Book Talk!

There was an interesting discussion about book covers yesterday on Borders True Romance blog. Reading the article, comments, and watching the video had me thinking about how I go about buying a book.

It's interesting to realize I no longer go into a bookstore with list of books in hand, eager to buy. My purchases in a brick & mortar are now strictly spontaneous, and normally based on the cover - something I think I learned from being an ebook reader. Show me an interesting cover and I'll pick it up for more details. However, if I can't read the title because the font is so elaborate, bye bye.

Anyway, back to hardcover/paperbacks purchases. If there is an author on my automatic purchase list [of which there are few] and one I want to keep [of which I have limited space for books], then the latest release is ordered online, and wings its way to me on the release day - no more driving around for a copy. Same can be said for a book that has my attention [normally non-fiction]. That is one I order online and am often surprised when it shows up on my doorstep. If they aren't a keeper but an author I know will offer me a good read, then I'll most likely pick up a copy for the next trip, and leave it wherever I am when I finish.

So, what's sitting on my shelf in my to-be-read stack?

Rogues' Gallery: The Secret History of the Moguls and the Money that Made the Metropolitan Museum

A Rogue of My Own

Burn: A Novel

Finger Lickin' Fifteen (Stephanie Plum Novels)

Fire and Ice: A Novel

Child 44 - waiting for either Thanksgiving or Christmas flights.

And right now, while the cutie is in physical therapy, I'm reading Skin Trade (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 17)

Yup, some of these books have been on the shelf for over a year, and I'll be adding some more over the holidays! I guess it's obvious that right now, I'm reading ebooks before the paperback/hardcover. Soon, all my fiction and non-fiction will be an ebook, and that will leave my children's picture books and pop-ups the only ones I buy to place on a shelf.

Bad, bad, bad!

Censorship - bad!

Discrimination - bad!

Amazon - bad?

Amazon is deranking books with "adult content" [a couple of mine included] which means readers may not be able to find one of your favorite erotic/glbt authors latest or oldest books at Amazon. Dear Author and Smart Bitches, Trashy Books have explained it perfectly.

A few examples of how bad this move has been that I've seen on Twitter are:

Sex in the City book, deranked and Sex in the City movie, ranked.
Joy of Sex, deranked and The Anarchist Cookbook, ranked.
Heather Has Two Mommies, deranked and A Parent's Guide to Preventing Homosexuality, ranked.
Also deranked is Lady Chatterley's Lover and Lolita - CLASSICS!

I've read about two reasons for the mass deranking of erotic/glbt books: deranking those w/customer complaints for content [except it is happening to books not yet released] and the other is a technical glitch [no, it's been going on for some time].

Ick, not liking this at all but, maybe with the economy so bad, this is the perfect time to reintroduce yourself to your local independent bookstore.

Amazon Rank!

Publisher wants real men...

on their covers!

Harlequin held a casting call in Toronto for real men to come in and try out to pose for their covers.

"We're looking for some guys that are not your usual models, but have that iconic look that women go for -- sexy, sensitive, beautiful and fit," said Harlequin spokeswoman Marleah Stout, who attended the open casting.

Readers complained about how the cover models didn't represent the characters inside the books. The professional models were seen as too young and "slight", readers want their "men a little bit older, a bit bigger, than the runway models."

Hmmm, I'm not so sure I agree with this, but maybe their thinking of going over to the dark side and offering a more sensual cover. As for me, I wonder if readers will notice a difference between the previously used models and the "real men".

Either way, its good to see a big wheel making changes, trying something new. Sometimes the large houses get so stuck in a rut its impossible to shake things up and try something new.

If you want to read the entire article, go here.