Random thoughts...

[bookworm 1]

Cold cold cold. Well it's tax time. Off to see the tax man and see how much book money uhmm... I mean home improvement money I will have this year..

[Theli]

Yep tax time again, I normally get a decent return, hopefully it will be the same this year. Weather has been absolutely beautiful here!

[subie09lega]

Things that make you go hmmmmm.....

Richard Chizmar @RichardChizmar · 5h
It never gets old signing your name on contracts right next to the guys you grew up admiring.

[TJCams]

So, high of 7 or 8 °C today (mid to upper 40s), heard some thunder - look outside - snowing like crazy (like 1" +/hr) and lightning flashing. Not used to thunder-snow very often in Windsor!!!!

[TJCams]

Now THAT was a hockey game! WOW!!!!! Congrats Canadian girls!!!

[srboone]

2 goals in the last 3 minutes! Depressing (for USA fans), but exciting at the same time!

[Joe315]

Do you think publishers (the big ones, not the speciality publishers) ever "stress test" the dust jackets and books they publish? On a several books I have purchased over the last few years, the publisher has decided to go with a unique paper or finish on the dust jacket. While generally look and feel nice, sometimes the material does not travel well. On Shutter Island. The high gloss finish chipped very easily. On Burn, the matte finish has worn down in places giving the cover a shiny look. On some jackets the folds wear showing the white paper beneath. These issues are all on new books. On the books themselves, it seems like they use very cheap glue which results in the page block heavier books pulling away from the spine. (This happens on any heavy book, but at least books by Cemetery Dance and Subpress last more then a week.)

I also want to know who packs the large crates of books. Some publishers pack them correctly and they make it to the book store relatively undamaged. Others seem like they just through them in a box. They get the store with bumped corners, torn jackets, and dirt smudges on the page block. I don't get it. I know it costs them very little to print them, but I have to pay $20 - $30 for a book and I want it to look new, not like I dropped out my car window at 50 mph.

[RJK1981]

I haven't noticed all of those issues myself, but they don't surprise me. I don't remember the last time I bought a physical book from one of the big publishers. Except for used books from Half Price Books, that is. Actually, I take that back, I bought a Raymond Khoury book while at Barnes and Noble recently, but it was not at for the cover price. It was actually cheap enough that the same book would probably have cost a couple dollars more at Half Price Books. Other than that I have only purchased books from small press publishers like Cemetery Dance because of the high production values

[Joe315]

Cemetery Dance does outstanding work, as do most small and specialty presses. And the issues I mentioned don't occur with all publishers but it seems that it happens all too much. One of the issues I mentioned seems to be with a type of paper that is used for dust jackets. An example being the jacket of The Fall by Del Toro. That paper seems to wear very easily. It should be able to handle being folded over the boards without cracking. All of my books that use that type of paper have that issue. I should look to see if it is the same parent company.

The issue with Shutter Island is, I think, that the printer isn't letting the covers dry before they get stacked together. Then when they are moved around they stick to each other, and the finish gets pulled off.

I think this shows that they don't really care that much, and it shows in the other parts of their businesses.

[srboone]

My copy of Burn came complete with packing smudges on the jacket. 30 minutes of gentle cleaning fixed it up, but you're right. A lot of jackets don't travel well on the mass-produced books. But, I've gotten pretty adept at cleaning up a book jacket. The ones that look like they won't last, I though a plastic cover on.

[TJCams]

I would think the "big guys" are looking at putting out the books to the public and getting them sold, as opposed concerns about the collectibles market. They think more about people reading the books as the priority??? Look at home some people care for paperbacks.... some are to the point where you can't even read the spine. Just speculation on my part.

[Joe315]

Probably. There are a lot more readers out there then collectors.

[Theli]

Sometimes you come across a well produced hardcover, like Joe Hill's NOS4A2.

[RJK1981]

I would think the "big guys" are looking at putting out the books to the public and getting them sold, as opposed concerns about the collectibles market. They think more about people reading the books as the priority??? Look at home some people care for paperbacks.... some are to the point where you can't even read the spine. Just speculation on my part.

I think it is more that they rush things out to get them sold as soon as possible. Quality has nothing to do with a book being collectible really. Not to me anyway. I know damn well the books from the big publishers aren't going to be collectible, which is fine, but if I am going to spend $20-$40 on a book it damn well should be made with quality in mind. Unfortunately a lot of the big companies don't agree and just want to make things as cheap a possible so they make more money

[TerryE]

For anyone that has yet to discover Jonathan Carroll, here's some good news from his facebook page.

"I just learned kindle has chosen The Woman Who Married a Cloud As it's book of the day and is selling it for something like two dollars but for today only."