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Bethanne Patrick is many things; a blogger, book reviewer, a wife, a mother, sloppy knitter, and as she states perfectly, “above all else, a reader.” Bethanne has written author and book reviews for The Washington Post, PEOPLE magazine, and BookReporter.com, and also ran the old AOL blog The Book Maven. Her most recent work is featured on The Book Studio. Through all of this, she has been interviewing authors for the last 8 years. I thought it might be interesting to turn the microphone in her direction and interview the interviewer.
Is it more fun to write a good or bad review? It is more fun to write a good review because it is more challenging to tease out why a good book is actually good. A bad review can be fun and interesting if the book isn’t completely bad, but the challenge of a good review with reasons is what I enjoy most. Some reviewers shy away from writing bad reviews as they don’t think its worthwhile. Recently, I wrote a bad review for Audrey Niffenegger’s book Her Fearful Symmetry.
Who was your favorite author to interview? My favorite all-time interview was Richard Russo (Interview can be found on The Book Studio). I’ve interviewed him previously for AuthorAuthor which was a single camera interview. What I’ve found is that different authors shine in different mediums. Since I’ve interviewed authors via online chat, phone, audio, and camera, I’ve found that different authors interview differently.
Were there any interviews that went out of control? I’ve never had an interview go out of control, but I do have a good story. When I worked for AOL, I interviewed celebrity authors - one of which was Martha Stewart. One of my questions was “What did you learn to clean while in prison?” She laughed and told me stories how she learned to use the floor buffer and that it was fun. Later, Martha’s publicist freaked out and was telling me that I wasn’t allowed to ask that question and that I would have to pull it from my interview.
Out of the many projects you have what is/was your favorite? The Book Studio because it is a culmination of a bunch of ideas. It isn’t just about interviewing the authors or putting up new content, it’s about doing the basics and having a website designed around those basics that provides a great experience to the readers. I did enjoy my time at Pages, though, because I was able to sit with authors for hours and interview them. That no longer happens with the new media space.
Where do you do most of your reading? Most of my reading is done at my home in an armchair. I’m always reading. I travel quite a bit, so the kindle works well for me when I’m on the go.
What is your favorite children’s novel? Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh. When I was growing up in the 70s, there wasn’t a plethora of reading for young adults. Harriet was a spunky girl and I liked that. I also loved Secret Garden and Little Princess but they weren’t modern little girls who wanted to be naughty at times.
If you could go on a dinner/movie date with any author, who would it be? Joseph O’Neil. He is very droll and would be the kind of companion that you would not get tired of during dinner and a movie.
You’ve read so much - have you thought of writing? Actually, I do and have. I have a book coming out in mid-November by National Geographic called An Uncommon History of Common Things. Also, I’ve signed with an agent and am working on a proposal for a memoir - but I cannot say more about it at this time.
What startling thing have you learned about the book industry? When I first started doing interviews I would call a publisher asking for a galley (very early release copy - before ARC) of whatever book I was to be reviewing. They would often tell me they couldn’t and I would get annoyed at this. I later found out that the cost of creating a galley is quite high. So to all who want to be a book blogger, just wait for a book to come out to review it. Galleys and ARCs are expensive and it may be very difficult to get your hands on them.
Do you have a process around reading/reviewing books? No. A few other reviewers have tight processes, but the only rule I have is to give myself time to reflect between reading and reviewing a book. I will sometimes use post-its when reading actual books or scribble in the margins of a galley or ARC, but I don’t have a rule around it.
I want to thank Bethanne Patrick for providing me a few minutes of her time as well as you the reader for reading.
Will people pay to rent books? Since 2007, one company has tried to build that new model.
Today’s guest on the Morning Media Menu was Chip O’Brien, director of customer service for Bookswim–a rental service for books. The company hopes to change reading the same way Netflix revolutionized the movie rental business. During the show, we discussed the delayed eBook release of Sarah Palin’s memoir and the struggle to determine a fair price for digital books.
Here’s an excerpt from the interview: “Most people have felt the difficulty of getting to the library or the bookstore. Most new bestsellers retail for 27.95 and you can spend three months on the library wait list. People say, ‘This is a great idea, I can’t wait to get started.’ People come to us with a lot of excitement.”
Danielle “The Book Huntress” is, in every sense of the word, an exceptional reader, having rated more than 2300 books and reviewed more than 600 on the popular book social networking website GoodReads.com. I got a chance to sit with this maven of the reading arts and find a bit more about her.
What was the first book you remember reading?
