm... I see <a target="blank" href="http://orpheus.ucsd.edu/speccoll/gotbooks/index.html">UCSD</a> is included... Hey, if I go back to school, can I can enter the next contest?<br /><br />If you are not familiar with </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><a target="blank" href="http://www.finebooksmagazine.com/subscribe/">Fine Book and Collections</a> and you love all things about books- check it out! The magazine is beautifully produced and the articles are very informative. "Fine Books and Collections is the only full-color magazine for book collectors and booksellers published in the United States. We tell the stories behind great and collectible books and cover news and events of interest to book lovers." </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><br />Another news item for Biblio booksellers (besides Biblio having become <a target="blank" href="http://www.biblio.com/sell_books.html">choosey</a> when admitting new sellers and using a review board) is the Cashback = BiblioBucks program which began today. All Biblio Bookseller Members currently receive 4% of each purchase and referral in <a target="blank" href="http://www.biblio.com/cashback/">CashBack</a>, credited to the booksellers' accounts. This is a reward for keeping the money "in house" as it were. Now, booksellers will have the option to choose to receive <b>6%</b> of all purchases in the form of Biblio.com <a target="blank" href="http://www.biblio.com/gift_certificate.php">BiblioBucks</a>, which are the handy dandy equivalent of a gift certificate.<br /><br />Now, here is the not so "fine print:"<br />Note: 6% BiblioBucks credit will be applied to your account in the same schedule as our monthly payments on the 1st and 15th. All purchases you make from the 1st through the 15th of each month will be applied as a BiblioBucks credit on the 1st of the following month. Any purchases or referrals made between the 15th, and the last day of the month will be credited on the 15th of the following month.<br /><br />The BiblioBucks are pretty nifty and very easy to use. I had occasion to use BiblioBucks with a problematic order rather than sending a discount by check. The customer was very understanding and extremely nice. Knowing my customer was an inveterate book junkie, I sent him a BiblioBucks gift certificate via email as a "thank you." The biggest advantage was that whether the certificate was used on my books or not, the money stayed within Biblio! Try them you'll like them! Oh, what's that you ask? What about my customer? Well, he loved the BiblioBucks, too!<br /><br />Biblio gives mad props to being indie at the bottom of the Seller Newsletter:<br />“It is not wealth one asks for, but just enough to preserve one's dignity, to work unhampered, to be generous, frank and <u>independent</u>.” - William Somerset Maugham</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-114919909822966919?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1149104455637034432006-05-31T12:23:00.000-07:002006-05-31T13:37:10.740-07:00<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">So far only 4 podcasts are available from BookExpo America:<br /><br />BEA #1 - Opening Night Keynote with </span><a target="blank" href="http://bookexpocast.com/?p=10"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Tim Russert.</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><br /><br />"Tim Russert, host of Meet the Press and author of <u>Wisdom of our Fathers: Lessons and Letters from Daughters and Sons</u> (Random House) welcomes BEA to Washington DC and shares his insights on family life as well as the latest in Washington..."<br /><br />BEA Buzz - Interview with </span><a target="blank" href="http://bookexpocast.com/?p=11"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Pat Schroeder</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><br /><br />"...Pat Schroeder, President and CEO of the Association of American Publishers... discusses the top issues facing the publishing industry including digitization of books and fighting copyright piracy at home and in China. "<br /><br />BEA #2 - </span><a target="blank" href="http://bookexpocast.com/?p=12"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">John Updike Speech</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><br /><br />".... Mr. Updike abandoned a speech about his new book, Terrorist, in favor of a passionate discussion of books and booksellers — whom he called “the citadels of light...(sic)” I featured Mr. Updike's speech in a previous post.<br /><br />BEA #3 - Best Way to Leverage </span><a target="blank" href="http://bookexpocast.com/?p=13"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Podcasting</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><br /><br />"Tee Morris, co-author of Podcasting for Dummies, and Rob Simon, President of BurstMarketing, the company that is producing the official BEA 2006 podcast, provide an introduction to podcasting as well as ways authors, publishers and others in the industry should leverage podcasting for success. "</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;">Keep in mind that author Dale Brown is on the AM air waves tonight.</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-114910445563703443?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1148987092069354972006-05-30T03:57:00.000-07:002006-06-13T08:35:44.883-07:00<span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >Heads up if you are a fan of Dale Brown, not to be confused with Dan Brown (<u>The Da Vinci Code</u> and <u>Angels and Demons</u>); Dale will be appearing on the late night radio show CoasttoCoastAM Wednesday.<br /><br />"Military thriller author and former Air Force Capt., </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.megafortress.com/index03.htm"><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >Dale Brown</span></a><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >, will discuss a new front in the War on Terror-- the U.S.- Mexico border, incorporating the topics of illegal immigration and the drug war." I'm sure he'll also mention his new book <u>Edge Of Battle</u>.<br /><br /></span><a target="blank" href="http://www.coasttocoastam.com/affiliates/aa.html"><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >Find</span></a><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" > a radio affiliate featuring CoasttoCoastAM near you.<br /><br />Dale Brown's (and Dan Brown's) books can be found at your local independent bookstore or by searching by author and/or title at </span><a target="_blank" href="http://www.bookfinder.com/"><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >Bookfinder</span></a><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" > or </span><a target="_blank" href="http://used.addall.com/"><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >ADDALL.</span></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-114898709206935497?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1148950365110854322006-05-29T17:47:00.000-07:002006-05-30T04:07:55.716-07:00<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Meryl Streep is narrating a pair of </span><a target="blank" href="http://news.aol.com/entertainment/articles/_a/streep-to-narrate-starbucks-audiobooks/n20060524083809990001"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">children's classics.</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> "The </span><a target="blank" href="http://fraubucher.blogspot.com/2006/05/whos-selling-books.html"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">company</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> recently announced an alliance with the William Morris Agency, a talent and literary agency that will help Starbucks identify music, film and book projects to consider for marketing and distribution in its stores."<br /><br />Starbucks Is Way More Than Just Lattes -How the Chain Is Changing American </span><a target="blank" href="http://money.aol.com/usat/general/canvas3/_a/starbucks-is-way-more-than-just-lattes/20060524124609990001"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Culture</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><br /><br />Here's an idea, for a Christmas gift (or any time) more personal and soothing to your child: Make your own audiobook to go with an actual copy of the story. I'm sure your little ones will appreciate hearing <em>you</em> read a story when the babysitter is putting them to bed. As a special treat: </span><a target="blank" href="http://content.living.aol.com/coaches/finance/articlecanvas/_a/make-your-latte-for-less-and-other-low/20060525150509990001"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">ideas #2</span></a>,<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.recipegoldmine.com/bevcoffee/bevcoffee.html"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">#3</a></span> <span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">and </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.knowledgehound.com/topics/coffee.htm"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">#4</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> (even has roast your own instructions). </span><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">If you would like to buy a copy of any of these 3 books for any reason, <u>The Velveteen Rabbit</u>, <u>The Night Before Christmas</u> or the new book, <u>Akeelah and the Bee</u> by James W. Ellison (release date of September 5, 2006), they can be found for sale at your local independent bookstore or by searching by author and/or title at </span><a target="_blank" href="http://www.bookfinder.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Bookfinder</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> or </span><a target="_blank" href="http://used.addall.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">ADDALL</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br /></p></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-114895036511085432?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1148780444813098122006-05-27T18:27:00.000-07:002006-05-27T18:48:49.643-07:00<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">ASHEVILLE, NC - </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.biblio.com/about.php"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Biblio.com</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">, one of the world's largest marketplaces for used, rare, and out-of-print books, and Biblion Ltd., the foremost British based dealer marketplace </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.biblio.com/pages/Biblio_Biblion.html"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">announced April 7th, 2006, </span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">their mutual decision to work together to redevelop the current </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.biblion.com/about.php"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Biblion Ltd. </span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">online strategy.<br /><br />From the May Bookseller Member Newsletter:<br />"Biblion @ Biblio<br /><br />Biblio.com and Biblion Ltd. are proud to announce that we have reached an agreement that will allow Biblio.com to provide software and technical support in the redevelopment of Biblion.com and Biblion.co.uk.<br /><br />Work has already begun on the project and more will be announced as the re-launch of Biblion.com draws nearer.<br /><br />Biblio.com Bookseller Members have asked some good questions and we pass those along here:<br /><br />Question: Will my Biblio.com account automatically be listed on Biblion.com as well?<br /><br />Answer: No. These will remain separate sites. We will provide upload routing for sellers that are members of both sites, so that an upload will only need to be submitted once.<br /><br />Question: Who will I email for support?<br /><br />Answer: There will be email addresses for support, such as bookseller-support@biblion.com, that will be handled separately from Biblio.com's current support, but Biblio.com's support staff will ultimately be responsible for supporting the new version of the Biblion.com site.<br /><br />Question: How is this going to benefit me? Isn't this just going to dilute my sales from Biblio.com?<br /><br />Answer: No. You may choose to list with Biblion.com and have what is essentially an additional marketing presence in the United Kingdom and in Europe. Biblion Ltd. will continue in its efforts to focus the marketing of it's site in these countries.<br /><br />As the work on the new site progresses, Biblio.com will make other announcements and begin working with sellers to set up accounts. More to come!!"<br /><br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-114878044481309812?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1148690251215212992006-05-26T16:42:00.000-07:002006-05-30T02:47:09.756-07:00<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Since the Saturday morning </span><a target="blank" href="http://bookexpocast.com/?p=12"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">speech</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> created so much talk, it is available earlier than expected. Thank you powers that be: BurstMarketing, Authors On Tour - Live! and the ABA. </span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-114869025121521299?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1148677496394835342006-05-26T14:01:00.000-07:002006-06-04T05:47:09.470-07:00<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Armageddon’s Children- </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.thebookstandard.com/bookstandard/news/author/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002541093"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Interview with Brooks</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><br /><br />'New York Times' Top American Fiction Since 1980: </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.thebookstandard.com/bookstandard/news/author/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002539645"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">The 'Kirkus' Reviews</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> How many have <em>you</em> read?