Amazon Seeks Patent for Placing Ads in Books

While reading, I try to separate myself from the industrial/corporate world. I don't want to think about work, my groceries, the things I need to buy but can't afford. But that might end soon, as Amazon seeks to patent placing ads in books. (Now glad I didn't blow my wad on a Kindle).

In a column for CrunchGear, Devin Coldewey speculates that they will probably limit this to reduced-price books to keep Kindle newbies from feeling betrayed.

But, they have left a loophole for themselves with the potential to extend this to print editions of the content. Not sure exactly how that would work now since Kindle downloads aren't printable (so far as I know).

Aside from just being très gauche, this could also cause problems for holdouts (i.e. independent publishers, small presses) down the line.

Ads in books? Also read this column by Michael Klurfeld in TechGeist - if it's annoying but you get books for free, is it worth it? And how will Amazon negotiate this with publishers who offer Kindle-friendly e-books?

Salinger Wins

The judge awarded J.D. Salinger the win. Production of 60 Years Later will not happen in the U.S. because the judge didn't buy author Fredrik Colting's lawyers' arguments for fair use, calling the book a parody.

Click here to read the full article in Publishers Weekly.

Does this mean some characters are copyrighted? And to what extent? Do they have to be American literary icons, or can they be just bestseller beach read bums? I don't really know what to think about this. On the one hand, it seems right that authors should have some control over their own creations. On the other, it seems that this ruling might become much more extensive in the precedence it sets than intended.

What do you guys think?

Hemingway's Grandson Publishes Revised Edition of A Moveable Feast

Sean Hemingway, Ernest's grandson from his second wife's line, is reissuing A Moveable Feast, which Ernest's fourth wife allowed to be reissued posthumously. This edition should include much more (and potentially be more favorable than the last publication toward his earlier wives).

Click here to read the full article in The Guardian.

Sherman Alexie Haunts My Dreams

It's not normal for someone to wake up only remembering that in her dream, Sherman Alexie was judging her. I've never seen him except for the portraits that are on the backs of books, but I knew it was him.

The reason? I don't remember. But I know whatever Freudian desire masked what is was stood for The Kindle, which he called elitist nearly a month ago. He later explained that this was because children of poverty are the last to benefit from technology, and this would leave them behind.

But, as much as I want to be an awesome person, I wanted one. And apparently, booksellers are anticipating everyone else will, too.

Simon and Schuster signed a deal with ScribD, China Daily reported the money Chinese technological manufacturers lost with cell phones in 2009 was hoped to be made up for with knock-off Kindles, and booksellers worry that their "expensive" paperbacks will be returned for $1.99 replacements in the e-world.

And Kindle Deluxe was released, and the world continued to spin. Certainly, it will not be the downfall of the publishing industry as the internet was/is for the newspaper industry.

Sitting and typing now, after taking a breather for a bit, I realize, I do not really want a $400 Kindle. This is not only because I am a poor college student who really needs to purchase a business wardrobe and pay off loans before buying myself anything shiny; it is also because there is something about being with a book and not connected with everyone you know through the InterWebz or the newest pop-tech device. There is something about seceding from this fast-paced place and reading a book. I don't plan on reading a Kindle to my little cousins, nor do I plan on reading Gone with the Wind on it (would tear drops ruin the screen?).

And I can definitely see the benefit - instead of lugging around a gigantic bag that weighs down my right shoulder, I could palm a sleek library. Maybe if I had more money and more than a semester of classes, I would invest for the potential textbook savings.

But as a lover of literature, I just can't bring myself to cheat. (Cue "My Heart Would Know" by Hank Williams). Although maybe that would change if they were giving them away or they were less four college loan minimum payments.

Thanks, Sherman.

Yet Another Reason to Love David Sedaris

David Sedaris, hilarious essayist/ author of Me Talk Pretty One Day and, most recently, When You Are Engulfed in Flames, is doing a "small town" book tour (being from Kentucky, 85-120K people doesn't qualify as a small town, but OK). He basically goes to cities that never see popular authors because they aren't New York, Boston or L.A. and then he stays up to 9.5 hours after a reading to sign books and talk with each reader/fan, according to the Publisher's Weekly article and my own personal experience.

As a senior in high school, I attended a reading of his with a friend, piggybacking on the unusual and unexpected good taste of said friend. Aside from being uproarious and one of the better writers of the past 15 years -- a memoirist who doesn't roll in his own self-pity (unless he wallows in it for your enjoyment) -- afterward, he also stayed for hours to sign each book of each patron. My friend brought four books, which was embarrassing and excessive, but Sedaris signed each one. He then complimented us for dressing up, deploring to the Kentucky Center for the Arts gods that he had to and why shouldn't everyone else?

Because of this long wait in line or our propensity to overdress or perhaps the fact that we were teenagers who read something other than Harry Potter in the 2000s, Sedaris then rummaged through his rucksack, saying he wished to give us a gift, but all he had was the soap and lotion he had stolen from a hotel. We took it.

So basically, even though Louisville isn't by any means a small town, I was glad to have had my second authorial experience (the first was with the renownd singer-songwriter Raffi) with a man so appreciative to meet readers.

And this is why I plan to be one of the people lined all the way to Mid-City Mall down Bardstown Road when he comes to Carmichael's on Sunday (Father's Day). Maybe I'm a bad kid, but at least I read?

For Sedaris' tour dates, click here.

Trust-bustin' Google Books

The U.S. Justice Department has made formal requests for information from some of the big whigs involved in the case against Google Books, which groups such as the Authors Guild have accused of being a trust and violating copyright laws.

Google Books is trying to settle for sharing its earnings with the authors and publishers for using the out of print books.

Click on the headline to view the entire NYTimes article.