Danielle - Argh!!! That would be really difficult to say. I know my mom used to read fairy tale books with us, particularly, Andrew Lang’s color Fairy Tale books, so I’m going to go with those. My mother said I have been reading since the age of four.
Explain the moment when you knew you were addicted to reading.
Danielle - I was very young, and I remember how happy I was to get my own library card in my name. I think that is probably the most lucid memory of my reading addiction.
What is your favorite childrens’ book? Danielle - The Gruesome Green Witch by Patricia Coffin. I remember checking it out of the library so many times. I would read it and get really scared, but I always came back for more.
What social networking tools do you use and how have they changed the way you read? Danielle - I mainly use the reading sites, such as Goodreads and Shelfari, and the Amazon.com forums, also Yahoo groups for various reading/book groups. Strictly romance-related, I love All About Romance. I also use Blogger.com to blog about my reading and to read other reader’s blogs. These online sites have increased by ability to talk to other readers. I don’t meet too many readers offline. Also I have bought and read so many books because of my online contacts.
Where is your favorite place to read? Do you have a favorite time to read? Danielle - I like to read in bed with the covers pulled up over me. I love to read before bed and I like to spend lazy Saturdays reading.
Will you only read a book if someone says it is great, or will you read a book if others say it is bad but has tons of hype? Danielle - I won’t read a book because it’s hyped. I have to be interested in reading it. I really dislike jumping on bandwagons. I am more likely to read a book that my trusted friends say is great, if I’m interested in the first place.
What is your favorite reading moment (any moment in your life where you were reading counts in this)? Danielle - When I read Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase and I realized it was my favorite book ever.
What do you hate most about reading? Danielle - That I don’t have enough time to do as much of it as I want to do.
If you could have a dinner/movie date with any author, who would it be and why? Danielle - CS Lewis. I think he was a brilliant man, and I love his love for the Lord and how he used his rational mind to spread the word about God. I think he was an interesting person, and I am sure that he would completely captivate me for that time I spent with him.
You can read all of Danielle’s reviews on GoodReads by clicking on her name above. Thank you Danielle for giving me a few minutes of your time.
Dear readers, I have an author interview tomorrow for an amazing rising author: Cherie Priest. In preparation for the interview, I picked up her latest book - Boneshaker (pictured left, link takes you to the BookSwim title page for that book). Despite my average reading speed, I managed to get through nearly 250 pages of the book in 2 days and am looking forward to the next 150 pages.
There are a ton of great reviews about this book, and most of the teasers really describe it well - so I won’t reiterate too much on that realm. A quote on the cover handles it well, “A steampunk-zombie-airship adventure of rollicking pace and sweeping proportions, full of wonderfully gnarly details. This book is made of irresistible.”
At first, I was expecting (and hoping, as I’m somewhat of a steam-punk guy) a sci-fi steam punk adventure of epic proportions. What surprised me was that it was so much more. In fact, there is a huge element of mystery in this book that I’ve seen left out of many book reviews and teasers. Bare in mind, I haven’t completed the book in full yet, but I am going to very shortly. Below I am going to list the reasons why I think this is a great read. If they seem to fit your fancy, make sure you add this to your pool.
The book has quite a few steampunk elements to it, although not enough to make an inventor drool. If you didn’t go to engineering school but think machines are cool - this is right up your alley. As well - if you DID go to engineering school, you won’t see anything mind-blowing but still worth it.
While I love the concept of a good zombie adventure (Book, Movie, or Video Game), I am not a fan of zombies being the main driving force. Boneshaker splashes in zombies as one piece of an intricate maze - as an accent if you will (as much as Zombies can accent anything). Great for those who love zombies as well as those who don’t.
The characters are very well thought out. Every character is given detail and history that brings them to life. This is a must for any good book in my mind, and this one executes.
It moves and it moves quickly. There is never a dull moment and rarely is there a mention of time - which is something that I found gripping. I’d be reading for three hours straight and a character would mention that night had began to fall. Another character would remark how surprising it was that time passed about the same moment as I would. Not to knock one of my favorite authors of all time (JRR Tolkien) but there is only so many pages of description about Bilbo Baggins’ cuff-links that I can read before I require a nap. Boneshaker has not bored me yet.
It is a great jump into a new genre for those who haven’t dove into science fiction/steampunk. I find that the science fiction books that I recommend to non science fiction readers tend to be received poorly. Boneshaker does a great job of not being too sci-fi as to allow the average mystery or novel reader to jump into the genre and get a taste of it before diving head-first into hardcore science fiction.