<br /><br />Lawyer </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.thebookstandard.com/bookstandard/news/author/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002575691"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Takes on Amazon </span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Over Errors in His Book<br /><br />How are you at </span><a target="blank" href="http://news.bookweb.org/4467.html"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Creating Effective E-Newsletters</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">?</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;">Interested in the <a target="blank" href="http://www.sellerconference.com">Amazon Seller Conference</a>?</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-114867749639483534?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1148550436464034662006-05-25T02:30:00.000-07:002006-05-29T18:07:51.526-07:00<a title="Photo Sharing" target="blank" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fraubucher/152964218/"><img style="WIDTH: 110px; HEIGHT: 164px" height="150" alt="Ringworld's Children - Larry Niven" src="http://static.flickr.com/49/152964218_e812375a1f_t.jpg" width="102" align="left" /></a> <span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">For SciFi fans listening to last night's show on </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.coasttocoastam.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">CoasttoCoastAM</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">, the first hour had to be a real treat. George Noory (co-author of <u>Worker in the Light</u> with William Birnes; scheduled release date September 2006) introduced his first guest of the night, the great SciFi master <a target="blank" href="http://www.larryniven.org/">Larry Niven</a>, Early discussion centered around </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.tor.com/niven/"><u><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Ringworld's Children</span></u></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">, the fourth book in the extremely popular Ringworld series. Fans of Larry Niven waited 10 years for the book to be published. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Niven made a surprise announcement during the interview: <u>Ringworld's Children</u> is the last book in the series. The author remarked: "I think it's the last of the Ringworld stories...it's wrapped up to my satisfaction." The first book of the series, <u>Ringworld</u>, won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards in the early 1970s, and was followed in 1980 by <u>The Ringworld Engineers</u>, and in 1996 by <u>The Ringworld Throne</u>.<br /><br />Larry Niven has co-authored many works with most notably </span><a target="blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Pournelle"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Jerry</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.jerrypournelle.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Pournelle</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> and </span><a target="blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Barnes"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Steven</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> </span><a target="blank" href="http://darkush.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Barnes</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">. Other authors he has collaborated with are David </span><a target="blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Gerrold"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Gerrold</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">, </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.brenda-cooper.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Brenda</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> </span><a target="blank" href="http://brenda-cooper.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Cooper</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> and </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.baen.com/author_catalog.asp?author=mflynn"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Michael</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> </span><a target="blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Flynn"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Flynn</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">. If you look at Mr. Niven's </span><a target="blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Niven#Bibliography"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">bibliography</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> you will see any number of author combinations with Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle and another of the aforementioned authors. Also you will notice how the author filled the large time lapses between the Ringworld books- with his many collaborations.<br /><br />Besides stating <u>Ringworld's Children</u> is the last of the Ringworld book series, Mr. Niven said his collaboration with Larry Pournelle will continue and that he and Steven Barnes are currently working on a book together. To hear the complete interview on C2C where you can also hear what Larry Niven fears, you'll need to become a </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.coasttocoastam.com/streamlink/about.html"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Streamlink</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> member. Believe me, being able to listen anytime you want, download programs or receive podcasts is well worth the small monthly fee.<br /><br />In other SciFi news, if you live in the mid-west, specifically near Madison, Wisconsin, I hope you already made your arrangements for <a target="blank" href="http://www.wiscon.info/">WisCon - The World's Leading Feminist Science Fiction Convention</a>, which takes place this weekend, May 26-29, 2006 at The Concourse Hotel.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">The convention is already SOLD OUT.<br /></span><br /><a target="blank" href="http://www.worldcon.org/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">WorldCon</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.laconiv.org/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">L.A.</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">, "the gathering of thousands of people with a shared interest in things fantastic. Movies. Books. Science. Space. Television. Games. Costumes. Art. Anime. More... Much More" will be happening August 23-27, 2006 in Anaheim, CA. The 2006 Hugo </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.laconiv.org/2006/hugos/nominees.htm"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Awards</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> will be announced Saturday evening, the last night of the convention. So be there or be square. Both Larry Niven and George Noory will be attending the conference.<br /><br />Online SciFi resources for fantastic fiction book lovers and booksellers:<br /></span><a target="blank" href="http://www.sfreviews.com/index.htm"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">SF Reviews</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><br /></span><a target="blank" href="http://www.booksnbytes.com/sf_fantasy.html"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Booksnbytes.com</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><br /></span><a target="blank" href="http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Fantastic Fiction</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><br /></span><a target="blank" href="http://www.strangehorizons.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Strange Horizons,</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> a weekly web-based SciFi magazine<br /><br />Interested in reading any of the authors or books I mentioned? These bestselling authors and their books can be found for sale at your local independent bookstore or by searching by author and/or title at </span><a target="_blank" href="http://www.bookfinder.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Bookfinder</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> or </span><a target="_blank" href="http://used.addall.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">ADDALL</span></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Still reading <u>Jed the Dead</u><br />SONG OF THE DAY: 'Not Ready to Make Nice' by the </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.dixiechicks.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Dixie Chicks </span></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-114855043646403466?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1148500470163701772006-05-24T12:47:00.000-07:002006-05-29T17:53:12.790-07:00<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) Chairman Howard Schultz... said the coffee retailer aims to begin </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?dist=newsfinder&siteid=mktw&amp;guid=%7B2A2A92C6-EAFC-44BD-99AD-9E120C93EFF9%7D&"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">offering books </span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">for sale in its U.S. stores as early as the Christmas selling season.<br /><br />How to Sell Books by Really </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/07/books/review/07alford.html?ex=1304654400&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;en=76a4a6307fb77955&ei=5088&amp;partner=rssnyt&amp;emc=rss"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Trying</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> - a cute piece on a day of table selling in NYC<br /><br />Self-published? Kevin Kelly's cool </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.kk.org/cooltools/archives/000668.php"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">tool</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> for getting your book, CD or video for sale on Amazon</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Taking a Read on the Bookselling </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/0003/sa000321.htm"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Business</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-114850047016370177?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1148486194512870412006-05-23T08:49:00.000-07:002006-05-27T10:07:06.470-07:00<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">As if another Amazon seller tool is needed, <a target="blank" href="http://www.spaceware.com">SpaceWare</a> releases </span><a target="blank" href="http://ecommwire.com/?id=501&amp;keys=Amazon-seller-software"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">AMan Pro</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">, a complete set of management tools for Amazon Marketplace Sellers: "AMan Pro provides customizable templates for packing slips, invoices and customer emails for the production of these items in bulk. Postage may be printed in bulk with delivery confirmation and cost data being saved. Items with DC may be tracked from the product. . For international orders, customs forms are printed with all the required data filled in. Prices may be manually or automatically adjusted according to a seller's strategy using the comprehensive built-in rules or advanced scripting facility. Automatic, timed repricing and uploads ensures that a seller is always competitive with other sellers. Inventory may be listing individually or in bulk, with the items being scanned in or read in from a variety of file formats." <a target="blank" href="http://www.spaceware.com/downloads.htm">Download a Free, fully functioning 21 day trial at their site.</a> </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><br />Wall Street Journal's Startup Journal has a bit on How Some Bookworms </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.startupjournal.com/columnists/startuplifestyle/20060518-lifestyle.html"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Turn Pages</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> Into Profits<br />Many outsiders see selling books as an easy way to make money and I imagine it can be now with all the "how-to" books and seller tools including entire inventory management systems, cell phone scanners and pricing tools. Some of the time saving tools are great, others just allow the clueless to join the masses of people selling books online. I, too, believe knowledge and experience are invaluable. A <a target="blank" href="http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=tool">tool</a>, by definition, is an implement used in the practice of a vocation. It's not supposed to be your whole bag of tricks.<br /><br />One day while out book buying after many months of avoiding seeking out new inventory, I had my only experience to date with someone using a cell phone scanner-brand unknown. I live near San Diego and know many of the long time booksellers, some personally and others by sight. There is a small group which is friendly- composed of very nice and, more importantly, very knowledgeable people whether a generalist or specialist. I have also observed many, many unfamiliar people (to me) who obviously aren't very knowledgeable in my sojourns. The lone user of the cell phone scanner I saw fell into the clueless category.<br /><br />On the day I mentioned above, I decided to check a sale near my home that listed books, CDs and videos. Once there, I very quickly eyed all the books and media and chose only one book that I knew would be worth my time. All in all, this took me less than one minute. While the amount of books and media was quite extensive, it was arranged so I could quickly peruse all titles without handling anything. As I was leaving, antique dealers I am friends with arrived. While the husband and wife team looked over the sale, the wife and I spoke. After she was done shopping, we stood back and caught up with each others lives. I noticed a woman arrive at the sale that I had never seen before. She proceeded to pull out a cell phone with a scanner attached and scan each and every book, CD and video. My friend and I stood chatting for a period over 20 minutes before we decided to leave. The book scanning person was still at it and at that point only had 5 books and 1 video in her pile with much more to scan before she was done. <em>That</em> is why I believe a person who wants to be a bookseller needs to know something about books before joining the ranks. Your time is valuable! The more you know, the more money your books and your time can realize. If you feel a cell phone scanner is useful to you fine, but do not completely rely on it.