“The Hill We Climb” out today

During the inauguration of President Joe Biden Amanda Gorman just about stunned all of us with her inaugural poem. It was the first time (myself included) many had heard her name. As announced shortly after her reading, her inaugural poem is now available in book form today. Talking to someone last night I realized I don’t read poetry. But there’s no specific reason why I don’t. Amanda may just change that when a collection of her poems released later this year.

Do you have a favorite poet or poetry collection?

Dr. Fauci to be featured in children’s book!

It was announced last week that real life superhero Dr. Fauci will be featured in a forthcoming children’s book to be released this summer, and I’m here for it!

What are your thoughts?

Barnes and Noble is releasing a new Nook device! Does it matter?

Last week it was announced just about everywhere that BN would be releasing a new Nook device in collaboration with Lenovo. Main question: does it make any difference right now? Tell me what you think.

Amazon can sell whatever it chooses to

Last week there was a bit of “uproar” over Amazon’s decision to no longer sell certain books on its platform. Several US Senators had sent a letter requesting additional information regarding this decision. Amazon’s lengthy response stated rather clearly that the company would no longer sell books that label LGBTQ identity as mental illness.

Personally speaking, this is another great move within the book industry. Knowing books like that are being written reminds me of where we were as a society a hundred years ago when seemingly every ailment or condition was treated as a mental illness.

But that’s also not the point. The point is Amazon is a retailer. Retailers decide what they will or won’t sell on their platform. Every retailer makes this decision. So it should come as no surprise that Amazon made a decision about products listed on its site, though many would have you believe this is akin to censorship. If I own a bookstore down the street and decide to only sell romance novels or audiobooks or erotica, that’s my choice. Just like it’s Amazon’s choice here.

Dr. Seuss did what kind of sales numbers last week?

Last week it was announced almost out of nowhere that several books published by the prolific author would no longer be published because of racist stereotypes. I remember reading an article the following day that showed his books taking half the top 50 slots on Amazon’s charts. That’s insane.

Now I’ve just read an article that says his book sales quadrupled last week. I mean, what? It seems many people think there’s a possibility that this may happen to some other titles, so they’re buying and buying and buying his books before it happens. People can spend their money however they’d like, but this comes across as a bit tone deaf. Rather than acknowledging that he likely has other titles that may be problematic, it seems everyone is just buying the books as quickly as they can.

Call me Unimpressed

EL James is best known for her Fifty Shades trilogy. It ended several years ago. More recently, she has published (and will be soon) the same stories from Christian Grey’s perspective.

We all know about the nature of capitalizing on successful franchises is to keep them going or relevant as long as possible to keep the dollars coming in. But this just comes across as lazy and lacks creativity. Maybe I’m in the minority here. Her name is more than enough to make an instant bestseller, so why not write something completely new?

Do we need more Harry Potter content?

I love most things Potter. But I swear it is almost a daily occurrence recently to wake up and read about a remake or a spin-off or SOMETHING. Do we need any of it? What do you think? My thoughts:

What’s happening with Dr. Seuss?

This morning when I opened Twitter I read multiple articles from different sources about Dr. Seuss. What’s being reported is that several of his works will no longer be published because “they portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong”.

One might think this is just cancel culture at its best, but this is coming directly from the company responsible for his catalog of work. This isn’t the internet or the media. The decision is a good one, but one must wonder why Dr. Seuss is so revered at all when you look at his work prior to becoming the household name we all know. Spoiler alert: it isn’t pretty.

This is a decision that should be applauded, but of course that won’t happen from everyone. What do you think?

Debut novel sells for how much?

First, it’s always great for a debut author to be given the chance to publish their work. It’s not a chance many are given.

Last week it was reported by multiple outlets that TJ Newman had agreed to a publishing deal for her debut novel and an additional book. It isn’t often that this would be newsworthy. But the difference here is it was a 7 figure book deal. Before a single reader has read a page (the first book is forthcoming) a bidding war began for the right to adapt the debut novel. Not one copy has been sold. Not one review written. But an unproven author gets this kind of money and media treatment. My curiosity took over. I looked her up on Twitter. Less than a thousand followers, so no one can say she has a large following expected to increase sales.

When reading about the author it made me wonder if any of this happens for the same person who is Black or Hispanic. I think we know the answer. Publishing has been one of the slowest institutions to improve diversity among its ranks. It’s great that this author will experience the joy of her books being published. The idea of an unknown and unproven author getting this type of publishing deal just doesn’t make much sense. But what do I know?

Should There be Disclaimers on Books?

I read an article this morning that the right wing government of Hungary has ordered books with LGBT characters/themes to have disclaimers on them so that “consumers aren’t misled” about books that don’t depict traditional gender roles. The books in question are fairy tales written to encourage respecting everyone with different backgrounds.

As someone born in 1991 I’ve never once understood the animosity so many people seem to have toward groups of people different from them. I understand that my worldview isn’t going to be shared by everyone. I also understand that different areas of the world progress at different speeds. But just reading this made me think of some of the actions of Nazi Germany regarding books. Books were banned that didn’t fit their narrative. Books were burned and destroyed. That doesn’t appear to be happening now, but what’s the actual point of these disclaimers? If a consumer decides to buy a product (such as a book) they have every opportunity to decide if it matches their values. If if doesn’t, then they won’t buy it. There is no misleading going on.

I don’t see this as anything more than a shameful attempt to alienate a group of people who have done nothing wrong but try to live honestly.