I promise to update this review after I have completed the book, but I put this out there now as I am interviewing the author Cherie Priest tomorrow and I wanted to generate some buzz as well as see if there were any questions that our audience wish to ask?
Hello everyone! As this is my first real post on BookSwim’s Literary Life, I think I will start with a bit about who I am. My name is Nick Ruffilo and I am the CIO/CTO of BookSwim (Basically I oversee all the technology and information that BookSwim has). On top of all that, I am currently running our twitter account (@bookswim), as well as will now be a regular poster on our Literary Life blog. I read quite a bit in high school and in college found myself reading quite a bit. After college, I kept up my reading and did quite a bit of writing as well. Most of my writing was in fantasy - but I did take a break from my normal genre to write a very special book. My wife is a huge reader and I decided that as a unique proposal, I would write her a book. As would seem obvious - she said yes. If you’re looking to get in touch with me, I’m active on GoodReads (http://www.goodreads.com/bookswimnick) or you can leave comments for me on any of my blog postings.
A bit of backstory to this post - my wife is an extremely avid reader. While I’ve never considered myself a voracious reader, I always read a bit more than all of my friends and pride myself on having read most of the “classics.” (Thank you highschool/college). To explain what I mean by avid reader, my wife has - on more than one occasion - checked out the maximum number of books from the library at one time (50), while having a personal library of nearly 800 books (200 of them still unread). She devours nearly 10 to 15 books a month while working a full-time job and partaking in non-reading activities.
The past few months have been busy for me with work as well as a few personal matters and sadly my reading habits became very poor. My wife pointed out to me that I wasn’t reading and in defense I state, “I bet I’ve read quite a few books that you haven’t.” Always up for the challenge, my wife waited patiently for me to list books so that she could proudly say that she’s read it. To both our great surprise, I had read quite a few books that she had not. When it came to some of the longer classics The Arabian Nights: Tales from One Thousand and One Nights and Canterbury Tales, it wasn’t a large shock that she had not read them, but when I came to some of the more quintessential children’s literature, I was shocked to hear she hadn’t read them. Most notably, she had not read The Little Prince, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, or Where the Wild Things Are.
Between my local library and my personal collection, I got a copy of those three amazing children’s novels and selected The Little Prince to read first. My choice was partially selfish as the only time I had read the book was for French class, and I would be lying if I said that I understood more than 50% of what I read. It all started about 2 weeks ago, but now, every night before going to sleep, I pick up where I have left off and I read a few pages of a classic to my wife. I enjoy reading but most of all I enjoy sharing.
An open challenge to all readers: If you have a husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, son, daughter, niece, nephew, or even someone you babysit who has not read any of the following classics, take a few minutes a day to enlighten their lives by reading to them.
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff
One of my favorite authors, Ray Bradbury, enthralled me with his book “The Martian Chronicles.” After reading that, then devouring Fahrenheit 451, then many of his short stories and poetry, I found myself using those as a basis for good literature. I would gloat some more, but I will let the video speak for itself. Ray Bradbury discusses the importance of books as well as a bit about how he got started as a writer.
While we’ve waited for the Kindle to spark a culture-wide switch to e-books, fans of the old paper and binding format have busied themselves with anxious questions: does this spell the end of paper books? Is this the device that will truly — gasp — revolutionize the way we read?
Now, it looks as if book publishers are answering: sure — but only with paperbacks.
Some book publishers now release new titles with the caveat that the e-book versions will be delayed, even indefinitely, so they don’t compromise more profitable hardcover sales. The Kindle edition of Harper Collins’ Sarah Palin biography Going Rogue will begin sales on December 26th, with only the hardcover edition available for holiday shopping, while Twelve Books has no plans to ever release a Kindle edition of the Ted Kennedy memoir True Compass (current list price $35).
This hasn’t endeared the publishers to Kindle readers, most of whom expected the expense of new releases to vanish along with paper and dust jackets. Some vocally boycott Kindle books selling above the $9.99 price point, using Amazon’s own tagging system to label books ‘9 99 boycott’ in their catalog. Their argument is that an e-book, little more than an elaborate text file with the ability to show a few black and white pictures, has no visible production costs. Take out the costs of printing, warehousing, and distributing, and the only cost left seems to be the electricity needed to run Microsoft Word.