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><a href="http://www.startupjournal.com/columnists/startuplifestyle/20060518-lifestyle.html"></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-114848619451287041?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1148359353045431602006-05-23T06:02:00.000-07:002006-05-25T12:17:25.606-07:00<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">"The Da Vinci Code" craze catches </span><a target="blank" href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-05/23/content_4585976.htm"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Chinese </span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">audience Is it just me, or is anyone else amazed that the Chinese are giving away trips to Paris and cash prizes? Not too surprising with our trade deficit methinks.<br /><br />Despite the reviews at </span><a target="blank" href="http://fraubucher.blogspot.com/2006/05/da-vinci-code-canned.html"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Cannes</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> and the religious furor and protests, or maybe because of it all, Da Vinci Code' Has Second-Highest Worldwide </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000082&sid=aERTxB8o7VpU&amp;refer=canada"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Opening</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">. Like they say- publicity is publicity- good or bad.<br /><br />Only on the internet (and in Vegas) can you </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.casinozone.com/news/article127.html"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">bet on </span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">something as silly as the box office takes of a movie.<br /><br />US movies reviews are a mixed bag, but </span><a target="blank" href="http://tvplex.go.com/buenavista/ebertandroeper/popmp3_2.html?clip=060522-da_vinci_code&title=THE%20DA%20VINCI%20CODE"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Ebert and Roeper </span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">gave "The Da Vinci Code" "2 thumbs up." You can hear it yourself.<br /><br />Alibris sent out the monthly newsletter to its sellers yesterday. In it they addressed <a target= "blanl" href="http://www.answers.com/topic/oak-hill-capital">Oak Hill Capital Partners' </a></span><a target="blank" href="http://fraubucher.blogspot.com/2006/05/alibris-acquired-by-oak-hill-capital.html"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">aquisition of Alibris</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">:<br /><br />"Seller questions answered<br />The recent purchase of Alibris by Oak Hill Capital Partners generated a number of comments and questions. We hope the following Q&amp;A will help assuage any fears and better inform you about this transaction.<br /><br />Oak Hill Capital Partners purchased Alibris, but did they also give you working capital?<br />Yes. As part of the purchase, Oak Hill Capital Partners has provided Alibris with substantial working capital that will allow us to increase marketing, accelerate our international expansion and rejuvenate our movie and music business.<br /><br />Do private equity guys like Oak Hill Capital Partners care about small independent sellers?<br />Yes. Oak Hill Capital Partners purchased Alibris because they believe in the business model and the Alibris mission. The success of all sellers will make Alibris successful and is important to the long term health of the business.<br /><br />The purchase of Alibris is a significant moment in our history. Yet, the day-to-day operations will largely remain the same."</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-114835935304543160?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1148318991528900122006-05-22T09:27:00.000-07:002006-05-23T07:58:45.123-07:00<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><em>"The clash is between what you might call the technorati and the literati. The technorati are thrilled at the way computers and the Internet are revolutionizing the world of books. The literati fear that, amid the revolutionary fervor, crucial institutions and core values will be guillotined.<br /><br />No wonder they applauded long and loud when a champion stepped forth."</em> The champion used </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/21/AR2006052101349.html"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Explosive Words</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">.<br /><br />BookExpo took an interesting turn when </span><a target="blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Updike"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">John Updike</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">, Pulitzer Prize winner for <u>Rabbit is Rich</u> and <u>Rabbit at Rest</u>, took his position at the lectern Saturday morning. Mr Updike, instead of self-promoting, decided to <a target="blank" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/21/AR2006052101349.html?nav=hcmodule">champion</a> independent booksellers and indie bookstores by reminiscing on bookstores of his youth. Updike is the </span><a target="blank" href="http://fraubucher.blogspot.com/2006/03/larry-mcmurtry-author-anti_114166882891535893.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">second</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> author to publically praise independent booksellers this year. Updike then </span></span><a target="blank" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/21/AR2006052101349_2.html"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">turned his attention </span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">to attack the themes of Kevin Kelly's NYT article. (If you have the time, read the full five page article at the Washington Post- which is why three links are used for emphasis.)<br /></span><br /></span><a target="blank" href="http://www.booktv.org/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Book.tv </span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">(CSPAN2) aired BookExpo live over the weekend. Unfortunately, there is no archive of the program to view via a media player, but you can <a target="blank" href="http://bookexpocast.com/">subscribe</a> to the upcoming </span><a target="blank" href="http://bookexpocast.com/?page_id=5"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">BEA podcasts</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> which will be available starting this week. Dunno about you, but I am anxious to hear the John Updike podcast.<br /><br />Much attention has been paid to the <a target="blank" href="http://fraubucher.blogspot.com/2006/05/amazon-news.html">digitization</a> of books in the last few years with Google's plans to scan books in research libraries, booksellers selling print-on-demand texts of out-of-print books, and Amazon's recent plans to sell individual pages digitally as well as print-on-demand books. Updike's address at BEA only further highlights the issues to booklovers and booksellers from an author's point of view.<br /><br />Is it possible that the future holds a nearly bookless society where only those with f-you money can afford an actual bound book? Will private presses be the bastion of traditionally printed, high quality works with a requisite high price attached? What will become of booksellers if written works become freely and digitally available? Does it matter? (Can you say "adapt </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.learningcircuits.org/2004/may2004/odriscoll-briki.htm"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">or</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> die?") Will there one day be a museum where people line up to see an exhibit of Danielle Steele's or John Grisham's books- or other books that "bookmen" now think of as too numerously published and <em>virtually</em> worthless? Will the digitization of printed works be the cause célèbre of near future environmentalists? Only time will tell how this ultimately plays out, but if the lack of wide acceptance and use of e-books in the publishing industry are any indication, perhaps a book will remain a book.<br /><br />If you wish to read John Updike's newest novel <u>Terrorist</u>, one of his Pullitzer award winning books, or any of his other well-crafted </span><a target="blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Updike#Works"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">works</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">, you will find his books at independent booksellers stores everywhere, or by searching by title and/or author at </span><a target="_blank" href="http://www.bookfinder.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Bookfinder</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> or </span><a target="_blank" href="http://used.addall.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">ADDALL</span></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-114831899152890012?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1148307454674696222006-05-22T07:14:00.000-07:002006-05-22T12:02:12.000-07:00<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">For you, who Amazon is your life blood, several timely pieces. Only registered Amazon 3rd party sellers are able to read the portions related to the discussion boards.<br /><br />The </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.amazonsellercommunity.com/forums/forum.jspa?forumID=25"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Creating Book Detail </span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Pages<br /></span><a target="blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/16068301/002-4782799-5429655"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">beta </span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">feature available to </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/1161306/002-4782799-5429655"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Pro Merchants </span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">only, or in plain language: a new version of Amazon.com’s Bookloader.<br /><br />Amazon also recently introduced </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.amazonsellercommunity.com/forums/thread.jspa?threadID=116548&tstart=0"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">"Fulfillment by Amazon" </span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">– a new service for sellers in limited beta testing.<br /><br />"...instead of shipping orders to customers yourself, soon you will be able to ship your new and used products to Amazon, and we’ll handle the order fulfillment and post-order customer service. We'll store your inventory, and as orders are placed, we'll ship your products to your customers. We will even manage post-order customer service and manage customer returns on your behalf.<br /><br />Amazon customers have been asking for years to be able to order from you – our third-party selling partners – and still use Amazon’s popular shipping offers, including Free Super Saver Shipping and our Amazon Prime program, as well as also choosing Gift Wrap for their purchases. With fulfillment by Amazon, customers will have access to all of these services..."<br /><br />Amazon.com starts program to </span><a target="blank" href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003006260_webamazon19.html"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">print books </span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">on demand:<br />"Amazon.com is helping publishers cut costs by eliminating the need for inventory. The Internet retailer acquired BookSurge in April 2005 to enter the print-on-demand book business. BookSurge has more than 10,000 titles, many of them out of print. Amazon.com is investing in companies to boost profit, which has fallen for five straight quarters."<br /><br />The print-on-demand aspect puts an interesting light on the ability of sellers to create book listings for out-of-print titles <em>and</em> Amazon's new "Fulfillment by Amazon" program. Is there any guarantee once a bookseller's out-of-print book is in Amazon's greedy hands that the corporate giant won't be copying your book for future print-on-demand business? Of course, Amazon didn't previously list oop books in its catalog- until booksellers were allowed to creat a listing for those books. Now Amazon will be printing oop books and others- will <em>they</em> be creating listings for those titles or are unsuspecting booksellers in trying to sell books helping Amazon to further cut sales for the 3Ps? The thought for the day?<br /><br />Last Sunday, Kevin Kelly had an article in the New York Times on the future of books- and all written works- being available as a free, digitally formatted library. Since the NYT wants your money to read the archived article, I am linking to a digitization consultant's <a target="blank" href="http://hurstassociates.blogspot.com/2006/05/article-scan-this-book.html">blog</a>, which only seems appropriate due to the subject of the article. I find it slightly ironic that the NYT is charging to read its archives when Kelly's article speaks of the digital library and the digitized works as something to "be published and swapped in the public commons..." It appears the NYT isn't philosophically there yet.<br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-114830745467469622?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1148069786154414282006-05-19T12:57:00.000-07:002006-05-30T20:14:33.613-07:00<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Day 2 of BEA (5/18/96) was a big day with Paco Underhill speaking on The </span><a target="blank" href="http://news.bookweb.org/4456.html#paco"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Science</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> of Independent Bookselling: Catching and Keeping Customers. You can also catch up on the </span><a target="blank" href="http://news.bookweb.org/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">other</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> happenings at BEA.