Everybody has a favorite children’s book. I mention several throughout my post First Love. If I missed mentioning yours, let me know by clicking on “Click Here to Leave a Comment.” Let me know the title, author and why it’s your favorite and I’ll share it in a future post.
The voice of Indian author Sushmita Banerjee was silenced on September 5th, when she was slain by Afghan militants for her 1997 memoir, A Kabuliwala’s Bengali Wife, describing life under the Taliban. The book gained wider notice when it was turned into a Bollywood movie, Escape from Taliban, in 2003. Her publisher, Swapan Biswas, said Banarjee had returned to Afghanistan to collect materials for her next book.
Those who would suppress humanity are willing to kill free thought. Those who defend humanity are courageously putting their lives on the line. Both sides of the battle understand the enduring power of books to transform lives and change history.
Elmore Leonard died August 20th. Working on his 46th novel, Leonard was acclaimed for his masterful crime stories, many of which were turned into successful movies. You can find Elmore Leonard’s 10 fundamental rules for writers by clicking here.
Have you ever seen the earth’s evolution represented as a 24-hour clock? On it, even the simplest forms of life didn’t exist until 4am. Sexual Reproduction has only been around since about 6pm. The Dinosaurs didn’t live and die off until late evening, and Humanity itself has been around for roughly 1 minute, 17 seconds. To see what a 24-hour hour earth evolution clock looks like click here.
Trends in retail sales of books to U.S. consumers from 2010 to 2012 showed that e-commerce (Amazon and other online booksellers) grew by 18.7% to capture 43.8% of the market. Large chains (Barnes & Noble and the like) shrank 12.8% to hold 18.7% of the market. Helped by the folding of the Borders chain, independent bookstores saw a 1.3% uptick but still represented only 3.7% of retail book sales. As singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell penned, “Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone? They paved Paradise and put up a parking lot.” For many, the neighborhood independent bookstore is Paradise.
Think. Act.
At age 105, Ida Pollock of the U.K., claims to be the world’s oldest working romance novelist. Writing under the pen name of Marguerite Bell, she recently wrapped up her 124th novel. She has no plans to stop. You go, girl!
Norwegian crime writer Hans Olav Lahlum set a new record for the world’s longest interview: 30 hours straight, speaking to journalist Mads Andersen. What happened to self-editing?