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Poll Wednesday: Comics and Movies

Posted by admin on 11.19.2008 at 12:29 pm

In honor of the upcoming movie release of the (awesome) graphic novel: Watchmen, our poll today is, can the movie ever stand up to the comic?

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Some quotes from a story about Watchmen writer Alan Moore to help you think about it: “Moore said he has never watched any of the film adaptations of his comics creations (which have included “V for Vendetta,” “From Hell,” “Constantine” and “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen“) and that he believes “Watchmen” is “inherently unfilmable.” He also rues the effect of Hollywood’s siren call on the contemporary comics scene.

“There are three or four companies now that exist for the sole purpose of creating not comics, but storyboards for films. It may be true that the only reason the comic book industry now exists is for this purpose, to create characters for movies, board games and other types of merchandise. Comics are just a sort of pumpkin patch growing franchises that might be profitable for the ailing movie industry.”

Granted, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” was a positively awful film, but V for Vendetta was pretty sweet, and I have a soft spot for the original Spiderman as well. So, can it work?

Have your say » | Tagged Poll Wednesday, comics, movies

Antiquarian Ramblings: The Obsession

Posted by Rudy on 11.19.2008 at 12:03 pm

This is how it all starts. The obsession.

Someone e-mails customer service. It’s an ARC book, featuring a Picasso lithograph. The email is forwarded to me, as I respond to ARC emails. Because I’m nosy, I look up the person making the enquiry. He is an art dealer in Beverly Hills. This is a very expensive book. That means a phone call.

I’m an infant in the rare book world, still happily grabbing at my toes and making delighted gurgly sounds when I find something cool. When I call the dealer about the book, I expect to learn more about the book than I will be able to tell him. I answered his questions; he suffered through my painful French as I read through the publishing information. I sent him a photograph. He bought the book. He also took the time to teach me why this book was important, what to look for in this kind of art book, and what resources would be helpful for the future.

So. . .
Being an infant, I’m insatiably curious. Read more…

2 Comments » | Tagged Antiquarian Ramblings, ARC, lithograph, tara gilchrist, translation

Better World Books Stance on Google Books Settlement

Posted by Jack on 11.18.2008 at 12:00 pm

The long awaited settlement for the Author’s Guild, AAP and Google is official. Under the settlement, “Google will have the right to make browsable copies of the books it has scanned through its Library Project as well as books scanned in through its regular Book Search program.”

From Publisher’s Weekly:

As part of the $125 million settlement, Google will pay $45 million to settle the class action lawsuit brought by the Authors Guild. Authors whose books have already been scanned will receive at least $60 per work. Another $34.5 million will go toward the creation of a Book Rights Registry that will be responsible for building a database of rightsholders information and for disbursing all money generated through the use of books in Google Products and Services. (The remaining $45.5 million will go to legal and attorney fees). Under the deal, Google will receive 37% of revenue and rightsholders 63%. Publishers and authors will have 120 days to opt out of the settlement once the agreement receives approval from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, something that is expected to take several months.

How does this affect us? Well, Read more…

1 Comment » | Tagged Book & Author News, google, our stance, publishing

The 2008 National Book Award

Posted by admin on 11.17.2008 at 1:49 pm

“The City Council of New York officially declares the week of November 17, 2008 ‘National Book Awards Week in the City of New York’”

If you happen to be in the city that never sleeps this week, you can catch some incredible events, including a dinner with the various winners from the National Book Foundation (the rest of us can see updates as they happen at the website linked above). The crown jewel of prizes, the National Book Award, will be announced on Wednesday, and tomorrow there is a (sold out, sorry) reading by the finalists. They are as follows:

1 Comment » | Tagged Book & Author News, aleksandar Hemon, annette gordon-reed, Drew Gilpin Faust, E Lockhart, Frank Bidart, Jane Mayer, Jim Sheeler, Joan Wickersham, Judy Blundell, Kathi Appelt, Laurie Halse Anderson, Marilynne Robinson, Mark Doty, national book award, national book foundation, Patricia Smith, Peter Matthiessen, podcast, Rachel Kushner, Reginald Gibbons, Richard Howard, Salvatore Scibona, Tim Tharp