<br /><br />In other news, the Brown University bookstore will remain </span><a target="blank" href="http://news.bookweb.org/news/4427.html"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">independent</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><br /><br />The </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.bookweb.org/aba/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">ABA's</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> </span><a target="blank" href="http://news.bookweb.org/mediaguide/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">media guide</span></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">frau's currently reading Jed the Dead by Alan Dean Foster, which you can find find at your local independent bookstore or by searching by title and/or author at </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.bookfinder.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Bookfinder</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> or </span><a target="blank" href="http://used.addall.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">AddAll</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">.<br /><br />Congratulations to one of San Diego's indies- </span><a target="blank" href="http://mysteriousgalaxy.booksense.com/NASApp/store/IndexJsp"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Mysterious Galaxy Books </span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">for their 13 years in business! Cheers and many more successful years are wished for you.</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-114806978615441428?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1147964312885769752006-05-18T07:21:00.000-07:002006-05-19T12:53:51.246-07:00<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><a title="Photo Sharing" target="blank" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fraubucher/148789739/"><img height="100" alt="Vitruvian Man" src="http://static.flickr.com/49/148789739_310cb43091_t.jpg" width="100" align="left" /></a></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Three years after the release of of <u>The Da Vinci Code</u> and I am still at the part where the 2 main characters left the bank. For whatever reason, I am unable to read the book, just like I am unable to read any Anne Rice, but that is me.<br /><br />Here it is, the day before the world debut of The Da Vinci Code the </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/thedavincicode/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">movie</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> and the <a target="blank" href="http://fraubucher.blogspot.com/2006/05/its-fiction.html">book</a> is selling better than ever, having created a major religious </span><a target="blank" href="http://msnbc.msn.com/id/12693907/from/RL.4/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">controversy</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> with many, many religion-based sites disputing the so-called facts. Not much mention of heresy was made several years ago, but then, the movie wasn't imminent either. If your core religious beliefs are so fragile that a book and movie based on fiction with a smattering of historical facts cause inner </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12835502/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">turmoil</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">, what does that say about you? The theories in the book have been around for centuries. You either believe and have </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12815760/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">faith</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">, or not. The most ridiculous news in all this has to do with </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12820726/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">stereotypes</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">.<br /><br />Meanwhile the movie's big buzz is the viewers were </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.cannes.fr/Anglais/uneuk.html"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">tittering</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> at the biggest moments of revelation. One has to wonder what </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000158/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Tom Hanks</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> (Is it just me, or is Tom looking too Mickey Rourke-ish [ewww] in this movie?) was thinking when he accepted the role after reading the script. Is the movie really <em>that</em> </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/da_vinci_code/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">bad</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">, or is it the euro-trashing of a Hollywood </span><a target="blank" href="http://msnbc.msn.com/id/12840789/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">blockbuster</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">? Guess we will know very soon. As a rule, we do expect great things from <a target="blank" href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000165/">Ron Howard </a>and Hanks, but they are only human. Whether the movie really <em>is</em> bad or not, it will be a financial success with all the hype, </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><br />If you haven't read the book yet, a copy, new or used, can be found at your local independent bookstore or by searching by title at </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.bookfinder.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Bookfinder</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> or </span><a target="blank" href="http://used.addall.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">AddAll</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">.</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-114796431288576975?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1147735368300855872006-05-15T16:19:00.000-07:002006-05-18T09:01:58.823-07:00<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">"What Are </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.slate.com/id/2141725/?nav=ais"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Independent Bookstores </span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Really Good For? Not much" is an article at Slate by Tyler Cowen, a professor of economics at George Mason University. You'll notice the "Not much" part of the title over at Slate is very faint in comparison. Why is that? Is it because Cowen's book is also being sold by indies?<br /><br />My impression of the article is the reference to "independent" bookstores applies only to those indies that sell new books, not your local used bookstore. The article reminds me of all too many young people furniture shopping for the first time. They prefer to shop at discount, chain furniture stores and buy cheap, pressed wood furniture and eschew fine antiques and solid wood furniture made by craftsmen with the comment: "That old jumk!"<br /><br />Laura J. Miller's book mentioned in the article <u>Reluctant Capitalists: Bookselling and the Culture of Consumption</u> and Tyler Cowen's book <u>Good and Plenty: The Creative Successes of American Arts Funding</u> can be found at your local independent bookstore or by searching by title and/or author at </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.bookfinder.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Bookfinder</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> or </span><a target="blank" href="http://used.addall.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">AddAll</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">.</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-114773536830085587?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1147382533190830042006-05-11T14:16:00.000-07:002006-05-11T15:22:38.936-07:00<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Hot on the heels of Alibris' </span><a target="blank" href="http://fraubucher.blogspot.com/2006/05/alibris-acquired-by-oak-hill-capital.html"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">aquisition</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> by Oak Hill Capital Partners comes the news that </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.btol.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Baker & Taylor,</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> a worldwide distributor of books, music, DVDs and video games to libraries and retailers, has been sold to a another </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.castleharlan.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">private equity firm</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">. Castle Harlan, Inc., the New York-based private equity investment firm, </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.btol.com/viewnews.cfm?press_id=163&amp;typ=c"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">announced today </span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">that a private-equity investment fund it organized and manages has agreed to buy privately held Baker & Taylor in a transaction valued at $455 million. Baker &amp; Taylor is being sold by an investment partnership organized by <a target= "blank" href="http://www.btol.com/viewnews.cfm?press_id=164&typ=c">Willis Stein &amp; Partners</a>, a private equity firm in Chicago which acquired Baker &amp; Taylor in 2003.</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-114738253319083004?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1147252652926614102006-05-10T02:05:00.000-07:002006-05-25T04:08:32.206-07:00Who doesn't love a well-crafted British mystery with plot twists and quirky, yet very real, characters. I certainly do. I discovered a new one very late last nght. The story is hard-boiled, cutting edge and a psychological thriller all rolled into one. The constant action has my head spinning! Who's the author you ask? There is none. I stumbled upon the <a target="blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hmv">HMV</a>- <a target="blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterstone's">Waterstone's</a>- <a target="blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottakar's">Ottokar's</a> troika. <a target="blank" href="http://www.hmvgroup.com/aboutus/">HMV</a>, an abbreviation for His Master's Voice, is a very well known <a target= "blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hmv#The_origin_of_the_trademark_image">trademark</a> in the UK <a target="blank" href="http://www.hmv.co.uk/hmvweb/home.do">music</a> business.<br /><br />I'll attempt to give a synopsis of all the action in this whodunnit, but it is confusing and full of "You screw me; I'll screw you," cya, some sad aspects and typical high finance tactics. To muddle the storyline further, I did not start at the beginning of this saga, but possibly the <a target="blank" href="http://www.citywire.co.uk/News/NewsArticle.aspx?VersionID=82051&MenuKey=News.Home&amp;NewsPage=1">middle</a> chapter of yesterday's news that <a target="blank" href="http://www.hmvgroup.com/">HMV</a> drops <a target="blank" href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/tg/stores/static/-/waterstones/waterstones-info/202-8170479-4199808">Amazon</a> and ponders new bid for <a target="blank" href="http://www.ottakars.co.uk/Internet/home/welcome.jsp">Ottakar's</a>. HMV has decided to build a new Waterstone's website (since the original was dispensed with after that buyout) and compete head-to-head with Amazon.uk, a very auspicious endeavour. If you click the Amazon link above, you'll see the lovely "about me" page Waterstone's has on Az.uk. You better hurry, since that page may be a fading memory soon with HMV taking their leave of az.uk.<br /><br />Here is a partial, current historical outline chronicling the HMV v the world saga:<br />*Ottakar's <a target="blank" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4189672.stm">founders launch buyout </a>Friday - late August 2005<br />*Ottakar's <a target="blank" href="http://www.ukbusinesspark.co.uk/ots91974.htm">is to accept </a>a £100m takeover offer from HMV - mid-September 2005<br />*The <a target="blank" href="http://www.competition-commission.org.uk/inquiries/ref2005/hmv/index.htm">Competition Commission </a>Inquiries (like the US FTC) 2005 December 2005<br />*Ottakar's <a target="blank" href="http://corkuniversitypress.typepad.com/cork_university_press/2006/03/ottakars_lays_p.html">lays plans </a>despite bid - late in March 2006<br />*Ottakar's Takeover (by <a target="blank" href="http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6320919.html">HMV) Gets Early OK </a>- end of March 2006<br />*The <a target="blank" href="http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1763450,00.html">founder of Waterstone's </a>is trying to buy back his chain for the second time-April's end 2006<br />*Ottakar's high retail margins tempt <a target="blank" href="http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/business.cfm?id=505032006">WH Smith to bid</a>- just in time for April Fools' Day -Looks as if everyone loves Ottakar's!<br />*Waterstone's <a target="blank" href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000102&sid=a2O09EmY2Jw4&amp;refer=uk">Founder Ends Plan </a>to Buy Chain From HMV (Update2) - start of May 2006<br />*HMV Says <a target="blank" href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000102&sid=aU0FvgSVkY0g&amp;refer=uk">Lazard Withdrew </a>Its Support for Waterstone's Offer - start of May 2006<br />* Evolution <a target="blank" href="http://www.newratings.com/analyst_news/article_1269668.html">Cuts HMV </a>Target Price - this week<br />*HMV's <a target="blank" href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/mirrormoney/yourmoney/tm_objectid=17055544&method=full&amp;siteid=94762&amp;headline=hmv-s-blues--name_page.html">Blues</a> - today - non-traditional, discount booksellers and pennysellers abound the world over<br /><br />Other UK book news from this month: Bookshops <a target="blank" href="http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,,1769457,00.html">fall prey </a>to online sales - with 40 or more independent bookstores closing. This news goes to show that non-traditional, super cheap booksellers and pennysellers thrive everywhere.<br /><br />For excellent reading, discover the works of these literary greats. You will not be sorry.