The cost of an e-book has become such a point of contention because it makes distinct something we haven’t had to distinguish until now: the price of content, independent from its medium. When we purchase that new hardcover at an average list price of $25, it’s easy to think that most of our dollars pay for paper, binding and gluing, warehouse staff. We’re ready to accept these costs because of their tactile results: thick pages, colorful covers, a handsome typeface–in the end, a tangible object, straightforward and perfect at what it does. In its simplest form, though, what we’re really buying when we purchase a book is access to a written work, a means of viewing a verbal record. The physicality of paper books has tricked us into thinking we’re paying for the cost of the physical object, the pages themselves, when what’s really being sold is their words.
The reason this is important? It’s clear what a tangible object costs: the slimy salesman at the used car dealership will sell the Corvette with an engine straight out of The Fast and the Furious for more than the Camry salvaged from someone’s front lawn. Abstract products sell for whatever people will pay for them at that moment. This relative cost of access already takes place in the paper book marketplace, as demonstrated by the Harry Potter novels’ simultaneous rise in demand and price:
* Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (1998):24.99
* Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2003):29.99
* Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2007):34.99
According to publishers, the majority of a book’s ultimate sales price pays for intangible costs as well: preproduction (editing, graphic design, etc.), marketing, and author royalties and advances. Money Magazine found that these three made up about 77% of a hardcover’s production costs. By these numbers, a publisher doesn’t save much on an e-book over a paper book: about 23% of existing costs. So maintaining the same profit means a fair price for a $27.95 hardcover in an e-book format would amount to $21.50. Imagine how many ‘9 99 boycott’ tags a Kindle book would receive at that price!
Different pricing needs to match the different emotional, intangible appeals of the two book formats. So: what is the true draw of the Kindle?
The easiest answer is cost savings, but what reader spends $300 and up on a single-purpose machine — unlike, say, a $300 iPod that also sends text messages, takes pictures, and browses the web — expecting to save money? Cost savings don’t sell the Kindle. Its appeal, much like the appeal of its prime offering, is intangible: ability to look up and download titles at any location with cellphone service, portability, and the irresistible promise of having all the books you’ve ever wanted in one place, like a thorough and flawless memory bank — the Holy Grail of every avid reader. Not many readers can afford the buy-in cost of a device that, at its current price point, is suited best to a very specific kind of reader: the kind of avid reader who reads often enough for a $300 reading machine to make sense, who has reason to need the room saved by storing hundreds of titles on a device as thin as a pencil.
With fewer than half of Americans reading regularly (and those readers averaging a modest seven books a year), plus the $250 plus price of every e-reader device so far, book traditionalists have no need to fear the imminent extinction of the paper book. Even those who spring for the Kindle seem to purchase as many paper books as they had before buying the device. But the only way to make new releases profitable on e-readers such as the Kindle is for the reading audience to reevaluate the traditional metrics we’ve used to measure a book’s worth. Past the weight of its pages or the speed of its delivery, a book’s value will remain constant, and with a near-constant price, between paper and electronic formats: in its words.
Have you and the family curled up with any good books lately? These chilly fall months are just the right time for it, and to help get you and the kiddoes inspired, we’ve teamed up with BookSwim (a.k.a. “the Netflix for books”) to give one lucky Babble reader a free 3-month membership to the service.
An online book-rental service that functions in much the same way Netflix does for DVDs, BookSwim puts a revolving list of reads — including a large selection of pregnancy, parenting and children’s titles — at your fingertips. You can hold onto your books for as long as you need without accruing fines or worrying about due dates, and when you’re finished, you can either send back what you’ve read or purchase your selections to trigger the next set of books in your queue.
Membership plans start at $9.95 for one book per month, and return shipping is free on all plans. You can learn more at BookSwim, but first, be sure to click here to enter our giveaway for a free 3-month membership to the service.
If you’re like me, you love to read about pregnancy. With every pregnancy, I’ve spent hours pouring over pregnancy books, enjoying details about what my baby is doing or how to best care for myself in pregnancy or my baby once she or he was born. The problem is that books can get expensive! So here are some ideas on how to save money on those pregnancy and breastfeeding books:
* Used Books. These are typically very well preserved and cost very little compared to the new books. This can even be as low as a quarter for a book, depending on where you buy them. Used books can be found in used book stores, yard sales, library sales and even maternity and children’s consignment stores.
* Borrow. You can consider borrowing books both from the library or from friends. If you find a book that you love, then you can consider purchasing it for yourself. There are also some online book rental companies, like BookSwim.
* Trade Ins. If you have a ton of books on any topic, consider going to a bookstore that offers a trade in. You might trade in two books for one or get a monetary store credit but look at it as decluttering and saving money. How cool is that?
