Friday, January 18, 2013

Industry News and Interesting Friday Photos

Some industry news…

Barnes & Noble, the Last Big Bookseller Standing: But for How Long?
Holiday sales were down 10.9%, and Nook sales down 12.6%. Its one advantage is the 674 college bookstores it owns. Will it survive?
Read full article at Knowledge Wharton

Fighting E-book piracy -
“RosettaBooks implemented the Digimarc Guardian solution to root out and prevent online piracy for its catalog of blacklist and original titles.”
Learn how Digimarc Guardian does it at Book Business Magazine

A public library without paper.
“The next library in San Antonio, Texas, may not have any paper books for its patrons. Nelson Wolff, a judge in Bexar County, Texas, where San Antonio is located, and Sergio Rodriguez, commissioner for the county's first precinct, have proposed a plan to create a library called BiblioTech that offers electronic media exclusively.”
Read the full article at Information Week

From Publishers Weekly:
“Penguin Group (USA) is the latest publisher to make its books available through On Demand Books’s Espresso Book Machine’s “digital-to-print at retail" sales channel. The arrangement will enable bookstores and soon mass merchandise retailers with EBMs to reproduce all Penguin children’s and adult backlist titles, including books from Viking, Riverhead, Dutton, and Puffin, among others.”

I usually post inspirational photos, but I’m doing something different today.

First, a couple of Christmas gifts from my husband:
When you squeeze the kitty’s paw, Penny sings the Soft Kitty song!

And I’ve been meaning to get a shot of my hair for the past month and finally had a chance. My head is tipped back, but my husband cut off the end of my hair in the shot, so it is an accurate representation of how long…

Yes, some days it drives me nuts. I get it caught everywhere and eating is a challenge. But as long as it took me to grow it, I am not cutting it!

32 comments:

Yvonne Osborne said...

I hope Barnes and Nobel survives and as for that bookstore in Texas: it sounds very sterile and empty. I would not be visiting a library like that, everyone glued to a screen like a bunch of plugins.

DL Hammons said...

I adore your Christmas presents (and you model them so lovely)!

I was in B&K just yesterday. My suggestion to them would be to make the pricing in their music/movie section more competitive and they'll pull in more customers.

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

Great pictures! I've been debating about cutting my hair lately (not as long as yours, of course!) Think I'll leave it for now, though.

It makes me a little sad about B&N. But I've always thought they didn't run enough promos. Borders always used to have coupons and B&N rarely did...and you have to pay to be in their member club for discounts. Now I'm not sure if they can even afford to have mark-downs.

jaybird said...

Love the soft kitty pillow and shirt! BBT is a favorite in my house. Especially Sheldon Cooper. (I have a cousin who is scary brilliant and reminds us of him- which just makes that show even funnier to watch)

I will cry my eyes out if B&N goes under. They are the only book store left in a 50 mile radius! It will kill me if they close too.

Anonymous said...

I read about the bookless library in Huff Post. It said a few other places had tried it but those demanding books eventually won over. I think it's an idea that will eventually find its place as the younger generation grows up with bookless options.

I also read an article about the rise of indie booksellers. I'm sorry to see places like Barnes and Noble struggle. I'm still a sucker for bookstore snooping and like the options and prices they can offer, but have to admit I'm not a regular buyer. But here's to the success of indies!

Julie Flanders said...

Great pictures! And I had to laugh at your comment about cutting your hair. I've been growing mine out for 2+ years now from a super-short cut and now there's no way I can ever imagine cutting it again!

Gossip_Grl said...

I am old fashioned, I like to set down with a good paper book so I hate hearing about B&N. :/ I used to have very long hair and years ago donated it. Sleeping and riding in cars with windows down were my biggest challenges with my hair. :)

Al Diaz said...

That's wonderful hair you have but your proud smile is even better!

RaShelle Workman said...

Gorgeous hair!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Now that's some hair! And I will have the Soft Kitty song in my head for the rest of the morning.

Jennifer Shirk said...

