So I’m most likely the most literary-minded person at my store, right? I know about books, publishing, and lots of news. But I’m still only one person. And I’m still 24-years-old. I can’t possibly know EVERYTHING.
Well recently a coworker discovered a number of books I’d not heard of. Some books for young readers. I still have no idea what the books are about, but she was quite surprised when I told her I didn’t know whatever books she was asking about. And she already knows I mostly read Mr. R.L. Stine when I was younger, and she still made fun of me. 😟
Have you ever been asked about a classic and knew nothing about it?
A little late today because I decided to sleep last night rather than write a post. And then this afternoon I wanted to talk to the girlfriend instead of write this. Eh.
But I was thinking about where I might build library if I had the chance to do so. Not a Little Free Library, a free standing private library. What I’ve decided is pretty simple and straightforward. I’d look at the city of Houston and identify as many as 10 areas that lack a library altogether or have one in need of financial support. Then I’d research for a year to determine the specific location. I’d cater the events and inventory to the people in the surrounding community.
The library would have ultra high speed internet and typewriters for use. And the entire staff (as much as possible) would live within five miles of the branch. Why? Because they’d have a vested interest in helping as many people as possible. It wouldn’t just be an “easy” job for them.
Lastly, friends of the library sales wouldn’t be operated the same as other libraries. Paperbacks would be the standard $0.25 each and hardcovers would be $0.50, but only once a customer has already gotten 10 books free of charge. Because if the money is there to finance the day-to-day operations of the library, then there is no reason to charge everyone for books that have been read dozens of times.
I’d also name the library after someone who has a history of promoting literacy and reading. I wouldn’t name it after the city or after myself. The name would be one synonymous with books.
We don’t have too many author signings at my store. We have some. They’re generally on Saturday afternoons and the store manager makes announcements so customers know who the author is and what they’re promoting. We had one last Saturday and it got me thinking.
The author was a local author who was more of a big deal than we’d hosted in recent months. So her books were available to purchase from the store instead of from her. And she had a reading.
But her event got me thinking about what the store could do for me. Some co workers of mine have told me I should do one there, but I don’t know. I mean, I’m sure the fact that I work there would help me sell more books, but still. It isn’t only about selling as many books as I can. It’d be weird promoting a book I wrote almost three years ago, a book that isn’t as good as it could be.
But on the other hand, it would be nice to somewhat get back into the swing of things as a writer.
I need to write something new. Maybe then I’d be more comfortable doing an event? I don’t know.
Remember that whole thing that started in 2014 about the lack of diversity in books? You know, the one that had readers changing their profile pictures on social media to show their support for the movement. Well a new study suggests they were asking for the wrong thing.
Diversity in publishing is what we need. Because then diversity in books would slowly follow. Here are some stats from the survey conducted by Lee and Row over the course of a year.
78 percent of industry employees are female.
79 percent are white.
86 percent of executives are white.
82 percent of editorial staff are white.
84 percent of editorial staff are female.
This was a voluntary survey sent out to dozens of publishers and journals. There is no way for the results to be 100 percent accurate. But if these numbers are even close to being true they make you think about something people say very often, that publishing is dominated by old, white men. I don’t know. Maybe it is. But maybe that’s just an easy way to criticize an industry with blanket statements that people won’t argue because they only know the few super authors they read (who happen to be old, white men).
If books lack diversity (which they do) it isn’t because of the authors writing the books, it’s because of those who work to publish them. Let’s make sure we’re pointing our fingers at the right people here. All this crap people say about not reading white men is absolutely ridiculous.
The whole thing is stupid. Read whatever you want. Or at least have more fact than speculation on your side.
What do you think? I say diversity in publishing leads to diversity in books. And right now we have neither.
This will be my second non-bookish post of the last few days. But it’s something that is very important to me.
I imagine that nearly all of the people on WordPress are in the developed world. And maybe some in the developing world. Which means most of you all are at least mildly aware of the refugee crisis happening in and around Syria and other countries. Maybe you don’t go out of your way to read about it and maybe you don’t even care because it’s “their” problem. That’s fine. No one is required to care about anything.
But let me remind you of something. Most of the major conflicts and catastrophes in history have been resolved because people decide to help other people. Natural disasters. War. Epidemics. And the crisis in Syria is our chance.
Obviously not everyone has money to spare to give to organizations on the ground, and that’s okay. Actress Milana Vayntrub (you may know her as Lilly on the ATT commercials) has started an organization called Can’t Do Nothing to spread awareness about the refugee crisis currently ongoing, and to raise resources to help those on the ground.
She isn’t asking you to give her your money. She’s really just asking you to watch her short documentary (13 minutes long) about what she’s seen firsthand in Greece, where refugees are arriving every hour. And if you’re moved to action you can donate your time, money, or voice to help one of three organizations she’s partnered with.
The situation for most of these refugees is extremely dire. They lack access to medicine, shelter, clothing, diapers, food. All things most of us have at our disposal. Things we probably take for granted on a daily basis. These people don’t have, and they don’t have them because of things entirely out of their control.
And the thing is that they aren’t looking for handouts. They’re looking for an opportunity to begin again. One man Milana spoke with during her documentary said he wanted to continue his grad studies. There are so many more refugees exactly like him.
I don’t know when or if the United States will resettle refugees here at home, but our government doesn’t have to keep us from making a significant difference in the lives of others.