It is that time of year again, when we scrounge up the rest of our grant money or for most of us, the rest of our checking account, and buy textbooks.
Now, it would not be a terrible task if it were as simple as it sounds, buy a few textbooks. But at La Verne and at most educational establishments, purchasing textbooks is like pulling teeth and can be almost more difficult than your final in statistics.
If you have noticed over the years, or if this is your first, the bookstore has outrageous prices for the smallest books. It would almost be easier to donate an organ than buy that biochemistry lab book or the ‘easy’ reading for English.
We sit all summer long and wait for that dreaded first week of school, where we get the course requirements and rush to beat the other 100 plus students to get the text needed for the class. Upon arrival you are out of breath from running so far, you are worried about your financial aid and are wondering if you have enough money for these books, the last thing on your mind is if the bookstore has it in stock. You look around and they don’t.
Why is this process so difficult? Why are we more stressed about acquiring our textbooks than we are about passing the class?
Now it is not completely the bookstores fault on this one, the whole University is to blame.
If professors know that the publishers are slow to get the required text to the school, then why not hold off on the rush of reading the first few weeks or better yet, put the order in early.
Students do not particularly go to college because they are rich, that is why they are getting an education, to obtain a career and make money. We cannot afford to buy books we will not even use in class.
Once we cut out the ‘un-touched’ reading and let the bookstore know ahead of time what is going to be taught so that there are enough books, lets inform the students.
Amazon.com is a fast and easy way to obtain new/used textbooks without the stress of the bookstore, and they deliver anywhere. Why deal with the hassle of the bookstore if you can just order online?
And if buying the book is still not sounding good to you, then why not rent them?
Bookswim.com is the Netflix for readers and students throughout the world. Just by setting up a quick account, bookswim will take your order of books (textbooks) and get them to you in a matter of days allowing you to keep them for as long as needed.
Students need options, we cannot be expected to take the bookstores expensive way or the highway.
If the bookstore wishes to stay in business and not get turned into a lot for parking then a lot must change.
The bookstore is not terrible, just their methods of business.
So dear bookstore please listen and help out the students who keep your fine establishment working.
There’s Chegg.com for text books, but did you know about BookSwim.com for other books? It’s an online subscription service similar to Netflix, where you can rent, read and return books as quickly as you can turn the pages.
The service starts at low as $10/month.
You can get everything you need, from The Time Traveler’s Wife to that textbook for your chemistry class. Whatever you need, it seems like they have it.
For someone who goes through books as fast as I do, this could be a serious way to save some cash.
Forbes.com is running the second round of the 2009 Boost Your Business competition. On the line: $50,000 in cash, and $50,000 in advertising on Forbes.com. 20 semi-finalists remain and among them are our partners and friends at BookSwim.
BookSwim rents books like Netflix rents movies, with the convenience of free home delivery and best-sellers guaranteed in stock. As you may remember we collaborate with them in their special offering of gift cards - a tree will be planted with Eco-Libris in honor of every gift purchased.
You can read more about BookSwim on Forbes.com, where you can find their 500-word write-up and watch their 30-second “elevator pitch” video. You can also read what they intend to do with the prize once they get it.
BookSwim is a great green business and we warmly recommend to vote for them!
The vote itself is very simple and can be made at http://boost09.perfectprize.com/voting/. Please don’t forget to confirm the link that gets sent to your email otherwise your vote won’t count. Make sure you uncheck any boxes so you don’t get spam.
……Websites are now offering books for rent, similar to the way Netflix rents movies.
……Bookswim.com is another option which focuses on recently released best sellers and then lets subscribers pay second-hand prices to keep the books they like……..
Exercise your mind, expand your vocabulary, and savor language with a renewed interest in literature. And read a book for less with these tips……
……BookSwim.com
Book Swim offers plans that allow users to take out multiple books at a time. The $19.95 basic monthly fee still permits readers to check out as many books as they choose. You aren’t locked into a contract and have a read-to-own option. Through Book Swim’s college textbook service, students can save up to 60 percent on books ordered online……
Bethanne Patrick is many things; a blogger, book reviewer, a wife, a mother, sloppy knitter, and as she states perfectly, “above all else, a reader.” Bethanne has written author and book reviews for The Washington Post, PEOPLE magazine, and BookReporter.com, and also ran the old AOL blog The Book Maven. Her most recent work is featured on 
Will people pay to rent books? Since 2007, one company has tried to build that new model.