<br />M.C. Beaton - the Agatha Raisin and Hamish MacBeth mystery series<br />Agatha Christie- anything by this grand master<br />Hazel Holt<br />Patricia Wentworth<br />Arthur Conan Doyle -Now I know I don't have to tell you his main character!<br />John Mortimer - the Rumpole series<br />P. G. Wodehouse- Jeeves and Wooster books which are highly comedic<br />Reginald Hill - his Dalziel and Pascoe series<br />R.D. Wingfield - Detective Inspector Jack Frost series<br />Colin Dexter - the Inspector Morse series<br />P. D. James<br />Catherine Aird<br />Ruth Rendell<br />Frances Fyfield<br />Dorothy Simpson<br />Catherine Aird<br />Ellis Peters- the Brother Cadfael series<br />...and I have barely touched the list of great UK authors!<br /><br />These and other wonderful authors and their books can be found for sale at your local independent bookstore or by searching by author and keywords at <a target="_blank" href="http://www.bookfinder.com/">Bookfinder</a> or <a target="_blank" href="http://used.addall.com/">ADDALL</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-114725265292661410?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1147199235682675722006-05-09T10:46:00.000-07:002006-05-22T10:54:14.700-07:00I won't be <a target="blank" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/08/AR2006050801699.html">watching</a> the ABC TV <a target="blank" href="http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=1902688">movie</a> tonight. I watch the tube for enjoyment, not to become perturbed. I doubt the project was <a target="blank" href="http://www.doctorsiegel.com/on_bird_flu_fears.htm">researched</a> fully as stated by ABC. Movies are works of fiction based on few facts, unless the films are documentaries. Having a very strong science background, I know much more than the average television viewer. My SO and I constantly see errors when watching TV or movies. My SO views them as factually significant. I consider the situation (It's a TV show.) and the fact that the majority of US viewers are naive in matters of science or just don't care since they watch TV for entertainment. Take into consideration that this is <a target="blank" href="http://www.answerbag.com/q_view.php/11188">sweeps week </a>and then a movie like this makes sense- to the entertainment industry and advertisers.<br /><br />Yes, <a target="blank" href="http://www.birdfluhype.com/">"bird flu" </a>possibly could become a <a target="blank" href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5183999">pandemic</a>, but it is unlikely. Does anyone recall the big <a target="blank" href="http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/severeacuterespiratorysyndrome.html">SARS</a> scare? Old news. Humans have much more to worry about with their <a target="blank" href="http://www.fda.gov/Fdac/features/795_antibio.html">mis-use of antibiotics</a>, <a target="blank" href="http://www.newsrx.com/newsletters/TB-and-Outbreaks-Week/2004-06-15/061520043337TW.html">antibiotic soaps</a>, poor <a target="blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygiene">hygiene</a> - ie., <a target="blank" href="http://www.webmd.com/content/article/114/111306.htm#prevent">coughing </a>or <a target="blank" href="http://www.pregnancy.org/article.php?sid=2028">sneezing </a>with an open mouth, <a target="blank" href="http://www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/hurricanes/katrina/factsforresidents.asp">shaking</a> <a target="blank" href="http://www.kstatecollegian.com/article.php?a=8724">hands</a>, <a target="blank" href="http://lifestyle.msn.com/Relationships/Article.aspx?cp-documentid=34901">changing babies' diapers </a>on <a target="blank" href="http://equa-net.com/news/ind_watch/?news=191">tables in restaurants</a>, etc. <a target="blank" href="http://archives.cnn.com/2000/NATURE/07/17/global.warming.enn/">Global warming</a>, <a target="blank" href="http://www.envirohealthaction.org/pollution/">air</a> and <a target="blank" href="http://www.envirohealthaction.org/water/">water</a> <a target="blank" href="http://cpreec.org/04_phamplets/04_pollution_health/pollution_health.html">pollution</a>, <a target="blank" href="http://www.organicconsumers.org/madcow.htm">MAD</a> <a target="blank" href="http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/creutzfeldtjakobdisease.html">cow</a> disease, <a target="blank" href="http://www.overpopulation.com/faq/">overpopulation</a> and the <a target="blank" href="http://www.aciar.gov.au/web.nsf/doc/ACIA-6G33TS">proximity of humans </a>living with <a target="blank" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/11/AR2006041101511.html">animals</a>, <a target="blank" href="http://www.rense.com/general63/third.htm">third world</a> health issues, <a target="blank" href="http://www.cia.gov/cia/reports/nie/report/nie99-17d.html">global travel</a>, etc. provide infinitely more substance about which to worry. Consider <a target="blank" href="http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/">West Nile Virus</a>, <a target="blank" href="http://www.newsinferno.com/archives/1022">antibiotic resistant tuberculosis </a>and the resurgence of so-called diseases like <a target="blank" href="http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/measles.html">measles</a>, <a target="blank" href="http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/lung/whooping_cough.html">whooping</a> <a target="blank" href="http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/whoopingcough.html">cough</a>, <a target="blank" href="http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/chickenpox.html">chicken pox</a> and <a target="blank" href="http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/mumps.html">mumps</a> that had been eradicated in this country. Most Americans are much more likely to contract <a target="blank" href="http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/hantavirusinfections.html">hanta</a> <a target="blank" href="http://www.paho.org/English/AD/DPC/CD/hantavirus-1993-2004.htm">virus</a> from <a target="blank" href="http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/d/diseases_contagious_from_rodents/intro.htm">rodents</a> than bird flu. <a target="blank" href="http://educate-yourself.org/vcd/">Modern</a> <a target="blank" href="http://www.nccn.net/~wwithin/vaccine.htm">vaccines</a> are more of a danger to our society than bird flu likely ever will be. We live in an age of <a target="blank" href="http://students.usm.maine.edu/meghan.strout/home.html">sensationalism and fear </a>and the majority of the population is ripe for the pickin'.<br /><br />When bird flu first became news, some booksellers on the Amazon discussion board announced they were going to buy '<a target="blank" href="http://www.fda.gov/cder/consumerinfo/druginfo/tamiflu.htm">Tamiflu</a>' as a preventive measure. I wonder if anyone knows 'Tamiflu' must be used within the first 24 hours of <a target="blank" href="http://www.medindia.net/patients/patientinfo/birdflu_period.htm">exposure</a>, or that a <a target="blank" href="http://www.medicinenet.com/flu_vaccination/page2.htm">flu shot </a>doesn't <a target="blank" href="http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/keyfacts.htm">"give" </a>a person the flu. (The injected vaccine is not a live culture, whereas the nasal spray is a weakened live vaccine. A live vaccine is more likely to cause problems- if any.) How does anyone truly know when their first exposure occurs in the first place?<br /><br />Too much <a target="blank" href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4949542&amp;sourceCode=gaw">information</a>, I know, but checking all the links will make you a better informed citizen with fewer worries. If you still think bird flu will reach <a target="blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandemic">pandemic</a> levels, get prepared in advance with extra food, water, prescriptions and supplies to last- at least a few months. Especially in light of the government's response to Hurricane Katrina, a small area when compared to a pandemic, I suggest everyone should be prepared for any type of natural disaster to occur at any time anyway. I certainly do not want to be reliant on anyone or anything other than myself in an emergency. You know the saying, if you want something done right, do it yourself.<br /><br />On a lighter(?) note, <a target="blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Blaine">David</a> <a target="blank" href="http://www.davidblaine.com/">Blaine</a> only succeeded in <a target="blank" href="http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=1940734">masochism</a> over the last week. If nothing else, this man definitely has self-control.<br /><br />If you prefer fiction to facts when it comes to disease, here are a few great reads:<br /><u>The Andromeda Strain</u> by Michael Crichton<br /><u>The Eleventh Plague: A Novel of Medical Terror</u> by John S. Marr, MD, and John Baldwin<br /><u>The Third Pandemic</u> by Pierre Ouellette<br /><u>Pandemic</u> by Daniel Kalla<br /><u>Vector</u> and <u>Contagion</u> by Robin Cook<br /><u>Fatal</u> by Michael Palmer<br />These and other suspenseful medical thrillers can be found for sale at your local independent bookstore or by searching by title and/or author at <a target="_blank" href="http://www.bookfinder.com/">Bookfinder</a> or <a target="_blank" href="http://used.addall.com/">ADDALL</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-114719923568267572?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1147150708207536082006-05-09T00:55:00.000-07:002006-05-09T15:26:52.320-07:00<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">The Book Standard 2006 Book Video Awards were handed out last night (Monday) in Tribeca, New York City. Three hot new filmmakers have won from The Book Standard the rights to shoot 30-second videos based on three upcoming books from Random House. Here are </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.thebookstandard.com/bookstandard/events/book_video/index.jsp"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">the three winners</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">' videos.</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-114715070820753608?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1147147262099729932006-05-08T20:52:00.000-07:002006-05-25T12:16:01.160-07:00First, a bit of history on Alibris' past attempt at an IPO: <a target="blank" href="http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y04/m05/i12/s02">1</a>, <a target="blank" href="http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1280998/000104746904015215/a2132099zs-1a.htm">1a</a>, <a target="blank" href="http://www.marketingvox.com/archives/2004/05/23/alibris_ipo_fails/">2</a>, <a target= "blank" href="http://www.alibris.com/about/press_releases/052104.cfm">3</a><br /><br />May 8, 2006<br />Dear <a target="blank" href="http://www.alibris.com/">Alibris</a> seller,<br /><br /><a target="blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alibris">Alibris</a> is pleased to announce that we have been <a target="blank" href="http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060508/nym183.html?.v=42">acquired</a> by <a target="blank" href="http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/feb2005/nf20050228_5321_db016.htm">Oak Hill Capital Partners</a>, a <a target= "blank" href="http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6332404.html?display=current&industry=Foreword&amp;verticalid=792">private equity firm </a>that knows the book industry well. A copy of today’s press release, including more information about Oak Hill, follows.<br /><br />This is terrific news for our sellers because it enables us to invest more in marketing, accelerate our international expansion and rejuvenate our music and movie business. We will continue to grow our distribution channels, improve our Web site and deliver tools and innovations that benefit our premiere network of sellers.<br /><br />Our partnership with <a target= "blank" href="http://www.answers.com/topic/oak-hill-capital">Oak Hill </a>will help us fulfill our commitment to making Alibris sellers the most successful in the online world.<br /><br />Sincerely,<br />Martin Manley<br />CEO<br />Alibris<br /><br />Oak Hill Capital Partners Acquires Alibris<br /><br />Oak Hill Capital Partners announced today that it has acquired Alibris, a leading online exchange for used, hard-to-find and specialty books, music and videos. Terms were not disclosed.<br /><br />According to Bill Pade, a Partner with Oak Hill Capital Partners, “We have conducted extensive research on the used, rare and out-of-print book market and related ’long tail’ businesses. We are impressed with the position that Alibris has built in this market and with the quality of its management, technology and business partnerships. We are excited about helping this company grow and prosper.”<br /><br />“Oak Hill Capital has built an unusually deep knowledge of the used book market, e-commerce and the challenges of global distribution,” said Alibris CEO Martin Manley. “They know this market and are committed to helping us grow internationally, strengthen our movie and music business and increase consumer awareness of our Web site.”<br /><br />Manley noted that this purchase is especially good news for Alibris sellers. "Strong financial backing will help us deliver the sales and services needed to make our sellers the most successful in the online world."<br /><br />Mr. Manley will serve as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Brian Elliott will serve as President and Chief Operating Officer. The closing of the transaction is expected to occur within several weeks.<br /><br />Jefferies Broadview, a division of Jefferies & Company, Inc., acted as Alibris's financial advisor, and Cooley Godward LLP served as legal counsel. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton &amp; Garrison LLP and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati served as legal counsel to Oak Hill Capital Partners.