Publishing Insider

Nickel + Dime Culture

Heard this expression in a Charles Schwab ad about hidden fees, and it occurs to me that this is as good a name for the consumer products mindset as any, esp. cell phones, credit cards, etc.  Sell cheap but hide extra charges everywhere. It's a corollary of the Printer Cheap/Gouge on the Ink Cartridge philosophy. See also They Won't Notice the 13 Oz. Pound change. God, i'm starting to sound like Andy Rooney!

easy rollin'

So nice to hear the Rascals' Easy Rollin' on XM. One of their non-hits but it's a sweet, peaceful song. Ah, the Rascals. Victim of some overplayed songs, but man, they were good. And their induction into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame by Miami Steve Van Zandt was a top ten tv moment.

I called it re Beckham!!!!

I told Hector in the deli a year ago that Beckham could not resist the allure of starting anew in the States; Hector dismissed me as crazy. Ditto Mr. Hirshey of Deadspin.com.  Still, I take no pleasure in dancing in front of them..not! Hah!! Told 'em so, those 2 futball experts!!! And we got ze book.

I'm sick of...

...the level of cynicism in today's advertising, esp. Chevrolet telling us this is our country, and places like the University of Phoenix Stadium - a place with no campus - it's just an ad campaign.

good news in Big Easy

Some signs that New Orleans carries on: Tipitina's in full swing.

Mike Perry's music CD

The first review is in...in German! Check it out, and more about good guy Mike Perry.

200 new indies in 2 years!!!

Despite some lazy journalism of late about the closing of two high-profile independent stores, the truth - which reporters are loathe to cover (if it bleeds, it leads, after all) - is that almost 200 new indie stores have opened in the last 2 years!!!

what NOT to do

When I first moved to NYC as a sales rep for Random House, a big book was EDIE, about Edie Sedgwick, the 60's burnout. I was fascinated by her life, in a 'there but for the grace of god go I' kind of way. What a tempting place Warhol's Factory must've been. Anyway, it's her 15 minutes again, with books out recently and a movie in the works. Read more about Edie, incl. her being the inspiration for 2 Dylan songs. She musta been a heartbreaker.

you better you bet

I am the proud owner of a special Irish 5'er featuring George Best. Neat.

library nostalgia

My boss Josh was going by the NY Horticultural (sorry, always think of you, Dorothy Parker) Society, and saw that they had thrown out their library index cards. Sigh. He brought a couple in. What a flashback to my hometown library, where I found refuge as a kid.  My favorite card was for A Book About the Garden, by the aptly named Samuel Hole.