Page by Page

Borders going out of business

By now everyone in the book world has likely heard that Borders is shutting down.  One of the factors cited was -- as with the closing of Stately Raven here in Findlay -- the rise of e-reading as opposed to people buying actual physical paperbacks.  An article in Wednesday's Courier cites one analyst as predicting that competitor Barnes & Noble will gain revenue from Borders closing -- but the same anlayst says that the need for brick-and-mortar bookstores, as opposed to online bookstores, is likely going to keep decreasing.

I grew up in Ann Arbor, Mich., which is where Borders is based, and have been familiar with Borders for a long time.  It's strange to think of it no longer in existence and it makes me wonder -- what DOES the future hold for bookstores?  I feel like I'm practically the only thirtysomething I know who still reads books as opposed to e-books -- the majority of my friends my age have e-readers and use them a lot.  That said, I haven't patronized as many bookstores of either the chain or independent variety lately because I tend to go to the library instead... so, anyway, your thoughts?  Will you miss Borders?  Do you still buy paperback or hardback books as opposed to e-books?  And... will there still be bookstores for us to visit 10 years from now?

Book club to discuss "Cleopatra" tonight!

The Page by Page Book Club will meet tonight at 7 p.m. at George House to discuss "Cleopatra: A Life" by Stacy Schiff.  As always, please feel free to join us, even if you haven't read the book.

I found the life story of Cleopatra utterly engrossing and fascinating.  The story is full of political intrigues, shifting alliances.  It's a book I probably wouldn't have picked up had it not been suggested by another book club member but I am SO glad to have read it.  Schiff is a gifted writer and the story reads almost like a novel.  Highly recommended.

Diana Wynne Jones dies

Sniff. Author Diana Wynne Jones died Saturday at age 76. The majority of her books are aimed at children, but they're the sort of children's books you can reread as an adult over and over. I discovered Jones when I was maybe 11 or 12 years old. I've read maybe a quarter of her 40 published books, but always intended to read more because I really enjoyed what I'd read.  And, since Jones is an author I've been familiar with for more than 20 years, it feels like the loss of a friend.

If you have any interest in the fantasy genre, I highly recommend Diana Wynne Jones. Her stories of magic, her characters, feel believable and real.  She's best known for the Chrestomanci series (which I loved) and Howl's Moving Castle, which was made into the famous movie, but she's written in many different fantasy worlds.  A Tale of Time City is another I really liked.

Jones published her first novel in 1970 and had been publishing fiction ever since. British paper The Guardian, in its obituary of Jones, noted that after the Harry Potter phenomenon hit the world, "Other publishers were looking around for books they could market to the same vast audience, and were quick to realise that Jones had been fruitfully engaged in fantasy for nearly 30 years."

The Guardian obituary, interesting reading, can be found here. Another story, in science fiction/fantasy magazine Locus, can be found here.

The latter states that another short novel, as well as a nonfiction collection, will be published posthumously.  I'll be curious to see what the nonfiction collection involves.

This is saddening news indeed for lovers of the fantasy genre.  I'm thinking I'll break out the Chrestomanci series for a re-read sometime soon...

 

Author Jamie Ford to speak tonight

Jamie Ford, author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, will speak tonight at 7 p.m. at Central Auditorium. The book is this year's CommunityRead.  It's a tale that alternates between the 1940s and the 1980s, dealing with the relationship between a Chinese-American boy and a Japanese-American girl in the World War II era when Japanese-Americans were being sent to internment camps and China was at war with Japan. The story also grapples with that boy, now a middle-aged man, forty years later as he tells his own son and his son's fiancee about the girl.

Did you read the book for CommunityRead this year?  What did you think of it?  Will you be attending tonight?

Library re-opened

As was reported in today's Courier, the library re-opened this morning. Let the book-borrowing commence!

Library closed indefinitely

As was reported in today's Courier, the Findlay-Hancock County Public Library is closed indefinitely because of flooding. The book drop/return is open, and no fines will accrue while the library is closed or for three days after it reopens.

The Arlington branch remains open and the bookmobile will resume its runs today.