Tag Archives: book expo

The weight of books

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What do books weigh? 15 pounds. The photo has all the books and one CD (it came with the book) that I collected at the Book Expo America at the Javits Center this past week. The weight doesn’t take into account the additional five pounds of miscellaneous stuff I carried around for three days. Read my post here about BEA.

I love the feel of books. There is a certain pleasure in holding them, feeling the covers, carrying their weight in my hands. I also know that is ending. After carrying around all the weight of the books I couldn’t help but think how nice it would have been if the publishers could have just downloaded copies of their books into the electronic device of my choice. Or, I could have scanned them to request review copies. When I went to the Small Business expo at the Javits center the exhibitors had scanners. Instead of taking your card they scanned your badge and immediately collected the information. So at the next book expo I could request a review copy of a book, the publisher would scan the book(s) and my info and we would be done. My back would feel better and the load I carried around at the expo would have been lighter.

Book lovers across the world bemoan the loss of books. I know they do. There is a lot to think about when giving up publishing hard copies of books. There are the people that manufacture them. The editors, the designers, the artists who create books. What happens to them? How do they translate the change in their worlds? There is the ink, and the paper, the stores that house them where do they go for business? When I go into a bookstore I see books I may not have thought of buying. Will that spontaneous buying be lost if we go completely digital? We may lose something but what might we gain? It will take a whole change of mind for me to conceive of being totally digital.

I am not sure of the answer to what the future holds for the book world. In the meantime, I will make room for the fifteen pounds of books I brought home. And maybe think about digital to save space and paper.

Please help with a book project for a client by filling out this survey. What is death? http://bit.ly/9K3JQr

Book Expo America 2009 pt. 1

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This was my first book expo. My radio guest, Dan Poynter of The Self-Publishing Manual, said I should go as press. I did. The keynote speech featured Clarence Clemmons of the E Street band, and Steven Tyler. BEA has the keynote guests sit in nice comfy chairs in this informal interview format. Clarence was an affable, friendly person who shared some of the things he wrote about in his new book. He shared a story about Robert DeNiro and the movie Taxi Driver. The famous scene where DeNiro’s character is in the mirror asking, “Are you looking at me?” comes from seeing a Bruce Springsteen concert. Apparently Springsteen would play with his audience by asking them that very same question. Who knew?

Steven Tyler
Steven Tyler

Steven Tyler of AeroSmith fame was the next on keynote agenda. Steven was every bit the rock star: flamboyant in style, and laid back in temperament. He had this cosmic sensibility, asking, “Are you dreaming the dream or is the dream, dreaming you?”

Clarence and Steven have played in famous bands for many years. Yet, they were down to earth and accessible in sharing their stories.

Next up: What I learned by not saying hello to Chris Brogan.

Dan Poynter’s Self-Publishing Manual, 16th Edition: How to Write, Print and Sell Your Own Book (Self Publishing Manual)

Taxi Driver (Two-Disc Collector’s Edition)

Walk This Way: The Autobiography of Aerosmith