October 20, 2009  Sure we all sometimes feel like Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman, over there on the right, that we've got it all. Then again, given a wider field of vision, perhaps not. Let's take the current book price war between Amazon, Wal-Mart, and now Target. You can read some current book industry articles on the price war here and here, but in essence things have gone like this. Wal-Mart: I'm the toughest gorilla in the room. I can hold my breath longer (ie sell product below cost longer) than anyone else in the room. I'll sell the top ten most pre-ordered titles for $9.00 each. Amazon: I'm as tough as you are, and I can hold my breath for just as long. $9.00 Wal-Mart: $8.99. Target: $8.98  So what's wrong with this picture? Sure selling a whole "basket" of books well below wholesale is almost certainly a violation of anti-trust laws, but is there anything else wrong with three multi-billion dollar corporations losing a few hundred million each while they try and harm each other and kill off all other book selling forms of life? Was there anything wrong with deregulating the economy so that Enron could spread its wings, and so that Wall Street banking institutions could finally make the world a better place for everyone? Do we really need community - minded, locally owned businesses that employ local people, support local institutions, care about local schools and pay sales tax? What's really at stake here with this kind of economic blood sport? Is it really just finding out who the single most powerful corporation is? Antitrust laws don't mean anything without the public will to enforce them. Rockefeller's monopolistic Standard Oil practices weren't stopped because of The Sherman Antitrust Act, The Sherman Antitrust At was passed and enforced because the public wanted Standard Oil's monopolistic practices stopped. Do we need more evidence than Enron and the Federal bailout of Wall Street to realize that we can't afford for the Government to be yet another bystander while soulless billionaire corporations turn the book market place into a bloody cage match in which the concept of a level playing field is so fictional than no publisher would find it credible enough to publish? Here they are! Our weekly picks for the two best: two hardcover, two paperback, and two children's books. The very best new arrivals to leap out of the box and onto our shelves this week. Call or email us if you want more information on any of these titles, or to have us hold you a copy. Or stop in and check them out in person. We'd love to see you. Thanks as always for sharing your reading with us! |
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What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures
By Gladwell, Malcolm 2009-10 - Little Brown and Company 9780316075848 - Hardcover See Other Formats List Price $27.99 - Your Price: $22.39 Once in a while a book comes out that was clearly a good idea.
This collection of Malcolm Gladwell's, aka author of OutliersOutliers,
Blink and Tipping point New Yorker essays falls into that category. ...More |
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Superfreakonomics: Tales of Altruism, Terrorism, and Poorly Paid Prostitutes
By Levitt, Steven D. 2009-11 - William Morrow & Company 9780060889579 - Hardcover List Price $29.99 - Your Price: $23.99 When describing a follow up to a really sizable best seller one is hard pressed to know which adjective is most trendy, uber, mega, gynormous, internationally phenomenal, but there are no worries with Super Freakonomics, the self described "frequal" to Freakonomics. Super Freakonomics is out today. Soon we will now whether it delivers on its promises to answer such questions as, "Can eating kangaroos save the planet," "did T.V. cause a rise in crime," and "who adds more value: a pimp or a Realtor?" ...More |
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The War That Killed Achilles: The True Story of Homer's Illiad and the Trojan War
By Alexander, Caroline 2009-10 - Viking Books 9780670021123 - Hardcover List Price $26.95 - Your Price: $21.56 Alexander's last book, The Bounty, was an exceptionally well argued account of the mutiny on The Bounty. Here she makes an interesting argument for interpreting The Iliad as a sobering and humane assessment on the cost of war. I was a little concerned that the book was being sold in as being too presentist for its own good but Alexander is a classicist by background and her treatment of the Iliad is deep rooted and compelling. ...More |
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Heidegger and a Hippo Walk Through Those Pearly Gates: Using Philosophy (and Jokes!) to Explore Life, Death, the Afterlife, and Everything in Between
By Cathcart, Thomas 2009-10 - Viking Books 9780670020836 - Hardcover See Other Formats List Price $19.95 - Your Price: $15.96 The authors of Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar are back with, you guessed it, Heidegger and a Hippo Walk Through Those Pearly Gates. ...More |
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The Bog Baby
By Willis, Jeanne 2009-10 - Schwartz & Wade Books 9780375861765 - Hardcover See Other Formats List Price $16.99 - Your Price: $13.59 The Bog Baby is just the book to share with a child about the wonders of nature, of keeping and of letting go. Told by a mother about a secret creature she found and kept with her sister as children, the story has a warmth and wonder to it that children will want to wander in many times. ...More |
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Imogene's Last Stand
By Fleming, Candace 2009-10 - Schwartz & Wade Books 9780375836077 - Hardcover See Other Formats List Price $16.99 - Your Price: $13.59 This account of a history loving girl who saves an historic house from being turned into a shoelace factory is remarkably entertaining. The history is subtle, the names playful, the characterizations have depth and humor, and the heroine, Imogene, is a delight. Fleming even slipped in a quote from William Morris for bonus points. ...More |