I #CantDoNothing after what I’ve seen. What about you?
Ugh. Donald Trump isn’t fading in the most recent polls released. He’s actually widening the gap between himself and his GOP counterparts. So it isn’t surprising to see another book about Trump climbing up the bestseller charts on Amazon.
But this time it’s something we can laugh at. The book is written by a comedian. And it’s called Trump Temptation: The Billionaire and the Bell Boy. 😂 It’s already been rated 174 times on Amazon. And it’s ranked #365 in the Kindle store. I’m not sure it’ll be able to become a NYT bestseller, but it really doesn’t matter. If we’re forced to hear about Trump because of his standing in the polls, then I want more things like this.
Are you interested in some Trump erotica? I’m not. But it’s only $1.99 on Kindle. Ha!
I’m sure you’ve heard of the accusations made against Bill Cosby in recent months. Lawsuits and criminal investigations followed thereafter. Well a Pennsylvania judge dismissed a civil defamation case against him last week. And now he’s got a book deal to tell his side of things.
This just shows that publishing is no different from other types of media that tend to blow up controversial figures and events. But it makes me sick thinking about this man still being able to profit from his side of things. You know the book will become a bestseller and no admission of guilt will be made. Ugh.
What do you think of controversial figures getting lucrative book deals? I know it happens, but that doesn’t make it okay.
PS: Bill Cosby hasn’t reportedly been offered a book deal to tell his story. But I wrote this to show that it’d be believable if he did. People sometimes put publishing up on a pedestal, and there’s really no reason to do so. It’s about making money. Just like every other industry. If you comment what you think of Cosby’s new deal, I’ll know you didn’t read all the way through.
I was planning on writing this post at the beginning of the year, but sometimes blogging is a constantly changing task. So I’ve been posting about other things in the meantime. But now we’re here and ready to go.
2015 was the first year in which I tracked my book purchases. It makes sense if you really think about it. I have all of my books on a list in Word. I have all of the authors in an Excel spreadsheet. I have a list of the best books I’ve read. And I track how much time I spend reading. So it makes sense for me to track the number of books I buy.
I’d intended to include all of the books here, but I won’t do that. I’ll just give you some highlights instead.
I bought 37 books in 2015.
25 were bought from Half Price Books.
5 were bought from Amazon.
1 was bought from Barnes and Noble.
And Harry Potter books 3-7 were bought from a girl on an app.
7 books were new. The rest were used.
The average price of the books I bought was $3.74.
The most expensive book was The Strain at $9.34.
There were several I bought for $1.50.
Of the books bought in 2015, I’ve now read 9 of them. Welp.
That’s it. Feel free to ask me about particular titles or anything. But what I want to know is which books you bought in 2015 and how much you spent. Unless it’s $921 and you’re embarrassed. Then I understand. Ha!
I’ve written about Lilly several times on here. I honestly don’t even know the exact number, but I’d say it’s been at least five times. She hasn’t written a book yet. I don’t know her to be a big reader. And I’m nothing like her target audience. But man I’m proud of her.
If you don’t know, she’s one of the most popular personalities on YouTube. She has more than 7 million subscribers. Her channel has been viewed more than 1 billion times. And she went on a world tour last year. She’s doing everything.
I don’t want you to think I’ve been watching her since the beginning, I haven’t. I started in July of 2014 when she released her first single #Leh about millennials that immediately caught my attention even though I have no real interest in hip hop at the moment. Then I started watching her videos as much as I possibly could. I tried to catch up after missing her first four years on YouTube.
But I’m not writing her biography. I want to tell you all why I’m proud to be a fan of hers. She’s famous. She’s rich. She makes her living by making other people laugh. And she’s real. But I’m proud to be a fan of hers because she started making videos in 2010 because she was unhappy. She was in the midst of a low point in her life. And rather than feel sorry for herself and let life slip on by she decided to do something about it. Now five and half years later she can’t be stopped.
She’s talented. She’s hilarious. And she never takes herself too seriously. And she just made her first appearance on late night TV with. There’s nothing wrong with people who take their success for granted because we all take things for granted that we shouldn’t. But there’s never been any doubt in my mind that Lilly appreciates every time someone likes one of her tweets or comments something positive on one of her videos. Yes her hard work and determination has helped her along the way, but millions of fans have been right there with her. Even when she didn’t know it yet.
Congratulations, Lilly.
To me, no one “deserves” anything in life. People don’t deserve to be without basic essentials. No one deserves to win the lottery. Students don’t deserve any particular grade. But Lilly, you’ve earned everything you have. So be proud, be humble, and continue to change the lives of your fans. And most of all, stay super.
Is there anyone you’ve never met who you can’t help but be proud of? Author. Singer. Actor. Friend of a friend.
I know not all of you are in the US, but most of you are. Which means most of you are aware of the massive snow storm currently ravaging the east coast. The storm is said to affect some 75 million people in several states. If you’re in its path, stay warm and safe. Second, is there any better time to pick up a new book than when you’re snowed in by two feet of snow? I think not.
I can’t say for sure because living in Texas means snow once every ten years, but I think it’d be a good time to get reading. And the book I’d pick up would be one of my writing books I haven’t yet read. I figure I’d be able to focus more when I’m not thinking of doing anything else away from home.
Johnny Reads 