Week in Review: November 10-14

Posted by admin on 11.17.2008 at 11:55 am

What you missed while you were preparing to live in Atlantis…

-A podcast with National Book Award Nominee Annette Gordon Reed
-The Great American Book Drive rocked Boston (or perhaps Boston rocked the GABD?)
-Better World Books + Eagle Scout = Library
-We ascertained what is Kurt Vonnegut’s best book
-Xavier gave you the inside info on the SF Green Business Conference
-We had a full page in GOOD Magazine
-We laughed aloud reading these ten books

Have your say » | Tagged Week In Review

Flabbergasted: Flu Season

Posted by Chip on 11.16.2008 at 7:24 pm

Welcome to the flu season Better World Bookers. I know what some of you are thinking: “I will not get the flu. I am going to get a flu shot.”

Then on the way to get your flu shot you start to feel a tickle in the back of your throat and not a good tickle. A tickle that makes you think, “Why should I spend 30 bucks for a painful shot when I may be sick already.” Then you think of all the times you heard “flu shots make you sick.”

Is this true? Was this ever true? Or… are flu shots the best placebo ever created? Perhaps a flu shot is just a shot of chicken noodle soup. Why does chicken noodle soup make you feel better? Because Mama told you it would. Why would Mama lie?
Read more…

1 Comment » | Tagged Flabbergasted, audio book, chip boyes, choose your own adventure, flu season, placebo, the great gatsby

Top Ten Funniest Books

Posted by admin on 11.14.2008 at 1:35 pm

With the tense financial atmosphere, the insanity of the political season and the general stress of the upcoming holiday season, we figured what better time to talk about the Top Ten Comedy books. These books have serious laugh out loud value, sure to turn people’s heads as you cackle on your commute or at the coffee shop.

10. I Am America (And So Can You) (Stephen Colbert)

9. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (Tom Stoppard) [dark but brilliant]

5 Comments » | Tagged Book Lists, christopher moore, Douglas Adams, Gary Larson, John Kennedy Toole, Joseph Heller, Stephen Colbert, The Onion, Tom Stoppard, Tucker Max, William Goldman

Our New Ad in GOOD Magazine

Posted by Geoff on 11.14.2008 at 12:25 pm

Check out our first ever print ad in GOOD Magazine on newsstands now. GOOD is a really well done bimonthly magazine about what is right in the world. What is really cool about GOOD? 100% of your subscription fees go to non-profit organizations like our friends at Room to Read or Dave Eggers’ 826.

Also in the issue is a new feature called GOOD Business. The GOOD Business section was done in partnership with B-Corporation. (Of which Better World Books is a founding B-Corp). The most interesting article for me was “What Nau?” about what went wrong with the clothing start-up Nau. Here is an excerpt from the article:

“Nau had gambled naively without a backup plan. But the company had come close to turning a corner. The clothes, the webfronts, the giving program, the bylaws—they all worked. The fundraising and the timing hadn’t. The irony, of course, is that a company so committed to sustainability was ultimately unsustainable. But not because of its principles. Rather, the mundane problems that plague most startups—lack of money and poor execution—had undermined Nau. Still, the brand had an impact in its short life span, accelerating the greening of the apparel industry and creating a new genre of outdoor clothing.”

3 Comments » | Tagged Uncategorized, bcorporation, good magazine, natural capitalism, Nau, press, Thomas Friedman

Green Business Conference 2008, San Francisco Edition

Posted by Xavier on 11.13.2008 at 5:34 pm

I had the pleasure of speaking to the 2008 Green Business Conference yesterday in my lovely home city of San Francisco. I was on a panel that addressed the way businesses and financial institutions were handled the crazy financial times we’re in. Let me tell you, people could not be more optimistic. With the lost credibilty of the world of high finance and greed, people are hungering for something more real and authentic. The Green Business community provides this in spades.

I would like to claim that I stole the show, but that honor goes hands down to Tom Szaky of Terracycle. In a true show of audacity, he proposed the elimination of the concept of waste in favor of “upcycling”. In his company, Caprisun pouches are turned into tote bags and old floppy disks into jot pads. What separates Tom is not just that he’s a visionary, but that he’s scaled his enterprise, growing over 100% a year and working with some of the biggest names in packaged goods.