Yann Martel is a Meme Machine

Back in April, Yann Martel began sending Prime Minister Stephen Harper one work of literature every month that would promote "stillness." The idea seems to be getting play outside the country, most recently with the Guardian UK book blog asking readers to suggest books that their own Prime Minister ought to read.

Previously: Yann Martel to Stephen Harper.
and Atwood Bites Back

Taking the heat off Margaret Atwood

Ever since Margaret Atwood's famous attempt to defend Oryx and Crake as Speculative Fiction, not Science Fiction (“Science fiction has monsters and spaceships; speculative fiction could really happen.”) she has been held as a bit of a whipping-boy by the genre fans. Finally we have been presented with an alternative, in the form of Booker shortlisted Sarah Hall.

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The Music Industry Is Dead?

Music is alive, healthy and--dare I say--getting even better these days. There are a slew of new releases coming in the next several months that should prove all the sceptics wrong. Check out the following list:

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Sitting Around

It seems that the trend among some bookstores these days is to remove their comfortable chairs.

McNally Robinson has a history with comfortable chairs and, yes, from time to time I have to tell people to take their feet off the upholstery. What I love is how they respond (a bit like guilty children), because even the occasional ne'er-do-well hanging out in our stores sort of gets it: there is a certain respect due to a place dedicated to books.

Maybe it's an atavistic cultural memory of librarians hissing for silence. Or maybe an independent store has a pride of ownership that subtly permeates the space and reminds people that they are guests.

Whatever. Sitting and reading go together. I've tried every kind of standing/walking/leaning and reading; and of course we've all stretched out with a book, only to fall asleep. Sitting is best. We'll keep our chairs.