<br /><br />About Oak Hill Capital PartnersOak Hill Capital Partners is a private equity firm with more than $4.6 billion of committed capital from leading entrepreneurs, endowments, foundations, corporations, pension funds and global financial institutions. Robert M. Bass is the lead investor. Over a period of nearly 20 years, the professionals at Oak Hill Capital have invested in more than 50 significant private equity transactions, including Genpact, The Container Store, Butler Animal Health Supply, EXLService, Progressive Moulded Products, TravelCenters of America, Blackboard, American Savings Bank (Washington Mutual), Bell &amp; Howell (Proquest), Oreck Corporation and Wometco Cable Corporation. Oak Hill Capital is one of several Oak Hill partnerships, each of which has a dedicated and independent management team. These Oak Hill partnerships comprise over $20 billion of investment capital across multiple asset classes, including private equity, special situations, high yield and bank debt, venture capital, real estate, a public equity exchange fund and a global fixed income and equity hedge fund.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-114714726209972993?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1146926963203310602006-05-06T07:27:00.000-07:002006-05-11T11:47:57.980-07:00<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">If you are wondering who Stephen <a target="blank" href="http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/the_colbert_report/index.jhtml">Colbert</a> is, or haven't seen the video yet (Is there anyone left?) here it is- Stephen <a target="blank" href="rtsp://cspanrm.fplive.net/cspan/60days/wh042906_colbert.rm?mode=compact">Colbert</a> at White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Agree or not, you must admit he has really big brass ones. </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">You'll need the newest RealPlayer </span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;">PS: YouTube has removed the video from their site due to copyright issues. The video (link above) is property of and provided by C-SPAN</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;">PSS: Have <strong><em>you</em></strong> <a target="blank" href="http://thankyoustephencolbert.org/">thanked</a> Stepehen yet?</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-114692696320331060?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1146910743214928262006-05-06T03:00:00.000-07:002006-05-19T13:17:05.046-07:00While Americans insist on driving large vehicles with low mileage, complain about gas prices instead of complaining about all the technology kept on backburners, blissfully watch "American Idol" and other mediocre (or less) TV shows, and generally know very little of the goings-on in the world, another major threat to our nation's well-being looms imminently on the horizon. The EU (including our "allies") has much to gain, at our expense, by Iran's oil/Euro plans. Russia and China support Iran. Of course, China benefits greatly as their need for oil swells ever and ever larger. Their economy is going gangbusters thanks to the US consumer and a trade deficit. Now that you (may) have read the bad news you don't really care about, go shop at Walmart to save a few bucks and further support China's economy. (Whatever happened to Walmart's "Made in the USA" slogan?)<br /><br />US companies continue to outsource more and more jobs outside of North and Central America and the CEOs become richer and richer; do you ever wonder why everyone was so upset about NAFTA? Is there any difference between China, India, Korea, etc. and our neighbors to the south? It seems to me the US is on the fastrack to becoming a third world country. Does anyone care? Why haven't we as a nation marched in the streets demanding an end to reliance on non-renewable resources many years ago, like after the 70's oil embargo? To be sure, there is a debate on how oil is created naturally or whether or not oil is non-renewable. That is irrelevant. The times, they are a'changin' and we are way behind the times thanks to corporate greed.<br /><br />What? Clueless? Look below.<br /><br />Iran wants oil market in <a target="blank" href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060505.wiraneuro0505/BNStory/Business/home">Euros</a> (AP) — Iran took a step on Friday toward establishing an oil market denominated in euros, a plan analysts described as highly unlikely to materialize but which in theory could have serious consequences for the U.S.<br /><br />Historical perspective on the above proposal: <a target="blank" href="http://www.thinkandask.com/news/thedollar.html">Dollar vs EURO </a>-- Weapons of mass destruction<br /><br />Iran's leader drawing fire: President Ahmadinejad is proving too <a target="blank" href="http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/1212/p01s04-wome.html">radical</a> even for some Iranian conservatives.<br /><br />Iranian leader: Holocaust a <a target="blank" href="http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/12/14/iran.israel/">'myth'</a>- CNN -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has described the Holocaust as "a myth" and suggested that Israel be moved to Europe, the United States, Canada or Alaska.<br /><br /><a target="blank" href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/04/24/umofaz.xml">Iran</a> 'worst threat to Jews since Hitler'<br />Don't kid yourself that Christians are in a better position.<br /><br />UN draft on nuclear Iran <a target="blank" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4970904.stm">tabled</a><br /><br />The ties that bind <a target="blank" href="http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=8015">China, Russia and Iran</a><br /><br />Russia and China on Friday <a target="blank" href="http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2006-05/06/content_583219.htm">opposed</a> key provisions in a U.N. draft resolution that orders Iran to curb its nuclear ambitions<br /><br />Imagine this combined with hybrid technology: An Energy Revolution "<a target="blank" href="http://www.taemag.com/issues/articleid.18976/article_detail.asp">flexible-fuel </a>vehicles capable of burning any combination of gasoline and alcohol. The alcohols so employed could be either methanol or ethanol."<br /><br />The Politics of Oil: The Discourse <a target="blank" href="http://www.theoildrum.com/story/2006/4/26/121441/891">Must Change</a> also available as a <a href="http:http://www.theoildrum.com/politics_of_oil.pdf//">pdf</a><br /><br />Revisited - The <a target="blank" href="http://www.ratical.org/ratville/CAH/RRiraqWar.html#p2">Real Reasons </a>for the Upcoming War With Iraq: A Macroeconomic and Geostrategic Analysis of the Unspoken Truth<br /><br />Bush's Deep Reasons for War on Iraq: Oil, Petrodollars, and the Opec <a target="blank" href="http://ist-socrates.berkeley.edu/~pdscott/iraq.html">Euro</a> Question<br /><br />Crisis Magazine <a target="blank" href="http://www.crisismagazine.com/april2002/cover.htm">article</a> on the Crusades<br /><br />Detailed information (online <a target="blank" href="http://crusades.boisestate.edu/">course</a>) on each of the seven major crusades. Written by a history professor at Boise State University<br /><br />Optional reading, some more controversial than others:<br />Entire text- digital of <a target="blank" href="http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/History.HistCrusades"><u>A History of the Crusades</u></a><br />*<u>Petrodollar Warfare: Oil, Iraq And The Future Of The Dollar</u> by William R. Clark<br />*<u>The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, Secrecy, and the End of the Republic</u> by Chalmers Johnson<br />*<u>Twilight in the Desert: The Coming Saudi Oil Shock and the World Economy</u> by Matthew R. Simmons<br />*<u>Powerdown: Options and Actions for a Post-Carbon World</u> and<br />*<u>The Party's Over: Oil, War and the Fate of Industrial Societies </u>by Richard Heinberg<br />*<u>Crossing the Rubicon: The Decline of the American Empire at the End of the Age of Oil</u> by Michael C. Ruppert<br />*<u>The Self-sufficient Life and How to Live It</u> by John Seymour<br />*<u>The Collapsing Bubble: Growth And Fossil Energy</u> by Lindsey Grant<br />*<u>The Empty Tank : Oil, Gas, Hot Air, and the Coming Global Financial Catastrophe </u>by Jeremy Leggett<br />*<u>From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank: The Complete Guide to Using Vegetable Oil as an Alternative Fuel</u> by Joshua Tickell<br />*<u>High Noon for Natural Gas: The New Energy Crisis</u> by Julian Darley<br /><br />Any of the books mentioned above may be found at your local independent bookstore or by searching by title and/or author at <a target="blank" href="http://www.bookfinder.com/">Bookfinder</a> or <a target="blank" href="http://used.addall.com/">AddAll</a>.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-114691074321492826?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1146881813740991972006-05-05T19:11:00.000-07:002006-05-06T07:15:53.150-07:00<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">This </span><a target="_blank" href="http://www.mexonline.com/cinco.htm"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Cinco de Mayo</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> is a big day of celebration with fiestas, Mariachis and good food- but that is in the USA where we take every "holiday" and turn it into food and drink. Not only is today the anniversary of the battle won against the French in Puebla, but </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.abebooks.com/home/WAHRENBR/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Wahrenbrock's</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> reopened today! Their stock is down some, but they hope to be back to overfull shelves very soon. Beloved bookstore </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20060426-9999-2m26books.html"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">recovers</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> from blaze I only wish I could stop by and shop a while this weekend. Another time. sigh... Just as well since it would cost me a fortune....</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-114688181374099197?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1146692242150857872006-05-03T14:29:00.000-07:002006-05-03T15:01:09.836-07:00<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">It appears Kaavya Viswanathan's first book, "Opal Mehta" is history. Little, Brown announced no rewrite will be forthcoming and the 2 book deal has been cancelled. Two more authors' books have been cited as sources of "similarities." </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">No one knows what actions, if any, Harvard itself may take against Viswanathan in this matter. For a detailed chronicle of this train wreck, read David Zhou's articles at <a target="blank" href="http://www.thecrimson.com/writer.aspx?id=256218">The Harvard Crimson</a>. <br /><br />Bloated prices of used copies of "Opal Mehta" can be seen at every online venue, but according to the </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.thebookstandard.com/bookstandard/index.jsp"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">The Book Standard</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">, Amazon has the grossest. Free enterprise reigns.<br /><br />Stick a fork in this topic- as far as I'm concerned, it is done. </span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-114669224215085787?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1146622471391048492006-05-02T19:13:00.000-07:002006-05-03T13:27:57.193-07:00<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">As a very busy person and book lover, one of the activities I do not have enough time for is reading. I grew up a reader and was read to as a child by my parents. My older brother, eight years my senior, took over when he began high school and read aloud his American and European literature and Greek mythology assignments. My reading appetite was so voracious that by first grade I had already read all the books in my age range and through the third grade level, at which point the librarian would not let me select books above the 3rd grade level. My Mother and older brother became my accomplices. Either I would choose the books and my elders checked out the books for me, or they would bring home subjects in my areas of interest.<br /><br />I still love to read, but with less and less time I've had to become creative. One alternative is audiobooks: cassettes, CDs or MP3s. While doing mundane chores, the stereo or computer is reading to me. Not nearly as satisfying as holding the book, but audiobooks suffice. A bit of time searching online produces quite a selection of public domain literature available on the web. All titles not in the public domain can be purchased, of course.<br /><br />For starters here is "The Yellow Wallpaper," a creepy short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman from Miette's <a target="blank" href="http://www.enivrez.com/bedtime/archives/2006/04/the_yellow_wall.html">Bedtime</a> Story site.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">C</span><a target="blank" href="http://kayray.org/audiobooks/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">hild</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">ren's</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">classics read a chapter at a time:<br /><u>The Road to Oz</u> by L. Frank Baum<br /><u>A Little Princess</u> by Frances Hodgson Burnett<br /><u>The Secret Garden</u> also by Frances Hodgson Burnett<br /><u>Heidi</u> by Johanna Spyri currently being read<br /><br />All </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.pinkgeekaudio.net/weblog3/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Sherlock Holmes </span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">also read by chapter<br /><br />The </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.free-books.org/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">kitchen sink </span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">with something for absolutely anyone!<br /><br />If you are lucky enough to have the time to read the books you are able hear above, they can be found for sale at your local independent bookstore or by searching by title and/or author at </span><a target="_blank" href="http://www.bookfinder.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Bookfinder</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> or </span><a target="_blank" href="http://used.addall.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">ADDALL</span></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-114662247139104849?