Ooh, your hair is gorgeous!


That's very interesting about the library. Need to check that out.

THX!

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Yvonne, I hope they outlast Books A Million.

DL, thank you. B&N has always been about full price and that might be their undoing.

Elizabeth, if you cut it, you'll regret it! And I think you are right. They just never had sales.

Jaybird, our closest B&N is even farther away than that.

Julie, just look at record stores.

Julie F, I will trim, but not cutting the length. No way.

Gossip Girl, I pull my hair up over my head at night to sleep.

Thank you, Al.

Thank you, Rachelle.

Thank you Karen - very sweet of you to say that.

Alex, enjoy the Soft Kitty song.

Thank you, Jennifer.

D.G. Hudson said...

Lovely hair, and lots of it. Lucky you.

I had waist length hair when in art school. It got in my way, so knowing how to braid and twist helps.

Johanna Garth said...

Whether we like it or not we are headed towards more and more digitalization.

Your hair is so pretty. I'm jealous. Mine is curly and so no matter how long it gets, it never looks nearly as long as it actually is.

LD Masterson said...

Good, and some scary, information. Thanks for the links. You have lovely hair. I haven't worn mine long since my early 20's. Not enough patience.

Carol Kilgore said...

Your hair is amazing! I can't even imagine having beautiful hair. I have hair from hell.

Laura Eno said...

Your hair is gorgeous! I can't even guess at how much time it takes to dry.

Anonymous said...

I hope your book shop stays open.
It's always sad to see a favourite shop close, here in the UK one of our oldest music outlets are about to close gradually.

Really awesome pictures.

Yvonne.

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

I hope B&N survive. Their college stores must do well because everything is so overpriced.
Your hair is lovely.

M Pax said...

I think B&N will survive.

My cats love when I sing the kitty song to them. Your hair is beautiful. Mine gets so flat after a point.

Jemi Fraser said...

LOVE your hair - so pretty! Mine is so thin, it won't grow past my shoulders.

LOVE the t-shirt and kitty too - awesome!

Susan Flett Swiderski said...

I LOVE that shirt and kitty! (I mean who DOESN'T love that show?) Wow, that's a lotta hair! Mine is about half that long, and it's always getting trapped when I sit or lie down, so I can just imagine how yours must be. It's beautiful, though. (Must take forever to dry!)

Tamara said...

WOW!! Love your hair, it is so incredibly beautiful!! I wish I had hair like that!

And the kitty shirt and matching stuffed animal is awesome. :)

dolorah said...

I cut my hair about 5 months ago (well below my waist) and it nearly there again. I cut it every few years, can't make up my mind if I like long or short hair, and my kids hated the Mullet. Go figure :)

Thanks for the news updates.

........dhole

Misha Gerrick said...

Nice! I used to have hair that long, but cut it after a perming disaster.

Some days, long hair just sucks. Like when you have to make a nice looking (stable) updo only to find you're out of hair pins.

;-)

Jo said...

Sorry Soft Kitty doesn't mean anything to me.

As for the hair, I had hair that long as a 20 yr. old - never been cut. Moved out to live on my own and shortly after had it cut. Never looked back. My mother was furious, but I was delighted.

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Thank you, all! I didn't expect so many comments on my hair. I just have so few shots that really show the length.

klahanie said...

Hello human friend, L. Diane Wolfe,

A number of established and what we thought were enduring establishments, have been caught up with by the online technology. It be a sad time.

And how did you know I sing the Soft Kitty song? You have lovely hair, my kind human.

Pawsitive wishes from the next 'Paw Minister' of Britain, Penny the Jack Russell dog! :)

randi lee said...

Your hair is absolutely fabulous! Love the length and the color!

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Diane .. love your hair - lucky you to have such a good head of it and no wonder you want to hang on to it!!

Great post re industry news - I'd read about the San Antonio library .. I need to find out more ..

Cheers Hilary

Unknown said...

Love that gorgeous mane of yours-- envious!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing your pics with us! No reason to ever go back to being blonde.