The Death of the Hardback

July 20, 2010 in Books, Libraries and Librarianship, Public Radio by librarylea | No comments

This morning on NPR, Wendy Kaufman reported that Amazon.com now sells more e-books than hardbacks. While this is an interesting statistic, I don’t think it’s quite the portent of doom that the story made it out to be.  I noticed that Ms. Kaufman kept making the distinction that e-books were outselling hardbacks, not the total number of print books or even paperbacks.  A few minutes into the story, and after an interview with an iSchool professor from U of Washington (woo librarians!) Ms. Kaufman said that paperbacks are still the best selling book format on Amazon.com.  The company won’t release numbers of book sales or of Kindle units.  However, paperbacks are #1, e-books #2, hardbacks #3.  So p>e, e>h, and p+h>a lot more than e.  Isn’t fake math fun? 😉

This seems to be more about the death of the hardback than the death of the print book.  I think the real point here is one that can be easily inferred, but I think it should have been a part of the article.  If books don’t come out in hardback – will they ever come out in paperback?  To me, hardbacks are for people that need the book NOW.  My Harry Potter books are hardbacks – and pre-orders, because I NEEDED them the day they came out.  So, if a lot of die hards move to Kindle then they will get their insta-books digitally – so no more hardbacks (except for collectors and lovable luddites – or purists depending on your point of view).  Anyway – if books don’t come out in hardback will they come out in paperback?  Will titles that would traditionally be hardback be released in paperback right away?  Are we just losing that format or are we losing all print?

I actually don’t have a big emotional stake in the argument.  I love audiobooks (which I get digitally and instantly), I like print, and I like paperbacks, but I’m considering getting a kindle because books are heavy, there are some titles I’d rather read than listen to, and audiobooks can be very pricey.  As someone who works in libraries it might seem that I should take a stance, but we’ll adapt.  Whatever format information takes, I will be here to organize and provide access to it.

Kaufman, W. (2010) At Amazon, e-book sales outpace hardbacks. NPR Morning Edition, 20 July 2010.  Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128635547

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The rain on my car is a baptism

July 19, 2010 in Lists, Music by librarylea | No comments

I’ve had this post as a draft for months, but seem to have mostly encountered rain when I was out of town and not blogging. It’s supposed to rain today (well, it was supposed to rain yesterday too) – but I’d really like it to rain today. So this is a Cure-esque prayer for rain as much as anything.

I’m a big fan of the theme playlist. I have dozens of them. When I drove the 22 hours from my old home to my current one I mentally compiled theme playlists during one entire day of driving. I had notions of auditioning at my local college radio station only to get to my new town and find out that the most popular/iconic DJ’s signature is theme playlist shows – there goes my chance at radio greatness. So I just amuse myself with them.

My Rainy-Day Playlist (ultra-literal)

  • The Beauty of the Rain – Dar Williams
  • Singing in the Rain – Gene Kelly
  • Don’t Rain on My Parade – Barbra Streisand
  • It’s Alright – Indigo Girls
  • Rainin’ in My Heart – Willie Nelson
  • Purple Rain – Prince
  • Raindrops + Sunshowers – The Smashing Pumpkins
  • Have You Ever Seen the Rain – Creedence Clearwater Revival
  • Prayers for Rain – The Cure
  • Rain King – Counting Crows
  • The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly) – Missy Elliott
  • No Rain – Blind Melon
  • As the Rain – Jeb Loy Nichols
  • Raining in Baltimore – Counting Crows
  • Monday’s Rain – The Clientele
  • Lover, You Should Have Come Over – Jeff Buckley
  • Rain Check – Ani Difranco
  • Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World – Israel Kamakawiwo’ole
  • I Wish it Would Rain – The Temptations
  • Here Comes the Rain Again – Eurythmics
  • Rainbow Connection – Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
  • Over the Rainbow – Willie Nelson
  • Raining in Darling – Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy
  • Rain City – Turin Brakes
  • When it Rains – Eli Young Band
  • Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain – Willie Nelson
  • Raining in Philly – J.B. Beverly and the Wayward Drifters
  • Over the Rainbow – Connie Haines
  • I Can See Clearly Now – Johnny Nash
  • Didn’t it Rain – Songs: Ohia
  • Who’ll Stop the Rain – Creedence Clearwater Revival
  • William, It Was Really Nothing – The Smiths
  • Plainsong – The Cure
  • Rainy Days and Mondays – The Carpenters
  • Bus Stop – The Hollies
  • Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head – B.J. Thomas
  • Mercy of the Fallen – Dar Williams

I know there are other rain songs, but these are the ones I own and ergo the ones on my playlist.  It’s a long list – Seattle long even though I live in the sunny south and as I look out my window the gray clouds are dissipating to reveal a bright blue sky.  I’m normally a sun girl, but not today.  To you it might sound strange; I wish it would rain.  (Oh how I wish that it would rain.)  If you haven’t heard that Temptations song, you really should.  It’s one of my favorites and on the cusp of perfect song-dom.

My assault on the world begins now.

<3 Ice (wo)Man, Power LL

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