Major props to writer James Patterson: He's giving a million bucks to independent book stores

[cali]

Independent bookstores, with their paper-thin profit margins and competition from Amazon, have found themselves a Daddy Warbucks.

The best-selling author James Patterson has started a program to give away $1 million of his personal fortune to dozens of bookstores, allowing them to invest in improvements, dole out bonuses to employees and expand literacy outreach programs.

More than 50 stores across the country will begin receiving cash grants this week, from Percy’s Burrow in Topsham, Me., to Page & Palette in Fairhope, Ala., to A Whale of a Tale in Irvine, Calif.

“I just want to get people more aware and involved in what’s going on here, which is that, with the advent of e-books, we either have a great opportunity or a great problem,” he said. “Our bookstores in America are at risk. Publishing and publishers as we’ve known them are at stake. To some extent the future of American literature is at stake.”

<snip>

Last year, Mr. Patterson placed full-page ads in The New York Times Book Review and Publishers Weekly arguing that the federal government’s financial support of troubled industries like Wall Street and the automobile sector should extend to the bookstore business. Since that appears to be a pipe dream, Mr. Patterson decided to create his own bailout fund as part of his mission to promote literature, especially for children.

<snip>

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/20/business/media/james-patterson-giving-cash-to-bookstores.html?_r=1

[Coyotl]

1. K&R

[clarice]

2. Good for him !!! Awesome. nt

[Sarah Ibarruri]

3. I hate E-books. They're uncomfortable, unpleasant, hard to enjoy...

I love regular books. I think the push toward e-books is wrong.

[G_j]

4. Our local book store received a grant!

my favorite book store:

Malaprop’s Book Store in Asheville is recipient of a James Patterson grant
Jason Sandford | February 20, 2014

http://www.ashvegas.com/malaprops-book-storein-asheville-is-recipient-of-a-james-patterson-grant

[frazzled]

5. That's really nice, but that's not the answer

And the answer is not that the government should help the bookstores, because that's not really the issue driving the problem. The answer is that Amazon has been allowed to use the most horrendous slash and burn, mafia-type tactics with respect to the book business, and they need to be reined in. Hopes for this were dashed when the courts (the government) sided with Amazon against the publishers in the Apple case. And now they are getting into the algorithm/sales-driven publishing themselves. And yes, the future of American literature is indeed at stake.

If you want a real frisson about this issue, read George Packer's really long, detailed, and scary article in last week's New Yorker on this very subject: Amazon is good for customers, but is it good for books? I truly encourage anyone interested in the problems that technology and consolidation are bringing to the publishing and book industry--and to the future of literature--to read it in its entirety:

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2014/02/17/140217fa_fact_packer?currentPage=all

[cali]

7. no, of course it's not the answer. I don't think anyone is claiming that

but thanks very much for the link to the Packer article. I look forward to reading it!

[MissMillie]

6. I heard about this yesterday on NPR

As impressive as it is, what makes it even more impressive is how the independent stores are using the money for programs that get books out into the community and schools.