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1146611161264225662006-05-02T15:48:00.000-07:002006-05-18T11:22:04.623-07:00<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Gives a bit of a different perspective to the Moslems protesting the cartoon...<br /><br />...the Christian </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/May2006/02/c9930.html"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Response</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> to The Da Vinci Code Movie...<br /><br />Vatican Calls for </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.moviesonline.ca/movienews_8531.html"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Boycott</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> of DaVinci Code Movie<br /><br />DaVinci Code book, film pure </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060427/NEWS04/604270307"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">blasphemy</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><br /><br />The </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.danbrown.com/novels/davinci_code/faqs.html"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">FAQs</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> according to Dan Brown<br /><br />The Follow-Up to <u>The DaVinci Code</u> </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.playfuls.com/news_000760_THe_Follow_Up_to_The_DaVinci_Code_Delayed_Until_2007.html"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Delayed</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> Until 2007<br /><br />The almost here </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/thedavincicode/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">movie</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><br /><br />Now, for something completely different... another controversial book..."Opal Mehta" hitting the big screen- </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.filmstew.com/Content/Article.asp?ContentID=13960&amp;Pg=1"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">NOT</span></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-114661116126422566?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1146502159944426552006-05-01T09:30:00.000-07:002006-05-02T15:34:34.176-07:00<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">First, let me welcome all the </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.langa.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">LangaList</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> readers! Your numbers are amazing, and so many before I even woke up. It is a shame I do not have something of interest for the majority of you! </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Second, <em>thank you, Fred Langa </em>for your wonderful no-spam, no-nag newsletter. My pc's operating system is WinMe. Anyone who reads Fred's newsletter knows what problems WinMe has, namely big resource allocation problems. I cannot begin to tell you the hassles my SO gave me because he thought I was doing something to <em>his</em> beloved puter. Nothing I would say or do would allay the SO's misconception that it was me causing the puter problems. What a headache! I was so relieved when I read Fred Langa's newsletter and could prove that I was not the one to blame. Since then, I learned how to best use the operating system and how to choose software that is not only small in size but resource friendly. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">My SO intends to wait for Vista rather than upgrade to XP Pro. I think we will have a long wait. If you like Fred, check out Clif's Freeware- also no spam and the freeware is no-nag, no malware, and almost all personally reviewed by Clif or others (link in sidebar above Fred). A recent newsletter mentioned a beta, open source XP-like operating system. I think I'll check that out when it is out of beta!<br /><br />Now back to books...<br /><br />Canadian author </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.canada.com/topics/entertainment/story.html?id=a0860728-f994-4432-ba35-36cbf9adb814&k=78827"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Jack Hodgins </span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">wins B.C. Book Prize for extensive body of novels, short stories Hodgins </span><a target="blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Hodgins#Bibliography"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Bibliography</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><br /><br />Children's book author, Thatcher Hurd, got </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/books/article/0,2850,MCA_484_4657853,00.html"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">artistic chops </span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">from mom, pop Of course, his dad was the illustrator for the classic <u>Goodnight Moon</u>.<br /><br />For baseball fans, a book about the great </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06120/685691-148.stm"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Roberto Clemente </span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">-<br /><u>Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball's Last Hero</u> by David Maraniss<br /><br />2006 </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.mysterywriters.org/pages/awards/winners06.htm"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Edgar® Winners </span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">(and the nominees)<br /><br />In case you weren't already aware, Snoop Dogg Gets Lit: </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.thebookstandard.com/bookstandard/news/author/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002383558"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">First Novel</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> Arrives This Fall. Maybe his book tour and signings will be very <a target="blank" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4949430.stm">lively</a>. I wonder if anyone is cringing already over at Simon and Schuster? Maybe not, since <a target="blank" href="http://radio.about.com/library/weekly/aa082002a.htm">Viacom</a> owns S&amp;S and has rehired two jerks, after <a target="blank" href="http://radio.about.com/library/weekly/aa082402a.htm">firing</a> them for their <a target= "blank" href="http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/opieanthony1.html">crassness</a>.<br /><br />Any books mentioned above can be found at your local independent bookstore or by searching at </span></span></span></span><a target="_blank" href="http://www.bookfinder.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Bookfinder </span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">or </span><a target="_blank" href="http://used.addall.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">ADDALL</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">.</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-114650215994442655?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1146454942658868162006-04-30T20:41:00.000-07:002006-05-01T11:17:19.860-07:00<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Neil Young's new album, <a target="blank" href="http://www.hyfntrak.com/neilyoung2/AFF23617/">Living with War</a>, is available entirely on line. It will be available for sale in stores beginning May 9, 2006. You can finf more information about Neil and his new album, a protest on the Iraq war, at </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.myspace.com/neilyoung"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">MySpace</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">, at this </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.livingwithwar.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">blog</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> where all the recent press is posted, and at his own </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.neilyoung.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">website</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">.<br /><br />Once I figure out some java script, this post and the link will be updated. I'm a bookseller, not a programmer, dammit!</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-114645494265886816?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1146415600652281532006-04-30T09:42:00.000-07:002006-05-10T09:39:49.213-07:00<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">As I went to sleep at 2 a.m. PT, listening to the radio, (CoasttoCoastAM - link in sidebar) the news reported that </span><a target="blank" href="http://johnkennethgalbraith.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">John Kenneth Galbraith </span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">passed away. Amazingly, I found not one word of this on MSN as I logged onto my "homepage" a bit after 9 a.m. PT. (Yes, I spelled his name correctly.) yet I read Keith Richards fell out of a palm tree (?????) in Fiji and is in the hospital. As a longtime Stones fan I am mildly interested, but a great mind is gone and there is no mention- not even in MSN's "Popular Searches." I proceeded to a Google search (web) and saw no mention. Clicking on "News" finally brings up 4 unique links that mention his death. FOUR! Not one of the four- before the link to the other 315 sites- is based in the US: BBC News, RTE (Ireland), Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, and freakin' Aljazeera.net!!! Little, Brown's recent shame (Kaavya Viswanathan for those of you with your heads in the ground) was everywhere in the media and she is no one special. What gives? Is America that dumbed down? Apparently it is.<br /><br />OOOOH. OOOOH, OOOOH- A page refresh informs me Don Johnson and his wife had a baby boy. Didn't know "they" were pregnant and don't care. I imagine if the digustingly named "Brangelina" had dropped their swaddling bundle the earth would have stood still. We are in a very sorry state of affairs.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Regardless of one's political views, Galbraith was an intellectual, a thinker. Some of his thoughts can be found in "Conversations with History (Institute of International Studies, UC Berkeley): Intellectual Journey: Challenging the Conventional Wisdom: </span><a target="blank" href="http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu/conversations/Galbraith/galbraith1.html"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Conversation with John Kenneth Galbraith</span></a>,"<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> from March 27, 1986, an interview with Galbraith covering a broad spectrum- including writing.<br /><br />A </span><a target="blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Kenneth_Galbraith#Bibliography"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">bibliography</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> of Galbraith's 48 books can be found here . If you wish to buy any of his well-written, completely original and thoroughly researched books (a very unique concept in this day and age), they can be found for sale at your local independent bookstore or by searching by title and/or author at </span></span></span></span><a target="_blank" href="http://www.bookfinder.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Bookfinder</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> or </span><a target="_blank" href="http://used.addall.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">ADDALL</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span></u><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-114641560065228153?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1146238822551284582006-04-28T08:03:00.000-07:002006-05-18T09:14:39.706-07:00<a title="Photo Sharing" target="blank" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fraubucher/136441968/"><img height="100" alt="grim reaper" src="http://static.flickr.com/50/136441968_7d5c27b2bb_t.jpg" width="67" align="left" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Wednesday, Michael Pietsch, the senior VP and publisher of <a target="blank" href="http://www.newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/arts/columns/culturebusiness/4378/">Little, Brown </a>told the <a target="blank" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/24/books/24cnd-book.html?ex=1303531200&en=9d3492b0658dff25&amp;ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&amp;emc=rss">NY Times </a>that Viswanathan's book would not be removed from store shelves. The word was the book's content would change only in the next printing. I suppose that much time (and more) was needed for the rewrite. Besides, I'm sure all the publicity was great for sales. Why weren't the "similarities" caught prior to publishing? <a target="blank" href="http://www.kirkusreviews.com/kirkusreviews/headlines/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001993434">Kirkus Reviews </a>in March even stated the book's content was not very original but they got the source wrong: "...often seems plucked from a teen movie..."<br /><br />Late Thursday, word came down that the </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=513153"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Publisher Pulls ‘Opal Mehta’</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> from the shelves. Why wasn't this decision made earlier? Did the growing public furor force the publisher to <em>finally</em> act on this matter? Didn't Pietsch or others at Little, Brown think the matter </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12477624/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">serious</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> enough? Was it Kaavya Viswanathan's charming nervous smile or almost teary eyes as she explained her internalization to the publisher and the world, or the increasing public embarrassment as the topic only grew in the book world?<br /><br />The publishing industry, once held in high esteem, becomes more of a joke as the Freys, Viswanathans and overblown, under-talented, literati wannabe, celebrity books are published. Can anyone say sellout? As in news and jounalism, doesn't anyone check their sources? Or am I too rigid and moralistic? We are only human, but people- do your jobs!<br /><br />Maybe we are missing the big picture here. Maybe this "Opal Mehta' chick-lit crap was really Viswanathan's precursor to her second book of the deal: "How Opal Mehta Got Missed, Kaavya Viswanathan Got Dissed, Got Smart and Got Another Publishing Deal." Will Viswanathan return to <a target="blank" href="http://www.harvard.edu/siteguide/faqs/faq110.html">Harvard</a>, or will her several day <a target="blank" href="http://in.rediff.com/news/2006/apr/27ajp.htm">"break" </a>be permanent? And how soon will Harvard Law school use this author and her book as an exercise?</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-114623882255128458?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1146179903560813992006-04-27T16:11:00.000-07:002006-04-30T16:24:47.283-07:00<a target= "blank" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fraubucher/136125499/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/49/136125499_e2d2d43b91_t.jpg" align= "left" width="100" height="100" alt="Asian food" /></a> <span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">for the foodies... <u>Fast Food Fix: 75+ Amazing Recipe Makeovers of Your Fast Food Restaurant Favorites</u> by Devin Alexander is excerpted on </span><a target="_blank" href="http://www.abcnews.go.com/GMA/Books/story?id=1892787&page=1"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">abcnews</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> online. I notice the section quoted uses a detailed part about ingredients and utensils- not one with a recipe. I guess that is to scare off all the wannabe cooks who shop at their local supermarket where everything can be purchased pre-made or pre-prepared for that "home Cooked" meal. Today's stores are all about convenience, which is why I am pleasantly surprised when I see so much interest in "scratch" </span><a target="_blank" href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&amp;q=cooking+websites&amp;btnG=Google+Search"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">cooking sites</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">.<br /><br />Alexander's book can be found at your local independent bookstore or by searching by title and/or author at </span></span></span></span><a target="_blank" href="http://www.bookfinder.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Bookfinder</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> or </span><a target="_blank" href="http://used.addall.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">ADDALL</span></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-114617990356081399?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1146161326467067062006-04-27T09:45:00.000-07:002006-04-27T18:51:26.106-07:00<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fraubucher/136169415/" title="Photo Sharing"target="_blank"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/54/136169415_03c4abf828_o.gif" align="right" width="96" height="96" alt="counter" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">I am just so very busy. Yes, I know absolutely no one else is occupied at all, except for me. Uh huh. Sure. So imagine my complete surprise when I finally checked my </span><a target="_blank" href="http://www.sitemeter.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Site Meter</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> counter to see a spike in my hits very early in April. To be sure, many hits come from people clicking on the "Next Blog" button here on Blogger and many visitors come from from </span><a target="_blank" href="http://www.google.com"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Google</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> or </span><a target="_blank" href="http://www.technorati.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Technorati</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> searches. I'm not "up" much on the other so-called social sites like </span><a target="_blank" href="http://digg.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Digg</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">, </span><a target="_blank" href="http://www.furl.net/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Furl</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">, </span><a target="_blank" href="http://del.icio.us/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">del.icio.us </span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">, etc,. though I am not completely clueless. (For the most part, the social sites don't serve what I do.) Yet, one more site was sending unsuspecting readers to my blog, Anirvan Chatterjee's </span><a target="_blank" href="http://journal.bookfinder.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Bookfinder Journal</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">. It is a good thing I had one decent post for him to use, but I was almost considering deleting this whole endeavour around the same time Anirvan was directing folks here. I am not egotistical enough to believe I write anything of interest or importance to anyone else. This is my personal exercising of demons. If anyone comes along for the ride- welcome! Lack of free, creative time makes it difficult to write compelling content and that's assuming I am capable in the first place.<br /><br />My blog is too new, not full of basic, helpful information for booksellers (because I think "booksellers" should need very little, basic help in general or maybe they are in the wrong business) and much of what is contained here can be found elsewhere. However, some people are repeat offenders and I noticed Europeans, as a rule, are Googling my blog title. Thank you for your interest. Eventually I will add informative links or content but as a way of storing <em>my </em>stuff. Please feel free to avail yourselves to my resources, though.<br /><br />The serendipity part comes into play because I saw a Google search for "free fm gone in san diego." I clicked on that and found </span><a target="_blank" href="http://www.pirate969.org/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&amp;pid=11"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">this</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> Free Radio San Diego. As I clicked to listen (I've always been a rebel- or a pain in the rear minimum- and, it is great music) I had to turn down my stereo that was tuned to </span><a target="_blank" href="http://www.sirius.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Sirius/CachedPage&c=Page&amp;cid=1018209032790"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Sirius</span></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> satellite's Howard 101 for the </span><a target="_blank" href="http://www.sirius.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Sirius/Page&c=FlexContent&amp;cid=1130574541451"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Stern show </span></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">replay to hear the streaming pirate station. My phone rang; it was a survey about my radio listening habits ... serendipity. I don't think my answers would have been helpful since I only listen to non-terrestrial radio, namely Sirius satellite, whether at home or in my vehicle. I can't listen to regular radio anymore! The commercials and lack of real free speech are too painful.<br /><br />The fact is, I shouldn't be receiving any junk calls since our number has been on the </span><a target="_blank" href="https://www.donotcall.gov/default.aspx"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">National Do Not Call List</span></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> since before its activation- and I recently made sure to re-add or renew our number on the list just in case- although registration is for 5 years. (Incidentally, I just reported a loan company called "First American" to the FTC for a </span><a target="_blank" href="https://www.donotcall.gov/Complain/ComplainCheck.aspx"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">violation</span></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> this week.) You will not find me shopping, walking, driving, eating in a fine or casual establishment, etc., while talking on a cell phone. I DON'T OWN ONE!!!! Don't want one. I do not need to be in contact with someone 24 hours a day. I like my own company more than anyone else's, except for my animal companions. I barely answer the hard/land line for people I love.<br /><br />For readers who have suffered this far, if you haven't had your fill of the saga of Kaavya Viswanathan and "Opal Mehta," </span><a target="_blank" href="http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=512948"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">The Harvard Crimson </span></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">- with the hometown court advantage-lists the "similarities" between McCafferty's books and "Opal Mehta." The NY Times has an </span><a target="_blank" href="www.nytimes.com/2006/04/27/books/27pack.html?_r=1&amp;oref=slogin"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">article</span></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> speculating on the involvement of </span><a href="http://www.alloymarketing.com/entertainment/index.html"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Alloy Entertainment </span></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:0;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">in the publishing industry in general, and mentioning Viswanathan's book in particular. (btw, what high school kid's school counselor has an agent in the pocket as in KV's, case especially a friggin' William Morris agent? My, how times have changed!)</span> </span></span></span><span style="font-size:78%;color:#000000;">American Idol Smithy Code Jane Jacobs Sketchup Stuck With Bush Singapore Election Duke Lacrosse Net Neutrality Video Singapore Myspace South Park Tony Snow Apple </span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-114616132646706706?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18408949.post-1146067875313098872006-04-26T08:45:00.000-07:002006-05-01T10:16:12.776-07:00<a target= "blank" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fraubucher/135421247/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/54/135421247_ab7b2cf8b3_t.jpg" width="99" height="100" alt="chernobyl power plant" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Image courtesy of the </span><a target="_blank" href="http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/sseop/images/EO/highres/NM23/NM23-745-116_2.JPG"><span style="font-size:85%;">Image</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"> Science &amp; Analysis Laboratory, NASA Johnson </span><a target="_blank" href="http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/info/use.htm"><span style="font-size:85%;">Space</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Center</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">On April 26, 1986, the world's worst nuclear power plant </span></span><a target="_blank" href="http://www.chernobyl.co.uk/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">accident </span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">occurred at </span><a target="_blank" href="http://www.chernobyl.info/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Chernobyl</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> in the </span><a target="_blank" href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=16526"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Ukraine</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">. While the event and place are no longer daily in the news, the devastation will continue for many years to come worldwide, but particularly in the immediate region.<br /><br />The History Channel's </span><a target="_blank" href="http://www.historychannel.com/tdih/tdih.jsp?category=leadstory"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">THIS DAY IN HISTORY</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> where you can pick your anniversary event by topic or view "This Day in History" in broadband-quality </span><a target="_blank" href="http://www.historychannel.com/broadband/home/index.jsp"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">video </span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">clips. The videos can be chosen according to your interests: by show, great speeches, science/technology, culture, US or world history, military, war, historical figures, economy, general interest, literary topics and the entertainment industry.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;">A new alternative energy for small electronics was recently in the news: </span></span><a target="_blank" href="http://www.newscientisttech.com/article/dn9040-bio-fuel-cells-could-power-portable-gadgets.html"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Bio fuel cells could power portable gadgets<br /></span></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">For those who care- a Chernobyl and power related reading list:<br /><u>Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster</u> by Svetlana Alexievich<br /><u>Wormwood Forest: A Natural History of Chernobyl</u> by Mary Mycio<br /><u>Chernobyl: Catastrophe and Consequences</u> by Jim Smith and Nicholas A. Beresford<br /><u>Management of Uncertainty: Learning from Chernobyl</u> by Angela Liberatore<br /><u>Chernobyl Record: The Definitive History of the Chernobyl Catastrophe</u> by R.F Mould<br /><u>Powering Our Future: An Energy Sourcebook for Sustainable Living</u> by the Alternative Energy Institute<br /><u>Alternative Energy: Facts, Statistics, and Issues</u> by Paula Berinstein<br /><u>Tomorrow's Energy: Hydrogen, Fuel Cells, and the Prospects for a Cleaner Planet</u> by Peter Hoffmann<br /><u>Alternative Energy Resources: The Quest for Sustainable Energy</u> by Paul Kruger<br /><br />The books mentioned above can be found at your local independent bookstore or by searching at </span></span><a target="_blank" href="http://www.bookfinder.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Bookfinder </span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">or </span><a target="_blank" href="http://used.addall.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">ADDALL</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">.</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/18408949-114606787531309887?l=fraubucher.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>FrauBucherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09595018913738483781noreply@blogger.com0